Last Updated on July 29, 2026
Three Masterpieces, One Outstanding Prom
4.6 out of 5.0 starsHow do you pick your Proms? Now that I’m not always in London, choosing which Proms to attend is a real challenge. The breadth of programming is extraordinary, often featuring orchestras and soloists who only appear in London once or twice a year. I try my best to balance going for repertoire that I know and love against programmes that intrigue me. This year’s Sibelius Prom was one of those happy discoveries for me, more by chance than design, because Sibelius’s Second Symphony is an iconic work and one of his most popular.
So, back at the Royal Albert Hall for another great orchestral Prom, last night saw Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo direct the BBC Symphony Orchestra with a programme of Mark Anthony Turnage’s Festen Suite – a BBC co-commission and UK premiere drawn from his highly acclaimed opera Festen (2024) followed by Britten’s Cello Symphony in the first half. Sibelius’s Second Symphony made up the second half.
Having missed out on Festen (my colleague gave it a confident five stars), I was truly delighted to have a chance to hear Turnage’s work. Made up of eight short movements, it was engaging and dynamic. The prelude, with restless rhythmic energy, was brilliantly delivered by Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra – precise and articulate playing throughout. As the work progressed, there were Jazz-inflected passages with slides and swing rhythms that perhaps could have been enjoyed more by the orchestra, contrasting with some wonderfully vocal string solos. It’s a great showcase for Turnage’s brilliant orchestral colouring – and eminently accessible without being sanitised or oversimplified. I’m going to make the most of BBC Sounds and listen again because, as with many new works, it’s far too easy to miss the nuances.
Britten’s Cello Symphony followed. Guy Johnston, the soloist, won BBC Young Musician in 2000 and made his Prom debut the following year, playing Elgar’s Cello Concerto. With a strong commitment to British music and contemporary composition, the programming seemed like a marriage made in heaven. The concept of the Cello Symphony is that the soloist is woven into the orchestral fabric rather than dominating the work.
Quintessential Britten, there were echoes of folk music, biting rhythms and rapid dialogues between soloist and orchestra. Rather than standing apart as a virtuoso soloist, Johnston seemed almost to emerge from the orchestral texture before disappearing back into it. The Adagio offered a platform for long, singing cello lines suspended over dark orchestral harmonies.
Finally, the Passacaglia, gradually building tension into an extraordinary cadenza brilliantly executed by Johnston, led into a haunting ending with fabulous trumpet solos.
I’ve already listened to a few snippets of this work again. Listening back on BBC Sounds confirmed my suspicion that the acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall, at least where I was sitting, were less than ideal. The balance between brass and woodwind, the string section and the soloist seemed uncomfortable. In the recording (and I suspect for the Prommers and anyone sitting towards the centre of the hall) there’s a far better dialogue between the different orchestral sections and the soloist. Such are the challenges of historic venues!
We did get a chance to enjoy a little more Johnston – he introduced his encore with a story, I suspect something that truly inspired him. As a sixteen-year-old, sitting in the cello section of the National Youth Orchestra, he played Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra under Rostropovich (himself originally a cellist). The encore, the Coda from Britten’s third Cello Suite, was written for Rostropovich, who was both a close friend and a devout Russian Orthodox Christian. It’s made up of four Russian melodies – a haunting and beautiful way to end the first half.
There’s something especially rewarding about hearing Sibelius interpreted by a Finnish conductor. While great music transcends national boundaries, Oramo brings an instinctive understanding of the composer’s sound world and musical landscape.
A violinist-turned-conductor, Oramo transitioned from leading the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra to conducting in the 1990s. He succeeded Sir Simon Rattle at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and has been Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 2013. Widely regarded as one of the foremost conductors of Finnish and Nordic repertoire, it seems fitting that this programme centred on Finland’s greatest composer, Sibelius.
It was evident from the opening bars that Oramo was in his element here. The orchestra thrived, with beautiful woodwind passages, warm strings, and soulful undertones of Eastern European melodies.
The second movement started with an astonishingly precise pizzicato dialogue between basses and cellos interrupted by a plaintive melody on the bassoon that grew into a wonderfully lyrical melody.
An explosive scherzo with energetic strings and sharply articulated woodwind followed, melting into another charismatic melody led by the oboe.
The finale with one of Sibelius’s best-known themes built gradually, with the orchestra seeming to grow organically. Under the baton of Oramo, it seemed entirely natural – an orchestra playing at its best.
It’s rare to come away from a Prom wanting to revisit every work on the programme. This was one of those evenings. Thanks to BBC Sounds, there’s every opportunity to do exactly that over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, if you want to go to the Proms yourself, the festival runs from 17th July to 12 September 2026, with many performances at the Royal Albert Hall and others at venues around the UK. Find out more
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore,
South Kensington,
London SW7 2AP
Leave a Reply