It's here again, summer's longest and greatest classical-music event, the BBC Proms, July 18-Sept. 13. For a taste of the festival, here are highlights from the first days. Most broadcasts start at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time:
- July 18: Elgar, The Kingdom (Andrew Davis-BBC Symphony; soprano Erin Wall, mezzo Catherine Wyn-Rogers, tenor Andrew Staples, baritone Christopher Purves)
- July 19: Elgar, Tchaikovsky; Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Haochen Zhang); Qigang Chen, Joie éternelle; Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Maurice Ravel) (Long Yu-China Philharmonic)
- July 20: Roxanna Panufnik, Three Paths to Peace; R. Strauss, Die Frau ohne Schatten Suite; Mahler, Symphony No. 6 (Valery Gergiev-World Orchestra for Peace)
- July 21: R. Strauss, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche; Dvorák, Concerto for Violin in A minor, Op. 53 (Julia Fischer); Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 (David Zinman-Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich)
- July 22 [starts at 6:30 PDT]: R. Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier from Glyndebourne Festival Opera — Robin Ticciati-London Philharmonic; Kate Royal (Marschallin), Tara Erraught (Octavian), Lars Woldt (Baron Ochs), Teodora Gheorghiu (Sophie)
Strauss is getting royal treatment during the Proms, with complete performances of his operas, including Elektra and Salome, the latter with big names familiar to San Francisco audiences: Donald Runnicles conducting, Nina Stemme in the title role. These and other gems further down the road will get timely notices in Music News.