BBC Proms 2026 listings: your day-by-day guide to the world's biggest classical music festival

BBC Proms 2026 listings: your day-by-day guide to the world's biggest classical music festival

Here is everything you need to know about the 2026 BBC Proms, featuring a jam-packed selection of classical music's best-loved performers and composers

Dalia Stasevska conducts the First Night of the Proms 2026 © Veikko Kähkönen


Here is the complete 2026 BBC Proms schedule, featuring comprehensive listings of all this year's Proms.

This year's BBC Proms features 86 concerts, 72 at London's Royal Albert Hall and 14 at venues elsewhere around the UK.

All Proms are broadcast on BBC Radio 3, many of them live. You can also catch up with every Prom on BBC Sounds and all televised Proms on BBC iPlayer.

2026 BBC Proms schedule: Royal Albert Hall concerts

Friday 17 July

Broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer
7pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
First Night of the Proms 2026
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man Gershwin An American in Paris Ravel Piano Concerto in G major Josephine Stephenson new work (BBC commission: world premiere) Finzi For St Cecilia

Yunchan Lim (piano) Thomas Atkins (tenor) BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Dalia Stasevska

Saturday 18 July

7.30pm–c9.45pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man

BBC Concert Orchestra / Robert Ames

Spotlight: Prog Rock

Genesis © David Warner Ellis/Redferns via Getty Images
Genesis © David Warner Ellis/Redferns via Getty Images - Genesis © David Warner Ellis/Redferns via Getty Images

Prog rock exploded the tight boundaries of pop music, amplifying it with new symphonic scope, ambition and influences, and creating spectacular visual and musical statements. The Proms celebrates this pioneering, British-driven movement in a concert celebrating classic tracks on an orchestral scale. Award-winning broadcaster and BBC Radio 6 Music host Stuart Maconie presents brand-new orchestral arrangements of music by ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance and others.

Sunday 19 July

11am–c1pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Black Dyke Band
Judith Bingham Four Minute Mile Man Berlioz, arr. Frank Wright Overture ‘Le carnaval romain’ G. Holst A Moorside Suite Peter Graham Force of Nature Edward Gregson Symphony in two movements John Williams, arr. Andrew Duncan Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Hedwig’s Theme Rodrigo, arr. Kevin Bolton Concierto de Aranjuez – Adagio Hans Zimmer, arr. Stephen Roberts Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Wheel of Fortune Philip Wilby Paganini Variations

David Childs (euphonium) Black Dyke Band / Nicholas Childs

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Boléro: Rhythms of Spain
Ravel Alborada del gracioso Falla, orch. Francisco Coll Fantasia baetica Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez Falla The Three-Cornered Hat – Suites Nos. 1 & 2 Ravel Boléro

Rafael Aguirre (guitar) Spanish National Orchestra / David Afkha

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Monday 20 July

7pm–c9.20pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Beethoven’s Ninth
JS Bach, orch. A Davis Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 Jessie Montgomery These Righteous Paths (BBC co-commission: UK premiere) Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, ‘Choral’

Abel Selaocoe (cello) Leah Hawkins (soprano) Stephanie Wake-Edwards (mezzo-soprano) Derek Welton (bass) Philharmonia Chorus, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Gianandrea Noseda

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Tuesday 21 July

6pm–c8.10pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Also sprach Zarathustra
Betsy Jolas Tales of a Summer Sea Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor R Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra

Sueye Park (violin) BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / John Storgårds

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Spotlight: Sueye Park

Sueye Park
Sueye Park, violinist - Sueye Park, violinist

To Sueye Park, Sibelius’s Violin Concerto begins as though it comes from nowhere, like icy water seeping into a huge, snowy space. ‘I’ve been to Sibelius’s house in Finland,’ she says, ‘and I can just imagine him composing there all alone, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by beautiful, wild nature and wanting to express that in this masterwork.’ When she plays it she thinks of weather so cold that the ice turns blue, and of the aurora borealis colouring the sky overhead. ‘There is also something there that is scalding hot and full of passion,’ she says. ‘It’s like an ice-blue snowball with a fire burning inside.’

10.15pm–c11.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £12.20–£30.56
Late Night Baroque
Programme to include: Dowland Can she excuse my wrongs?; Now, O now, I needs must part Purcell If love’s a sweet passion; Strike the viol; Evening Hymn Handel Theodora – ‘From virtue springs’

Laurence Kilsby (tenor) Jupiter Ensemble / Thomas Dunford (director/lute)

Wednesday 22 July

7pm–c9.05pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Mahler’s ‘Tragic’ Sixth
György Kurtág Stele Mahler Symphony No. 6 in A minor

BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo

Thursday 23 July

7.30pm–c9.35pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Afterlife: Visions of the Beyond
L. Boulanger Vieille prière bouddhique Szymanowski Stabat mater Messiaen L’Ascension – four symphonic meditations R. Strauss Death and Transfiguration

Mari Eriksmoen (soprano) Paula Murrihy (mezzo-soprano) James Way (tenor) Szymon Mechliński (baritone) BBC National Chorus of Wales, London Philharmonic Choir, BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Ryan Bancroft

Friday 24 July

7.30pm–c10pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
John Wilson Conducts Respighi’s ‘Roman Trilogy’
Verdi The Force of Destiny – overture Walton Cello Concerto Respighi Roman Festivals; Fountains of Rome; Pines of Rome

Jonathan Aasgaard (cello) Sinfonia of London / John Wilson

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Saturday 25 July

2pm–c4pm & 6pm–c8pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Horrible Science: The Big Bang Proms Experiment
Programme to include excerpts from: Borodin Prince Igor – Polovtsian Dances G. Holst The Planets John Williams Star Wars

Richard David Caine, James McNicholas, Jessica Ransom, Inel Tomlinson, BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Karen Ní Bhroin

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Sunday 26 July

11am–c12.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Olivier Latry Plays Bach
JS Bach, arr. Messerer Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 – Chaconne; transcr. Duruflé Cantata No. 147 – Chorale ‘Jesus bleibet meine Freude’; arr. Widor Bach’s Memento – Mattheus-Final; transcr. Gigout Cantata No. 68 – Aria ‘Mein gläubiges Herze’ JS Bach, after Vivaldi Concerto in A minor, BWV 593; Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 539; Chorale ‘Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter’, BWV 650; Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 Olivier Latry Improvisation on B-A-C-H

Olivier Latry organ

7pm–c9.10pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Poulenc and Adams
Poulenc Sinfonietta; Concerto in D minor for two pianos John Adams Harmonium

Lucas and Arthur Jussen (pianos) CBSO Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Kazuki Yamada

Monday 27 July

7pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
From the Alps to the Auvergne
Kristine Tjøgersen Between Trees (UK premiere) Canteloube Songs of the Auvergne – selection R Strauss An Alpine Symphony

Louise Alder (soprano) London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner

Tuesday 28 July

7pm–c9.20pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Sibelius’s Second
Mark-Anthony Turnage Festen Suite (BBC co-commission: UK premiere) Britten Cello Symphony Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major

Guy Johnston (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo

Wednesday 29 July

7pm–c9.05pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Elgar’s First
Judith Weir Moon and Star Brett Dean The World’s Wife (BBC co-commission: world premiere) Elgar Symphony No. 1 in A flat major

Claire Booth (soprano) BBC Singers, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Thursday 30 July

7pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Korngold’s Violin Concerto
Dobrinka Tabakova Orpheus’ Comet Korngold Violin Concerto in D major Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 in B flat major

Alena Baeva (violin) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Delyana Lazarova

Friday 31 July

7.30pm–c9.40pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Bruch’s Violin Concerto
Haydn Symphony No. 44 in E minor, ‘Trauer’ Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Schumann Symphony No. 4 in D minor (rev. version, 1851)

Daniel Lozakovich (violin) Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Omer Meir Wellber

Saturday 1 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall £19.34–£71.36
Mahler’s First by Heart
A musical and dramatic exploration of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major (performed from memory)

Natalie Lewis (mezzo-soprano) Aurora Orchestra / Nicholas Collon

Sunday 2 August

11am–c1.15pm Royal Albert Hall £19.34–£71.36
Mahler’s First by Heart
A musical and dramatic exploration of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major (performed from memory)

Natalie Lewis (mezzo-soprano) Aurora Orchestra / Nicholas Collon

7.30pm–c9.45pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky
Dani Howard Concerto for Brass, ‘SIGNAL’ (BBC co-commission: world premiere) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major Scriabin Symphony No. 2 in C major

Leonidas Kavakos (violin) BBC Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Järvi

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Monday 3 August

7pm–c9.05pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Rachmaninov’s ‘Paganini’ Variations
Knussen Flourish with Fireworks Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 in G minor, ‘The Year 1905’

Kirill Gerstein (piano) Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Thomas Søndergård

Spotlight: Kirill Gerstein

Kirill Gerstein © Marco Borggreve
Kirill Gerstein © Marco Borggreve - Kirill Gerstein © Marco Borggreve

‘Much as I love all of Rachmaninov’s music, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is particularly perfect,’ says Kirill Gerstein, who will be playing the piece at this year’s Proms. ‘It distils and crystallises everything about his music, and he’s at the height of his mastery and inspiration.’ With dazzling invention Rachmaninov transforms a spiky minor-key theme by the legendary violinist Paganini into a series of variations. ‘There’s this famous example of when Rachmaninov turns the theme upside down, which gives us the lush, miraculous 18th variation,’ explains Gerstein. ‘Supposedly he said, “This one’s for my manager”.’

Yet Rachmaninov was always full of self-doubt, and Gerstein hears this in the Rhapsody. ‘A second motif enters: the Dies irae, the chant of Judgement Day … My theory is that it’s his own negative judgement manifesting itself. The themes wrestle with each other,’ says Gerstein. And the legend that Paganini sold his soul to the Devil lurks in the background too. ‘There’s this undercurrent of the macabre and sarcastic.’ Given Gerstein’s repertoire includes behemoths such as Busoni’s Piano Concerto, what challenges does Rachmaninov’s more economical Rhapsody pose? ‘Most of piano playing is there: quick figurations, massive chords, cadenza-like passages. I think the truly great challenge is imitating a cantabile – singing – style,’ he says. ‘It’s wonderfully challenging and amusing – and one still needs to practise it!’

Tuesday 4 August

7pm–c9.05pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Dvořák and Mendelssohn
Zimmermann Märchen-Suite (Fairy-Tale Suite) Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor Dvořák Symphony No. 7 in D minor

Alina Ibragimova (violin) BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Elena Schwarz

Wednesday 5 August

6pm–c8.10pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Rachmaninov’s Second
Ravel, orch. Colin Matthews La vallée des cloches N Boulanger Fantasy for piano and orchestra Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Alexandra Dariescu (piano) Hallé / Kahchun Wong

Spotlight: Alexandra Dariescu

Alexandra Dariescu © Nick Rutter
Alexandra Dariescu © Nick Rutter - Alexandra Dariescu © Nick Rutter

Nadia Boulanger is remembered as one of the great music pedagogues of the 20th century, having taught everyone from Copland to Philip Glass. But ‘her own compositional voice is just so powerful and original,’ says Alexandra Dariescu. ‘It deserves to be heard.’ Proms audiences will have that chance this summer when the Romanian pianist brings Boulanger’s Fantasy for piano and orchestra to the festival. It’s a work ‘full of vibrant energy and daring harmonic language. There are influences from Fauré, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov – but the voice is unmistakably hers,’ says Dariescu. ‘It’s poetic, dramatic and utterly compelling.’ Dariescu gave the UK premiere of the Fantasy in 2019 and has performed it in many other countries since. After a new manuscript was recently found, an updated edition has been prepared – and it’s this version that Dariescu brings to the Proms.

‘Performing this piece around the world, I find that audiences say, “Why have we not heard this before?”,’ says Dariescu, who has made championing music by female composers a mission, and will herself be the first female Romanian pianist to appear at the Proms. ‘It’s a journey of discovery for me and it’s incredibly meaningful.’ And she’s seen the impact of inclusive programming: ‘It brings a younger generation into the concert hall. If audiences see themselves represented in the music we perform, then it becomes a lot more accessible.’

Wednesday 5 August

10.15pm–c11.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£39.74
Under African Skies

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Nu Civilisation Orchestra / Peter Edwards

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Thursday 6 August

7pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Elder Conducts Weber’s ‘Oberon’
Weber Oberon (semi-staged; sung in English, with English surtitles)

Nicky Spence (Oberon) Jennifer Davis (Reiza) Charles Castronovo (Sir Huon of Bordeaux) Yannick Debus (Sherasmin) Rachael Wilson (Fatima) Jasmin White (Puck) Charlotte Bowden (Mermaid) Jessica Cale (Mermaid) Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir Mark Elder

Friday 7 August

7pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Rossini’s ‘Stabat mater’
Respighi Church Windows Rossini Stabat mater

Federica Lombardi (soprano) Chiara Amarù (mezzo-soprano) René Barbera (tenor) Nicola Ulivieri (bass) Epiphoni Consort, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Nil Venditti

Saturday 8 August

7.30pm–c9.40pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie fantastique’
Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1 Thomas Adès Dante – Part 2: Purgatorio Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

National Youth Orchestra / Thomas Adès

Sunday 9 August

11am–c12pm Royal Albert Hall, £13.24–£33.64
Relaxed Prom
Programme to include: Vaughan Williams, arr. R Douglas Serenade to Music Radiohead, arr. Simon Hale Pyramid Song Meredith Monk Panda Chant 2 Duke Ellington, arr. Harry Baker It Don’t Mean a Thing (if It Ain’t Got that Swing)

BBC Singers, Fantasia Orchestra / Tom Fetherstonhaugh

7pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
The OAE Plays Mozart and Haydn
Zelenka Miserere in C minor Mozart Masonic Funeral Music; Aria ‘Schon lacht der holde Frühling’; Aria ‘Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!’ Haydn Mass in D minor, ‘Nelson Mass’

Erin Morley (soprano) Helen Charlston (mezzo-soprano) Guy Cutting (tenor) William Thomas (bass) Choir of the Enlightenment, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Peter Whelan

Monday 10 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Salonen Conducts 20th-Century Classics
Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements Berg Violin Concerto Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

Vilde Frang (violin) Juilliard Orchestra, Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra / Esa-Pekka Salonen

Spotlight: Vilde Frang

Vilde Frang © Marco Borggreve
Vilde Frang © Marco Borggreve - Vilde Frang © Marco Borggreve

For Vilde Frang, Berg’s Violin Concerto is, quite simply, ‘one of the greatest concertos written for violin in the 20th century’. It has beauty, elegance and charm, says the Norwegian, but above all it offers incredible drama. ‘It’s one of those pieces that feels like you are living it rather than playing it.’ That drama is one of life and death. Dedicated ‘to the memory of an angel’, the piece was written to mourn Manon Gropius, Alma Mahler’s 18-year-old daughter. ‘I’ve been wondering about the personality of this young girl who left such an impression on Berg,’ reflects Frang. ‘Her personality comes to the fore in the first movement’s expressive language. The second movement is almost like a tango with death, and she finally ascends to the stars. It’s a cosmic ending.’

Yet despite the work’s deeply moving backstory, for years Frang saw it as ‘a very intellectual piece’. It was only during the Covid-19 pandemic, which she sees as ‘an existential time’, that it made sense to her: ‘I think it was meant to reach me then. It was a very emotional experience when I finally got it. I discovered the music is crystal clear.’ From that point on she has felt compelled to champion the piece. ‘When I take on a new concerto, it’s like learning a new language that’s calling out to me. The message is so strong that I have to uncover it,’ she says. ‘I need to tell its story, and I have a mission to share it with other people.’

Tuesday 11 August

6pm–c8.10pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Dudamel and the LA Phil: Beethoven and Adès
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major, ‘Pastoral’ Thomas Adès Dante – Part 1: Inferno

Los Angeles Philharmonic / Gustavo Dudamel

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

10.15pm–c11.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£39.74
Evelyn Glennie and the Fantasia Orchestra
Programme to include: Caroline Shaw Partita – Sarabande Héloïse Werner new work (BBC commission: world premiere) Vaughan Williams, arr. R Douglas Serenade to Music Radiohead, arr. Simon Hale Pyramid Song; and works by John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Vincent Ho and Philip Sheppard

Evelyn Glennie (percussion) BBC Singers, Fantasia Orchestra / Tom Fetherstonhaugh

Wednesday 12 August

7pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Dudamel and the LA Phil: Beethoven and Ortiz
Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major, Gabriela Ortiz Revolución diamantina (UK premiere)

Los Angeles Master Chorale (upper voices), Los Angeles Philharmonic / Gustavo Dudamel

Thursday 13 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Gershwin’s Piano Concerto
Wynton Marsalis Concerto for Orchestra (BBC co-commission: UK premiere) Gershwin Piano Concerto in F major Barber Symphony No. 1 in One Movement

Yeol Eum Son (piano) BBC Symphony Orchestra / James Gaffigan

Friday 14 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
BBC Concert Orchestra and Edwin Outwater
BBC Concert Orchestra / Edwin Outwater conductor

A musical omnivore equally at home conducting prestigious international orchestras or working with pop and rock artists, Edwin Outwater is as fleet-footed as the BBC Concert Orchestra itself, of which he is Principal Guest Conductor and Curator. Together at the Proms they have collaborated with Cynthia Erivo and celebrated the work of Henry Mancini and Bernard Herrmann. Tonight brings another genre-bending symphonic adventure.

Saturday 15 August

7.30pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
Pappano Conducts Berlioz’s ‘Requiem’
Berlioz Requiem (Grande messe des morts)
BBC Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra / Antonio Pappano

Sunday 16 August

11am–c1pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Swedish Chamber Orchestra: Beethoven and Baroque
Jacob Mühlrad Helix (BBC commission: world premiere) Hans Ek DNA Suite (orchestrations of pieces by Rameau, JS Bach and Handel, plus transitions; UK premiere) Göran and Martin Fröst Nomadic Dances Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major
Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Martin Fröst (conductor/clarinet)

7.30pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Elgar’s Cello Concerto
Webern Passacaglia Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor Walton Symphony No. 2
Pablo Ferrández (cello) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasily Petrenko

Monday 17 August

7pm–c9.05pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Copland and Stravinsky
Copland Billy the Kid – suite Gabriel Kahane Clarinet Concerto, ‘If love will not swing wide the gates’ (BBC co-commission: European premiere) Stravinsky Petrushka (1947 version)

Anthony McGill (clarinet) BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Ryan Bancroft

Spotlight: Anthony McGill

Anthony McGill © Martin Romero
Anthony McGill © Martin Romero - Anthony McGill © Martin Romero

When composer Gabriel Kahane went to a concert given by the New York Philharmonic a few years ago he was drawn in particular to the sound of the orchestra’s Principal Clarinet, Anthony McGill. ‘Gabriel messaged me on social media and said he really liked my playing, and I thought that was awesome because I love his music too,’ says McGill. ‘He said we should do something. And that’s how it all started.’

The result: a Clarinet Concerto, which McGill brings to the Proms this summer for its European premiere. ‘We first got together in Portland where Gabriel lives and discussed an initial idea,’ says McGill. ‘He’s Jewish American and I’m Black American and we’d been talking about the relationship between our cultures over the years. Then he stumbled over a quote by James Baldwin – “If love will not swing wide the gates” – and decided he would take a more universal theme of love and humanity.’

Tuesday 18 August

7pm–c8.50pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£48.92
Shostakovich’s Tenth
Édith Canat de Chizy Skyline (Concerto for three percussionists, timpani and orchestra) (BBC co-commission: UK premiere) Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 in E minor

BBC Symphony Orchestra / Cristian Măcelaru

Wednesday 19 August

7pm–c9.35pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ from Glyndebourne
R Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos (semi-staged; sung in German, with English surtitles)

Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Ariadne) David Butt Philip (Bacchus) Alina Wunderlin (Zerbinetta) Mikhail Timoshenko (Harlequin) Caspar Singh (Scaramuccio) Liam James Karai (Truffaldino) Liam Bonthrone (Brighella) Samantha Hankey (Composer) Michael Kraus (Music Master) Ru Charlesworth (Dancing Master) Anna Denisova (Naiad) Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein (Dryad) Eirin Rognerud (Echo) Glyndebourne Festival Opera, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Robin Ticciati

Thursday 20 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Miles Davis Centenary
Programme to include new arrangements of excerpts from ‘Miles Ahead’, ‘Porgy and Bess’, ‘Sketches of Spain’ and ‘Quiet Nights’

Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) Sam Harris (piano) Harish Raghavan (bass) Justin Brown (drums) BBC Concert Orchestra / Miho Hazama

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Friday 21 August

7pm–c9.45pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Mahler’s ‘Song of the Earth’
Bushra El-Turk Mosaic Haydn Symphony No. 45 in F sharp minor, ‘Farewell’ Mahler Das Lied von der Erde

Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano) Clay Hilley (tenor) BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Anja Bihlmaier

Saturday 22 August

7.30pm–c9.35pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue
Edmund Thornton Jenkins reconstr. & arr. Tuffus Zimbabwe Dance Suite (world premiere) Barber Knoxville: Summer of 1915; New arrangements of songs by Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Margaret Bonds, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers; Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major

Angel Blue (soprano) Chineke! Orchestra / Jonathon Heyward

Sunday 23 August

11am–c1pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Mozart’s ‘Haffner’ Symphony
Britten Simple Symphony Mozart Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major Thea Musgrave Bassoon Concerto, ‘Out of the Darkness’ (BBC commission: world premiere) Elgar Romance for bassoon and orchestra Mozart Symphony No. 35 in D major, ‘Haffner’

Felix Klieser (horn) Amy Harman (bassoon) Academy of St Martin in the Fields / Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (director/leader)

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

7.30pm–c9.45pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Capuçon Plays Dvořák’s Cello Concerto
Stravinsky Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1947 version) Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Varèse Amériques

Gautier Capuçon (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra / Alain Altinoglu

Monday 24 August

7pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
American Classics
Joan Tower Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman Bernstein Symphonic Dances from ‘West Side Story’ Gershwin, orch. Grofé Rhapsody in Blue Moross The Big Country – prelude Copland Appalachian Spring – suite Still Three Visions – No. 2: Summerland Bernstein On the Town – Three Dance Episodes

Marcus Roberts Trio, Philharmonia Orchestra / Marin Alsop

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Tuesday 25 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Bond and Beyond
BBC Concert Orchestra / Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Spotlight: Bond

James Bond © United Artists / Getty Images
James Bond © United Artists / Getty Images - James Bond © United Artists / Getty Images

No character in cinema history has a more instantly recognisable theme tune, or has inspired more classic pop songs, than James Bond. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra in a musical homage to Ian Fleming’s suave spy. Together with special guests they train their sights on the greatest hits from Skyfall, The Spy Who Loved Me and others, promising to leave you stirred, not shaken.

Wednesday 26 August

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £35.66–£114.20
The Met Orchestra Plays Strauss
R Strauss, arr. attrib. A Rodziński Der Rosenkavalier – suite R Strauss Salome – final scene; Ein Heldenleben

Elza van den Heever (soprano) The Met Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Thursday 27 August

6pm–c8.10pm Royal Albert Hall, £35.66–£114.20
The Met Orchestra Plays Mahler
Saariaho Lumière et pesanteur Mahler Rückert-Lieder; Symphony No. 4 in G major

Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) The Met Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Spotlight: Joyce DiDonato

Joyce DiDonato © Chris Gonz
Joyce DiDonato © Chris Gonz - Joyce DiDonato © Chris Gonz

‘Each time I revisit this cycle, I’m singing the same words, notes, dynamics and articulation, but the inner journey always brings me to a different corner of the human experience. Having access to that journey as a singer, and then offering it to an audience, allows for them to also take a unique and highly personal journey alongside us musicians.’ Joyce DiDonato is describing her relationship with Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder.

As she goes on to explain, communicating these enchanting, emotionally complex songs must begin with an ‘absolute adherence’ to the composer’s meticulous directions. ‘Mahler was incredibly specific in his markings in the score, and these are both the starting and ending points for a performer. However, there is also ample space to deeply personalise what these immense pieces mean to you: the struggle of faith and doubt (“Mitternacht”), the perfection and bliss of being alive in the world (“Ich atmet …”), the deep meaning of pure love (“Liebst du um Schönheit”) and the sheer transcendence of “Ich bin der welt”.’

Thursday 27 August

10.15pm–c11.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £12.20–£30.56
Ultimate Calm

Erland Cooper presenter

Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 3 Unwind

Friday 28 August

7.30pm–c9pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Altın Gün

BBC Symphony Orchestra / Jules Buckley

Saturday 29 August

7.30pm–c9.45pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Stravinsky and Prokofiev with the Oslo Philharmonic
Øyvind Torvund Symphonic Poem No. 1, ‘Forest Morning’ Stravinsky Violin Concerto Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet – excerpts

Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin) Oslo Philharmonic / Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

Sunday 30 August

4.30pm–c5.30pm Royal College of Music, free
BBC Young Composer
New works by: Oskar Wit Baldyga, Luca Boston, Gerard Coutain, Noah Hacking, Nemunis Jusionis-Vila, Jixuan Li

BBC Concert Orchestra / Tess Jackson

7pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Berlioz’s ‘The Damnation of Faust’
Berlioz The Damnation of Faust (concert performance; sung in French, with English surtitles)

John Osborn (Faust) Véronique Gens (Marguerite) Gerald Finley (Méphistophélès)
Thomas Dolié (Brander) Maîtrise de Radio France, Choeur de Radio France, Les Siècles / Jakob Lehmann

Monday 31 August

7pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
Enchanted: Alan Menken’s Music for Disney

National Youth Music Theatre, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Anthony Parnther

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Tuesday 1 September

7.30pm–c9.35pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto
Kaprálová Suita rustica Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Janáček Sinfonietta

Lukáš Vondráček (piano) BBC Symphony Orchestra / Jakub Hrůša

Spotlight: Jakub Hrůša

Jakub Hrůša © Emilian Tsubaki
Jakub Hrůša © Emilian Tsubaki - Jakub Hrůša © Emilian Tsubaki

‘The Suita rustica is a fresh, bold work that immediately makes a sympathetic impact. It is inspired by the same French-tinged modernism that composers such as Stravinsky and Prokofiev drew upon or directly helped to shape, while at the same time we hear very clearly echoes of folk music. It is a highly communicative piece.’ Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša is describing the opening work of his Prom, which he performs with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Its creator, the Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová, was on the cusp of an international career when she died tragically young, aged 25.The Suita rustica emerged two years before her death, by which time her qualities as both a composer and conductor were attracting the attention of critics and public alike.

The programme concludes with Janáček’s final orchestral work, the Sinfonietta. This year marks the centenary of its composition, yet for Hrůša the piece ‘fits our own time wonderfully well, because it is concise, direct, extraordinarily striking and effective. It is one of the finest works by our most original [Czech] creator and one of the most remarkable figures in the history of music.’ He continues: ‘For Janáček, the Sinfonietta may have been a lighter, occasional piece, yet in its effect it is utterly overwhelming. It is also a work that suits the Royal Albert Hall marvellously because it has a ceremonial brass character that calls for a vast space.’

Wednesday 2 September

6.30pm–c8.25pm Royal Albert Hall, £35.66–£114.20
Berlin Philharmonic Plays Elgar and Tchaikovsky
Elgar ‘Enigma’ Variations Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor

Berlin Philharmonic / Kirill Petrenko

10.15pm–c11.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£39.74
Steve Reich at 90
Early sacred choral music by composers including Hildegard of Bingen, Machaut, Josquin and Pérotin; Steve Reich Tehillim

The Gesualdo Six / Owain Park; Colin Currie Group / Colin Currie

Thursday 3 September

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £35.66–£114.20
Berlin Philharmonic Plays Beethoven and Scriabin
Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major Scriabin Symphony No. 3 in C minor, ‘The Divine Poem’

Augustin Hadelich (violin) Berlin Philharmonic / Kirill Petrenko conductor

Friday 4 September

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Vaughan Williams’s ‘Fantasia’ and Symphony No. 9
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Britten Violin Concerto Carmel Smickersgill A Brick Thrown with Love (BBC co-commission: world premiere) Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 9 in E minor

Simone Lamsma (violin) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Manze

Saturday 5 September

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
Martha Argerich Plays Beethoven
Farrenc Overture No. 2 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor

Martha Argerich (piano) Munich Philharmonic / Lahav Shani

Recorded for broadcast on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer

Sunday 6 September

11am–c1pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
John Wilson Conducts the Sinfonia of London Strings
L Berkeley Serenade for Strings Bridge Lament Britten Les illuminations I. Holst Suite for String Orchestra Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge

Julie Roset (soprano) Sinfonia of London (strings) / John Wilson

7.30pm–c9.25pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony
Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Gwilym Simcock Triple Concerto for Soprano Saxophone, Horn and Cello (BBC co-commission: world premiere) Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor, ‘From the New World’

Jess Gillam (saxophone) Ben Goldscheider (horn) Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo

Monday 7 September

7pm–c9.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
Rattle Conducts Schumann
Schumann Genoveva – overture; Violin Concerto in D minor; Symphony No. 2 in C major

Isabelle Faust (violin) Freiburg Baroque Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle conductor

Tuesday 8 September

6.30pm–c8.15pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Rachmaninov, Bartók and Varèse
Varèse Density 21.5 Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta Rachmaninov Symphony No. 3 in A minor

Matthew Higham (flute) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth

10.15pm–c11.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £14.24–£39.74
Jules Buckley Orchestra

Jules Buckley

Wednesday 9 September

7pm–c8.55pm Royal Albert Hall, £16.28–£59.12
Strauss’s ‘Four Last Songs’
Henze Erlkönig – orchestral fantasy Schubert Symphony No. 8 in B minor, ‘Unfinished’ Mahler, arr. Britten What the Wild Flowers Tell Me R Strauss Four Last Songs

Natalya Romaniw (soprano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Paweł Kapuła

Thursday 10 September

7pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £28.52–£89.72
Bach’s Mass in B minor with Arcangelo
JS Bach Mass in B minor

Jeanine De Bique (soprano) Eva Zaïcik (soprano) Hugh Cutting (counter-tenor) Nick Pritchard (tenor) Florian Störtz )bass-baritone) Arcangelo / Jonathan Cohen (director/harpsichord)

Friday 11 September

8pm–c9.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £19.34–£71.36
Mahler’s Ninth with the Mahler Academy Orchestra
Mahler Symphony No. 9

Mahler Academy Orchestra / Philipp von Steinaecker

Saturday 12 September

7.15pm–c10.30pm Royal Albert Hall, £53–£185.60
Last Night of the Proms 2026
Programme to include: arr. Wood Fantasia on British Sea-Songs Arne, arr. Sargent Rule, Britannia! Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major (‘Land of Hope and Glory’) Parry, orch. Elgar Jerusalem; arr. Britten The National Anthem Trad.; arr. P. Campbell Auld lang syne

Nicky Spence (tenor) Yuja Wang (piano) BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo

Broadcast live on BBC Two (first half), BBC One (second half) and BBC iPlayer

2026 BBC Proms schedule: concerts elsewhere around the UK

2026 BBC Proms - Middlesborough

Royal Northern Sinfonia Presents …

Thursday 23 July, Middlesborough Town Hall, 7.30pm–c9.30pm

Royal Northern Sinfonia

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

2026 BBC Proms - Gateshead

BBC Introducing from The Glasshouse: Live at the Proms

Thursday 23 July, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, 8pm–c10pm

Shakk (presenter)

A celebration of musicians who have launched their careers under the groundbreaking BBC Introducing scheme.

Crippled Symmetry

Friday 24 July, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, 7pm–c8.35pm

Feldman Crippled Symmetry

Helena Gourd (flute/bass flute) Jude Carlton (percussion) Dinis Sousa (piano/celesta)

The intricate patterns of Turkish rugs – conjured from the memory of the women who wove them – inspired the mesmerising meditation that is centenary composer Morton Feldman’s Crippled Symmetry. Scored for flutes, percussion, piano and the glassy-toned celesta, this is music that seems to float, at once absolutely controlled and left freely to chance – its hypnotic patterns forming and reforming like a mobile, suspended in the air.

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

Nadine Shah and Royal Northern Sinfonia

Friday 24 July, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, 9pm–c11pm

Nadine Shah; Royal Northern Sinfonia / Ellie Slorach

With her subjects including grief, womanhood and addiction, and melodies inspired by Sufi singer Abida Parveen, Nadine Shah is a powerful voice in the UK indie-rock scene.

Choirs on the Concourse

Saturday 25 July, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, 4pm–c7pm • Concourse
Parry Songs of Farewell – selection Tavener Song for Athene

Jess Gillam (saxophone) BBC Singers, Voices of the River’s Edge, Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia / Sofi Jeannin

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

2026 BBC Proms - Sunderland

Mozart and Mendelssohn

Saturday 25 July, The Fire Station, Sunderland, 7.30pm–c9.30pm

Bacewicz Divertimento Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings in D minor Mozart Symphony No. 39 in E flat major

Christian Ihle Hadland (piano) Royal Northern Sinfonia / Maria Włoszczowska (director/violin)

2026 BBC Proms - Bristol

Steve Reich at 90

Friday 7 August, Bristol Beacon, 7.30pm–c8.45pm

Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians

Paraorchestra / Charles Hazlewood; Faye Stoeser

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

Russian Classics

Saturday 8 August, Bristol Beacon, 5pm–c7.10pm

Shostakovich Festive Overture; Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major Gubaidulina Fairy-Tale Poem Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances

Max Hornung (cello) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Adam Hickox

’Round Midnight

Saturday 8 August, Bristol Beacon, 8pm–c10pm

A special live edition of the acclaimed late-night Radio 3 jazz show ’Round Midnight. Following last year’s Proms celebration of Oscar Peterson in Sunderland, this year the focus turns to the centenary artist John Coltrane and his 1965 album A Love Supreme, which not only reflected the jazz legend’s own spiritual journey but also deeply resonated with the struggles of America’s Civil Rights Movement.

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

Relaxed Prom

Sunday 9 August, Bristol Beacon, 2.30pm–c3.30pm

Price, arr. Rhian Davies Symphony No. 1 in E minor – Juba Dance Oliver Cross, arr. Liam Taylor-West Barriers Vivaldi, arr. Rhian Davies The Four Seasons – excerpts Michael Betteridge, arr. Julia Koelmans Soaring Through Sparks (Clarion Concerto) Charlotte Harding, arr. Liam Taylor-West The Orchestra: A Young Person’s Guide (BBC commission)

Alessandro Vazzana (clarion)

National Open Youth Orchestra, Members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Alice Farnham

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

Path of Miracles

Sunday 9 August, St George's Bristol, 4pm–c5.20pm

Joby Talbot Path of Miracles

Tenebrae / Nigel Short

Kafka Fragments

Sunday 9 August, Bristol Beacon, 6pm–c7.05pm

György Kurtág Kafka Fragments

Anu Komsi (soprano) Sakari Oramo (violin)

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

2026 BBC Proms - Mold

Saturday 29 August, Theatr Clwyd, Mold, 4pm–c5.30pm

Sinfonia Cymru / Iwan Davies

An afternoon sequence exploring the connections and communicative powers of words and music, inspired by the themes of legend and folklore. Among the prose and poetry excerpts in English and Welsh lies an excursion into the fantastical medieval folk tales of The Mabinogion. A moment to spark the imagination and a shared experience to transcend the everyday.

For detailed listings and ticket information, visit the BBC Proms website: bbc.co.uk/proms


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