Welcome to your daily rundown on what's happening today at the 2025 BBC Proms. And today (Monday 21 July), we're looking forward to perhaps the most enigmatic work from one of music's most famous composers.
What's on at the Proms today?
Today the BBC Proms welcomes the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor John Storgårds for a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 7.
Mahler’s Seventh Symphony stands out as his most enigmatic and structurally eccentric work. Unlike the sweeping tragedy of the Sixth or the spiritual transcendence of the Eighth, the Seventh is defined by tonal ambiguity, shifting moods, and dreamlike surrealism. Its “Nachtmusik” movements explore eerie, nocturnal soundscapes, while the finale bursts into an almost parodic, carnivalesque brightness. It’s Mahler at his most elusive—restless, ironic, and strangely modern.
The other work in tonight's programme is a world premiere with a very ghostly ambience. A BBC commission, Monologues for the Curious is a brand new work by composer Tom Coult, inspired by the ghost stories of M. R. James. Tenor Allan Clayton is the soloist.
Who was M.R. James?
Montague Rhodes James, better known as M.R. James, is widely regarded as the master of the English ghost story. A medieval scholar and academic by profession—he was Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, and later of Eton—James brought an antiquarian sensibility to his tales, imbuing them with a quiet dread that lingers long after the final page. His stories are rarely about overt terror; instead, they unfold in scholarly surroundings—cathedrals, libraries, country inns—where the past slowly creeps into the present with unsettling force.
First read aloud to friends at Christmas, James’s stories became a tradition in themselves. Classics like "Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad", "A Warning to the Curious", and "Casting the Runes" are masterpieces of suggestion and restraint, often hinging on the accidental summoning of a malevolent force through forgotten manuscripts or ancient artefacts. His ghosts are rarely seen clearly, but their presence is palpable—cold, physical, and deeply unnerving.
Unlike the gothic excesses of earlier writers, James’s prose is economical, his atmosphere razor-sharp. He set the template for the modern ghost story, influencing generations of writers and filmmakers alike. Over a century later, his tales remain chillingly effective—and endlessly re-readable.
What time is tonight's Prom?
Tonight's Prom, Mahler's Seventh, gets underway at 7.30pm at the Royal Albert Hall. Tickets are priced from £11 to £56.
Pics: Getty Images
