Review: BBC PROMS: JOHN WILSON CONDUCTS BERNSTEIN AND RAVEL, Royal Albert Hall

“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.

The evening began by taking us back to the fin de siècle, and a piece about a character who epitomises the lustful lover: Don Juan (or Don Giovanni, if you think of the Mozart opera). This rambunctious piece, just shy of 20 minutes long, manages to include three seductions and a dramatic death.

What was immediately noticeable was Wilson’s unique conducting style; his baton more like a paintbrush in his hand, his actions were both sweeping and precise - his more expansive brushstrokes producing the biggest sounds from the orchestra, and his defined actions filling in the details. It was very difficult to take your eyes off him as the music seemed to take control of his limbs altogether.

If you are terminally online, you may have noticed a lot of talk about the return of yearning - specifically in male characters in films and TV programmes. For a large portion of Bernstein’s Serenade, the solo violin part (played expressively by James Ehnes) was so redolent of this feeling that it almost felt that it was pining away itself. Indeed, it felt like this five-movement piece ran the gauntlet of emotion across half an hour; the more playful sections were performed with great energy by the Sinfonia. There was space here for platonic and romantic love to run side by side.

After such a masterful performance from Ehnes, it was only right that he returned to the stage for an encore - even if he admitted to having selfish reasons for doing so, after being given the opportunity to play an Alard Stradivari at this concert (“I think that this is, in fact, its Proms debut”, he joked). The fourth movement (“Allegro assai”) of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C major was a delightful way to close the first half, sending the audience into the interval all abuzz.

The final celebration of Ravel’s 150th anniversary at this Proms season came in the form of his ballet, Daphnis and Chloe - a piece which John Wilson has spent considerable time creating a new edition of in recent years. The Sinfonia of London Chorus joined the orchestra onstage for this hour-long piece; their wordless contributions added so much texture to the music, which found a perfect setting in the Royal Albert Hall auditorium.

At times the piece had the feel of an old school movie musical, and at others it morphed into a more radical early 20th century sound - in some ways it would have been nice to include some dancers in this presentation as well, but instead the audience’s imaginations were allowed a workout. It was also a real feat of stamina for the musicians, playing all three parts (each made up of various dances) with barely a pause for breath, creating an incredible flow of evocative sound.

But even that wasn’t enough for them, as they took several bows (Wilson taking time to credit almost every single individual performer) and returned to their music stands for an encore. Fittingly for the love theme, a suite from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty (“Panorama”) was chosen to close the concert; its lullaby-like qualities and fairytale romance also soothed the audience’s minds after the turbulent mythical romance between Daphnis and Chloe. Anyone who left the Hall early chose poorly, as they missed a real treat.

John Wilson and the Sinfonia always have popular appeal at the Proms, and this event was no different. Despite the poorly-timed throat-clearing efforts from several patrons (we are encroaching into prime coughing season now), it did nothing to detract from the terrific musicianship on display. It was another wonderful example of the power of the Proms and their continued appeal - this truly has been a thrilling season.

The BBC Proms run at the Royal Albert Hall until 13 September