After 86 concerts spanning over the past eight weeks, the 130th season of the Proms has come to a close, ending with the iconic Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, which has hosted over 3,000 musicians these past few months. This performance brings together the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Elim Chan, with some special guests joining in for the 3 ½-hour performance.

“All you need is love”, said The Beatles - a mantra that John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London seemed to take when putting together the programme for the penultimate Prom of 2025. With the starting point of Daphnis and Chloe, they expanded to include Richard Strauss’ tone poem Don Juan and Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade; the three pieces are also linked by Bernstein, as he “wrote or conducted and lectured on all three of these masterpieces”, explained conductor John Wilson in his programme interview. A very neat way to find three interlocked compositions.

South African soprano Golda Schultz is always a treat to hear; with honeyed tones, rich storytelling and nimble versatility, the programme at Saturday's prom was an excellent vehicle to show off her considerable skills.

The commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dmitry Shostakovich’s death continues at this year’s Proms, as Chineke! took on his epic Symphony No. 10 in E minor, headlining this concert with this composition brought to life in the wake of Stalinist oppression. Also on the programme were two premières: Valerie Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times and James Lee III’s Visions of Cahokia. As with their 2023 Proms appearance, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor rounded off the selection - this time with The Bamboula.

'Who doesn't check twice behind the shower curtain now?' asks presenter Edith Bowman, kicking off a spinetingling evening of thriller film soundtracks from the excellent BBC Concert Orchestra, under the assured direction of American conductor Edwin Outwater at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall.

Entering the Royal Albert Hall for St. Vincent’s performance at the BBC Proms feels like any other classical performance. The orchestra is in their usual place, warming up as audience members take their seats. However, this is anything but a normal showing at the Proms - quickly proven by the roar of approval from the crowd as St. Vincent (Annie Clark) takes to the stage with conductor Jules Buckley.

Written between 1930 and 1932, The Lady Macbeth of the Mtensk District was first performed in 1934 - and received a scathing write-up in the Pravda newspaper in 1936, due to its graphic sexual violence and murderous female lead. Whilst it alludes to Shakespeare’s infamous character, the opera is actually based on Nikolai Leskov’s novella of the same name; it also inspired William Oldroyd’s 2016 film starring Florence Pugh, whose screenplay was written by Alice Birch.

This intriguing and contrasting programme of folk songs and dances offers the woodwind, brass, and percussion sections of the orchestra to shine, and the virtuosity of the trombone soloist is a true treat. With work by Vaughan Williams, Tippett, Arnold and Grainger complemented by a concerto by Schuller, this concert offers both familiar and experimental pieces for those seeking something beyond the traditional classical music path.

Mozart's beloved comedy The Marriage of Figaro opened Glyndebourne's very first Festival in 1934 and is the renowned opera house's most performed work. No sooner has the production closed in Sussex, it reappeared in London at the BBC Proms for a super semi-staged version.

This programme of music seems to thrive on themes of togetherness, resilience, and support that may have also influenced the Russian composer at the mid-point of his life, the Hungarian maestro nearing the end of his, and even the bright young man setting out to shake us the music scene in Europe to excess. Will Mäkelä be the next young man to rock the foundations of the classical world? Wait and see.

The natural big events of every Proms season are the First and Last Nights - but when a superstar conductor in the making is booked for two appearances, these concerts also become moments to which audiences will gravitate. Klaus Mäkelä has plenty of achievements under his belt already, making his concerts appointment viewing; it came as no surprise that the Prommers were queued around the block before the doors opened, each hoping to claim a good spot for the evening.

How better to welcome the London Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor to this year’s Proms than with an opera-themed programme? Sir Antonio Pappano is a vibrant character in the world of classical music, and the Royal Albert Hall felt like a fitting venue for him to showcase his continued passion for the artform; two powerful 20th century operas were the order of the day, performed to a packed out auditorium.

At The Proms over the weekend, conductor Nicholas Collon and his remarkable Aurora Orchestra collaborated with contemporary theatre company Frantic Assembly to explore the dual meanings and hypocrisies surrounding this seminal piece of music. The result is an inspired and genuinely innovative way of delving into the heart of the piece to educate the audience without ever dipping into condescension.

Ever since I was first introduced to Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” in a course I took in university on Western Theatrical Dance, I have been in love with the piece. Two years ago, The Rite of Spring was performed at the BBC Proms in Prom 63: The Rite By Heart, which told the story of how Stravinsky created the piece and had the Aurora Orchestra perform it entirely from memory. It makes sense that when the BBC Proms announced Boléro and The Rite of Spring this year that I would be instantly wanting to see it!

It's 20 years since Anoushka Shankar made her Proms debut, along with her father Ravi Shakar. Since then she has eclipsed even his enduring reputation as a world-renowned sitarist. Now a multi-Grammy-nominated artist, a sitar virtuoso and prolific composer, Shankar makes a triumphant return to the Royal Albert Hall for her fifth Prom: the world-premiere performance of her deeply personal ‘Chapters’ trilogy of albums.

“Do, or do not. There is no try.” On this occasion, the National Youth Orchestra chose to ‘do’, as they took on some of the most iconic orchestral music of the 20th century. The teenage ensemble were very keen to perform Gustav Holst’s Planets, and so it was quite natural that a suite of music from the Star Wars films should follow; the first performance at the Proms of Caroline Shaw’s The Observatory was chosen as a natural bridge between the two. This was kimono-clad conductor Dalia Stasevska’s first time working with the National Youth Orchestra - her natural enthusiasm proved a great match for their youthful exuberance.

Bringing Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra back to the BBC Proms, last night’s concert offered a programme of Beethoven’s 'Symphony No. 7 in A major' alongside Bartok’s dark one-act opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. 

Lintu’s command of Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied is total, revealing both the drama and delicacy of the master's early work.

It was a night of concerti for this Prom, with Polish composers Grażyna Bacewicz and Witold Lutosławski on the programme alongside Sergei Rachmaninov; three 20th century classics to be performed, in the form of Concerto for String Orchestra, Concerto for Orchestra, and the already alluded to Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. On this occasion, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was led by Igor Yuzefovich, on loan from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

A program featuring one of the world's most beloved symphonies, a stunning piano concerto allowing pianist Alexandre Kantorow to show off his prowess, and a fascinating contemporary piece by Scottish composer Jay Capperauld, the 10th BBC Prom 2025 marks a triumph for conductor Maxim Emelyanychev and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

From the moment the first note rang out, this was no ordinary Proms night. Four wildly different pieces, one restless thread: mischief. Mendelssohn is the marquee name here but really this was a foray into the world of fairytale birds, lyrical longing, mythological monkeys and death-defying pranksters.

Pierre Boulez and Luciano Berio were both born one hundred years ago in Montbrison and Oneglia, respectively. During the course of their lengthy careers, they worked separately and together, innovating in their own ways as the 20th century brought new technology to music. For this Late Night Prom, Ensemble intercontemporain (under conductor Pierre Bleuse) brought together three pieces to engage the two composers in posthumous conversation in the lofty surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall.

How better to celebrate a selection of Gallic compositions than with Cristian Măcelaru conducting the Orchestre Nationale de France? The programme for the evening was bookended by a pair of pieces by Ravel, with works by Joseph Bologne (better known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges), Charlotte Sohy and Ernest Chausson - with young American violinist Randall Goosby making his first appearance at the Proms as the night’s featured soloist.

A slightly curious evening lay in wait with this Prom, performed by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the guiding baton of Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth. Shostakovich, Ravel and Walton are all familiar names to the classical music enthusiast, but the pieces themselves don’t appear to have anything to link them; that it’s the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death and the 150 years since Ravel’s birth is possibly as close as we’re going to get.

Once Proms season comes around, there aren’t many better places to be on a Sunday morning than at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a return to more traditional Proms fare this time, with a trip to the 17th and 18th centuries for a selection of mostly Vivaldi and Bach pieces - although the programme also featured work from some of their contemporaries, such as Giovanni Legrenzi and Nicola Matteis Jr.