The BBC Proms 2023: Everything you need to know about the

world’s largest classical music festival

The 2023 BBC Proms will run from Friday 14 July to Saturday 9 September 2023
comprising 84 Proms: 72 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, six at venues across the UK,
and the first weekend-long festival of Proms at Sage Gateshead

• The 2023 Proms features a huge breadth of programming; from Berlioz to

Bollywood, large scale symphonic and choral work to intimate chamber concerts
and exciting Proms debuts.

• The first ever weekend-long Proms festival rooted in the North-East launches at
Sage Gateshead, in a collaboration with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and
conductor Robert Ames. Family, orchestral and chamber concerts feature in a
programme that opens with the Proms debut of 2022 Mercury Award nominee,
Self Esteem.

• In addition to the weekend of Proms at Sage Gateshead, the Proms will take place
across all four nations of the UK; at Guildhall Londonderry, Aberystwyth Arts
Centre, Dewsbury Town Hall, Hall for Cornwall in Truro, Perth Concert Hall and
the Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth.

• Every Prom at the Royal Albert Hall and ‘Proms at’ chamber concert across the
UK will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. For the first time, the majority of
concerts will be available on BBC Sounds for 12 months. BBC television and BBC
iPlayer will broadcast 24 programmes, including the First Night and Last Night of
the Proms, and these will be available to watch on iPlayer for 12 months.

• Across the season there is a wealth of opera and oratorio, with a complete
performance of Berlioz’s five act grand opera The Trojans and the highly
anticipated UK premiere of György Kurtág’s first opera, Endgame. Large-scale
choral repertoire features throughout the season, from Rachmaninov’s The Bells
to Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast.

• The season features a compelling line-up of international orchestras, including

the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the
Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich.

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• The Proms marks the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov’s birth with 11 of his
works performed during the season. Other composer anniversaries include Dora
Pejačević, György Ligeti, Thomas Weelkes and William Byrd.

• 15 new commissions and co-commissions showcase the extraordinary range of

today’s orchestral composers.

• Sir Simon Rattle conducts two concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra:
Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 and Poulenc’s Figure humaine (with the BBC Singers),
and Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri.

• The Proms continues its exploration of orchestral collaborations with non-

classical artists, including Rufus Wainwright, Self Esteem and Jon Hopkins.

• Lauded Indian singer Palak Muchhal joins the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra led by Michael Seal for a Bollywood Prom, writer and broadcaster
Stuart Maconie curates the first Northern Soul Prom, and fado comes to the
Proms for the first time with Portuguese singer Mariza.

• The BBC Orchestras and Choirs perform in 32 Proms, including 14 premieres. The
BBC Singers will perform at five Proms, including the First and Last Nights and a
Late Night Prom, showcasing their broad range of repertoire.

• Dalia Stasevska conducts the First Night, featuring pianist Paul Lewis and a world
premiere from Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak. The Last Night of the Proms
will be conducted by Marin Alsop featuring cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and
soprano Lise Davidsen with a world premiere by James B. Wilson.

• The ever-innovative Aurora Orchestra returns to the Proms for its greatest
challenge to date: a dramatisation of the origins of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring
followed by a performance of the piece, entirely from memory.

• The Proms continues its commitment to accessible ticket prices with seats from
£9 and half-price tickets for under-18s (plus booking fees) and Promming day
standing tickets at £8 (inclusive of booking fees).

International Orchestras

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The season will see more international orchestras return to the Royal Albert Hall,
including the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, with an ‘audience choice’
programme, in which the audience chooses and votes live from a list of 250 dances,
overtures, marches and symphonic movements. The Boston Symphony Orchestra under
Andris Nelsons performs two Proms, featuring two European premieres: Carlos Simon’s
Four Black American Dances and Julia Adolphe’s Makeshift Castle. Augustin Hadelich
performs with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich under Paavo Järvi, Kirill Gerstein performs
with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, Pekka Kuusisto
performs with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and Raphaël Pichon conducts
Mozart’s Requiem with Pygmalion.

• Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (16 July and broadcast on TV)

• Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra (1 August and broadcast on TV)
• Budapest Festival Orchestra (12 & 13 August)
• Les Siècles (20 August)
• Boston Symphony Orchestra (25 & 26 August)
• Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich (30 August)
• Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (31 August)
• Pygmalion (7 September)

Major soloists and conductors

Major soloists include:

• Pekka Kuusisto (16 July)

• Benjamin Grosvenor (16 July & 6 August)
• Sir Stephen Hough (18 July)
• Self Esteem (21 July)
• Palak Muchhal (28 July)
• Daniil Trifonov (30 July)
• Isata Kanneh-Mason (1 August)
• Felix Klieser (2 & 3 August)
• Yuja Wang (4 August)
• Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha (5 August)
• Dame Sarah Connolly (9 August)
• Sir András Schiff (12 & 13 August)
• Allan Clayton (23 August)
• Christian Tetzlaff (24 August)
• Jean-Yves Thibaudet (26 August)

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 • Augustin Hadelich (30 August)
• Alice Coote (3 September)
• Rufus Wainwright (5 September)
• Lise Davidsen (9 September)
• Sheku Kanneh-Mason (9 September)

Internationally renowned conductors include:

• Dalia Stasevska (14 July)

• Elim Chan (25 July)
• Sir Mark Elder (26 July)
• Ryan Bancroft (31 July & 1 August)
• Sir Andrew Davis (10 August)
• Edward Gardner (11 August)
• Sakari Oramo (14, 19 & 24 August)
• Jules Buckley (21 & 29 August)
• Sir Simon Rattle (22 & 27 August)
• Sir John Eliot Gardiner (3 September)
• Semyon Bychkov (4 September)
• Marin Alsop (9 September)

Opera and large-scale choral

• Rachmaninov’s The Bells – Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé, Hallé Choir, BBC
Symphony Chorus, and soloists present Rachmaninov’s choral symphony, based
on a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, blending gothic drama with mystical intensity (26
July).
• Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Orff’s Carmina burana – The City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Kazuki Yamada bring
together two choral classics: ritual austerity and radiance from Stravinsky’s
Symphony of Psalms and riotous debauchery from Carl Orff’s Carmina burana (27
July).
• Mendelssohn’s Elijah – This intensely dramatic oratorio, full of earthquakes and
hurricanes, fiery chariots, wicked queens, and holy visions, is brought to life by
the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and its dynamic Music Director Maxim
Emelyanychev. The cast includes Roderick Williams and Carolyn Sampson (29
July).

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 • Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast – Celebrated American baritone Thomas Hampson is
the soloist for this epic Old Testament ‘biblical blockbuster’, conducted by Klaus
Mäkelä, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (4 August).
• Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites – This semi-staging of Poulenc’s 20th-
century masterpiece is fresh from the Glyndebourne Festival. A devastatingly
powerful portrait of human courage, faith and community, Robin Ticciati
conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra and soloists including Sally
Matthews and Golda Schultz (7 August).
• György Kurtág’s Endgame – The UK premiere of Kurtág’s ‘unforgettable’ 2018
adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist play Endgame (Fin de partie) is
conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
Frode Olsen, Morgan Moody, Hilary Summers, and Leonardo Cortellazzi (17
August).
• Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri – In this first complete performance at the
Proms, Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
present the story of Peri, the child of a fallen angel and a mortal, who makes a
sequence of offerings to the guardians of Paradise in an attempt to gain entry.
Lucy Crowe leads a stellar international cast (22 August).
• Handel’s Samson – The Proms’ ongoing cycle of Handel oratorios continues with
Samson. Tenor Allan Clayton and soprano Jacquelyn Stucker lead an all-star
cast, with the Academy of Ancient Music under their Music Director Laurence
Cummings (23 August).
• Berlioz’s The Trojans – Sir John Eliot Gardiner – 80 this year – continues his
exploration of Berlioz’s major works at the Proms, with this five-act retelling of
the fall of Troy and the doomed love of Dido and Aeneas. The cast includes Alice
Coote and Michael Spyres (3 September).

Premieres and BBC commissions

Throughout its 128-year history, the Proms has been at the forefront of musical
innovation. This year, the festival will premiere 23 new works, 15 of which have been
commissioned or co-commissioned by the BBC, underlining the BBC’s role as the UK’s
biggest commissioner of new music.

World premieres

• Bohdana Frolyak new work BBC commission (14 July)

• Grace-Evangeline Mason new work BBC commission (18 July)

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 • Kristina Arakelyan new work BBC commission (Proms at Sage Gateshead, 22
July)
• Catherine Lamb Portions Transparent/Opaque BBC commission (Portions 2 & 3)
(24 July)
• Olivia Belli new work BBC commission (25 July, Late Night)
• Derrick Skye Nova Plexus BBC commission (31 July)
• Gerald Barry Kafka’s Earplugs BBC commission (3 August)
• Roxana Panufnik A Floral Tribute BBC co-commission (9 August)
• Judith Weir Begin Afresh BBC commission (24 August)
• Rachel Laurin Prelude and Fugue in G major (26 August)
• Jon Hopkins new work BBC commission (29 August)
• Sarah Rodgers new work BBC commission (8 September)
• James B. Wilson 1922 BBC commission (9 September)

European premieres

• Noriko Koide Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain BBC commission (25 July)
• Samy Moussa Symphony No. 2 BBC co-commission (18 August)
• Julia Adolphe Makeshift Castle (25 August)
• Carlos Simon Four Black American Dances (26 August)

UK premieres

• Helen Grime Meditations on Joy BBC co-commission (23 July)

• Mason Bates Piano Concerto (30 July)
• Ivan Karabits Concerto for Orchestra No.1, ‘A Musical Gift to Kyiv’ (2 August)
• Jimmy López Bellido Perú Negro (4 August)
• György Kurtag Endgame (17 August)
• Gabriela Ortiz Clara (8 September)

Composer Focuses & Anniversaries

Sergey Rachmaninov

The Proms marks 150 years since Sergey Rachmaninov’s birth. During the season, 11 of
Rachmaninov’s works will be performed, including his most famous pieces for piano and
orchestra: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, performed by Yuja Wang, and the Second
Piano Concerto, performed by Benjamin Grosvenor.

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 • Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, with Sir Stephen Hough (18 July)
• Five Études-tableaux, orch.Respighi (19 July)
• The Bells (26 July)
• Symphony No. 2 in E minor (2 August)
• Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (4 August)
• Cello Sonata (Proms at Dewsbury, 6 August)
• Vocalise (Proms at Dewsbury, 6 August)
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor (6 August)
• Symphony No. 1 in D minor (9 August)
• Symphony No. 3 in A minor (31 August)
• Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor (8 September)

György Ligeti

This year marks 100 years since the birth of György Ligeti, one of the boldest voices of the
20th century, whose ear-bending sounds brought wit as well as invention to the concert
hall.

• Nonsense Madrigals (Proms at Aberystwyth, 30 July)

• Requiem (11 August)
• Lux aeterna (11 August)
• Mysteries of the Macabre (13 August)
• Lontano (15 August)
• Concert Românesc (20 August)
• Violin Concerto (20 August)

Dora Pejačević

This year marks 100 years since the death of Croatian composer Dora Pejačević, whose
passion and devotion to music and culture flourished powerfully but all too briefly in her
tragically short life.

• Cello Sonata (Proms at Dewsbury, 6 August)

• Overture (8 August)
• Songs (9 August)
• Symphony in F sharp minor (14 August)

Édouard Lalo

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 Josep Pons and the BBC Symphony Orchestra mark the 200th anniversary of French
Romantic compose Édouard Lalo’s birth with his most famous work, the vivacious
Symphonie espagnole, featuring the young Spanish violinist, María Dueñas.

• Symphonie espagnole (20 July)

William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes

William Byrd and Thomas Weelkes, who both died 400 years ago, leading figures of the
Renaissance English choral tradition, composing both sacred and secular music.

• Byrd Sacred and secular choral music (Proms at Derry, 15 July)

• Weelkes Madrigals (Proms at Aberystwyth, 30 July)
• Byrd This sweet and merry month of May (Proms at Aberystwyth, 30 July)
• Byrd Diliges Dominum (9 August, Late Night)

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is also celebrated throughout the season,

including contributions from Chineke! Orchestra under Anthony Parnther (1 September)
and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective for the Proms at Truro (27 August).

• Ballade (17 July)

• Violin Concerto in G minor (19 July)
• Three Impromptus (26 August)
• Nonet in F minor, Op. 2 (Proms at Truro, 27 August)
• Four Noveletten (1 September)
• Deep River, arr. Simon Parkin (9 September)

Debut artists

The Proms has a long history of encouraging and developing new talent. With over 50
artists making their Proms debuts this summer, this vital part of the Proms’ mission is at
the forefront of the 2023 season.

Debut soloists include:

• Bomsori violin (17 July)

• Mariza singer (21 July)

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 • Dee Dee Bridgewater jazz singer (1 August)
• Felix Klieser horn (2 & 3 August)
• Geneva Lewis violin (8 August)
• Martin Helmchen piano (14 August)
• Alexandre Kantorow piano (15 August)
• Isabelle Demers organ (26 August)
• María Dueñas violin (20 July)
• Mané Galoyan soprano (26 July)
• Aaron Azunda Akugbo trumpet (1 September)

Debut conductors include:

• Anja Bihlmaier (17 July)

• Jaime Martín (8 August)
• Gemma New (18 August)
• Anthony Parnther (1 September)
• Sarah Hicks (5 September)

Something different

• Keep the Faith: Northern Soul – The Proms opening weekend features a
stomping celebration of the underground British club phenomenon of the 1960s
and 1970s that took English towns across the industrial North and Midlands by
storm: Northern Soul (15 July).
• Mariza Sings Fado – Fado music comes to the Proms for the first time. Fado is the
‘musical soul’ of Portugal, known for its keening melodies charged with passion,
longing and despair. Award-winning singer Mariza makes her Proms debut, with
instrumentalists and an ensemble of strings (21 July).
• Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, Bollywood Legend – The Proms pays tribute to the
‘Nightingale of India’ and ‘Queen of Melody’, Lata Mangeshkar, the Bollywood
singer whose songs supplied the soundtrack for generations of cinemagoers. Star
soloist Palak Muchhal and her brother Palash Muchhal join the City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to celebrate this extraordinary, era-defining
artist (28 July).
• Jules Buckley Orchestra – Conductor Jules Buckley and the Jules Buckley
Orchestra return with a special guest to be announced, following last year’s
spectacular debut with a tribute to Aretha Franklin (21 August).
• Jon Hopkins – British composer Jon Hopkins, whose work has been nominated for
Grammy, Mercury and Ivor Novello Awards, makes his BBC Proms debut with the

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 world premiere of a 22-minute psychedelic drone epic for orchestra, choir and
piano, alongside reinterpretations of pieces from three of his critically acclaimed
albums. Conducted by Jules Buckley, and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra,
BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Singers (29 August).
• Rufus Wainwright – The multi-award-winning singer-songwriter and composer
returns to the Proms with two concerts on the same night. Marking 20 years since
the release of his lauded album Want One, which draws on everything from opera
to cabaret, chanson and jazz, Wainwright performs the world premiere of Want
Symphonic, both Want One and Want Two in brand-new orchestral arrangements
(5 September).
• Self Esteem – Rebecca Lucy Taylor has become one of the most engaging voices
in British music, combining big, bold choruses with lyrics whose honesty, humour
and directness have won the Rotherham-born singer an ever-growing list of fans
since the release of her 2021 album Prioritise Pleasure (Proms at Sage
Gateshead, 21 July).

Late Night Proms

• Yazz Ahmed and Arun Ghosh – Innovative trumpeter and composer Yazz Ahmed
and her quartet present a set of intoxicating, psychedelic jazz. Joining her is
clarinettist, composer and bandleader Arun Ghosh and his band, bringing
hypnotic rhythms and transcendental textures (Proms at Sage Gateshead, 21
July).
• Chorus of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Voices of the River’s Edge – Sage
Gateshead’s young people’s choir Voices of the River’s Edge joins the Chorus of
the Royal Northern Sinfonia and additional massed voices from across the North-
East in celebration of vocal music, including a new BBC commission by award-
winning composer Kristina Arakelyan (Proms at Sage Gateshead, 22 July).
• Moon and Stars with Anna Lapwood – Royal Albert Hall Associate Artist and
TikTok organ phenomenon Anna Lapwood makes her Proms solo recital debut
with a programme of evocative music by Debussy, Kristina Arakelyan, Philip Glass,
Hans Zimmer, and others (25 July).
• NYO Jazz and Dee Dee Bridgewater – Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Jazz
Orchestra performs a collection of jazz standard and big-band classics, featuring
special guest Dee Dee Bridgewater (1 August).
• Mindful Mix Prom – Experience the popular BBC Sounds Mindful Mix live. This
immersive musical meditation with the sounds of piano, strings and voices spans
centuries of music, featuring work from Philip Glass, Radiohead and Caroline Shaw
and performed by VOCES8, the Carducci String Quartet and Ola Gjeilo (9 August).

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 • Manchester Collective: Neon – The Manchester Collective takes inspiration from
the restless energy of crowded streets and sleepless nights, with music from Steve
Reich, Hannah Peel, Ben Nobuto, David Lang, and Oliver Leith (19 August).
• J. S. Bach – Counter-tenor Iestyn Davies, whose ‘utterly sublime’ singing and
‘gorgeous tone’ captivated audiences last season, returns for a Late Night concert.
He is joined by period-instrument group The English Concert for two of Bach’s solo
cantatas (25 August).
• BBC Singers – the BBC Singers appear with their Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin in
a programme showcasing a broad range of repertoire, including recent
commissions by Soumik Datta and Joanna Marsh and a contemporary classic,
Cantique des cantiques by Jean Yves Daniel-Lesur (7 September).

Proms at venues across the UK

The Proms continues to explore new ways of bringing the joy of live music to audiences
across the UK. A weekend of six Proms at Sage Gateshead includes performances by the
Royal Northern Sinfonia and features classical, jazz, choral and chamber concerts, with a
CBeebies Prom for the whole family, and a special collaboration with singer-songwriter
Self Esteem. Across the UK, the ‘Proms at’ chamber concerts take place at Derry,
Aberystwyth, Dewsbury, Truro and Perth, and the BBC Concert Orchestra presents a
concert at the unique Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth as part of their ongoing residency.

Proms at Sage Gateshead

• Friday 21 July
7.30pm–c9.30pm // Sage One
Self Esteem
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Robert Ames conductor

• Friday 21 July
10.00pm–c11.45pm // Sage Two
Yazz Ahmed trumpet
Arun Ghosh clarinet

• Saturday 22 July
7.30pm–c9.30pm // Sage One
Kristian Bezuidenhout piano
Royal Northern Sinfonia

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 Dinis Sousa conductor

• Saturday 22 July
10.15pm–c11.15pm // Sage One
Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia
Voices of the River’s Edge

• Sunday 23 July
2.00pm–c3.45pm // Sage Two
Reginald Mobley counter-tenor
Baptiste Trotignon piano

• Sunday 23 July
3.00pm–c4.00pm // Sage One
CBeebies: Ocean Adventure
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Kwamé Ryan conductor

Proms at venues across the UK

• Derry
Saturday 15 July
2.00pm–c4.00pm // Guildhall, Derry
Stile Antico

• Aberystwyth
Sunday 30 July
2.00pm–c3.45pm // Aberystwyth Arts Centre
The Gesualdo Six
Owain Park director

• Dewsbury
Sunday 6 August
3.00pm–c5.00pm // Dewsbury Town Hall
Laura van der Heijden cello
Jâms Coleman piano

• Truro
Sunday 27 August

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 2.00pm–c4.00pm // Hall for Cornwall
Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

• Perth
Sunday 3 September
2.00pm–c3.45pm // Perth Concert Hall
Steven Osborne piano
Heath Quartet

• Great Yarmouth
Friday 8 September
6.00pm–c7.15pm // Hippodrome
Nathaniel Anderson-Frank violin
BBC Concert Orchestra
Anna-Maria Helsing conductor

The festival is proud to champion orchestras and choirs from across the UK. We are
delighted to welcome 24 orchestras and choirs, from Bournemouth, Birmingham,
Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Gateshead, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Salford, and
Liverpool, as well as the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, the University of
Birmingham Voices, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and the Royal Northern
College of Music Chamber Choir.

In addition to the BBC’s orchestras and choirs, the full list of visiting orchestras and
choirs from across the UK is: Academy of Ancient Music, Aurora Orchestra,
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Chineke! Orchestra, City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Dunedin Consort, The English Concert,
The Hallé and Hallé Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, London Symphony
Orchestra Chorus, Manchester Collective, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Chorus of The Royal Northern
Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Chorus, Sinfonia of London,
VOCES8.

Relaxed, family and learning

• Horrible Histories: ’Orrible Opera – The Horrible Histories team delve into
music’s biggest, bloodiest and most dramatic genre. Discover the stories behind
some of opera’s best-loved tunes, with actors from the TV show, the Birmingham
Stage Company, ENO Opera singers, and the orchestra and chorus of English

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 National Opera (Saturday 22 July, matinee and evening). To be broadcast on TV.
The evening performance is a relaxed performance with BSL (British Sign
Language).
• Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with Felix Klieser – A relaxed performance
of highlights from the previous evening, plus pieces by Walton and Ukrainian
composer Myroslav Skoryk. The concert will include BSL and onstage
presentation (3 August).
• Fantasy, Myths and Legends – Anna-Maria Helsing conducts the BBC Concert
Orchestra in an evening of orchestral fantasy and adventure featuring classic
soundtracks from film, television and gaming’s greatest myths and legends (28
August).
• Aurora Orchestra – An innovative and informative dramatisation of the origins of
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, followed by a performance, entirely from memory
(2 September).
• CBeebies: Ocean Adventure – A musical ocean adventure at Proms at Sage
Gateshead, which had its premiere at the BBC Proms 2022 and is currently on a
UK tour. Join CBeebies friends JoJo & Gran Gran and the Royal Northern Sinfonia
under Kwamé Ryan at this concert for all the family (Proms at Sage Gateshead,
23 July).

ENDS.

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