From a forest to an all-star trio and the fires of hell – my pick of new music coming to the Proms this year
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- BBC Proms opens Friday with eight weeks of music at the Royal Albert Hall and beyond, curated by Radio 3 and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
- Josephine Stephenson's "That the Sunrise Not Leave Us Unmoved" receives its world premiere on the First Night (July 20), paired with Jessie Montgomery's cello concerto "These Righteous Paths," written for Abel Selaocoe.
- György Kurtág's "Stele," a 1994 memorial to András Mihály, opens with a Beethoven Fidelio reference and offers "no release" from its vision of a wounded figure under a blue sky; the BBC Symphony and Sakari Oramo perform it July 22.
- Kristine Tjøgersen's "Between Trees" (2021), inspired by fungal forest networks and opening with squirrels eating nuts, receives its Proms performance with the London Philharmonic and Edward Gardner on July 27.
- Two triple concertos premiere in the season: Édith Canat de Chizy's "Skyline" for three percussionists and timpani (August 18), and Gwilym Simcock's concerto for an all-star trio of Jess Gillam, Ben Goldscheider, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason (September 6).
- Thomas Adès conducts the National Youth Orchestra in "Purgatorio" (August 8), while Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in "Inferno" and the UK premiere of Gabriela Ortiz's "Revolución Diamantina."
- Thea Musgrave's bassoon concerto "Out of the Darkness," composed for Amy Harman, receives its world premiere on August 23, bookended by Dowland/Purcell recitals and a period-instrument Mahler Ninth from the Mahler Academy Orchestra.
Why it matters: This season concentrates eight weeks of new classical music into one platform, delivering world premieres from established figures like Thea Musgrave alongside rising voices like Kristine Tjøgersen — all broadcast free on Radio 3 to audiences far beyond the Royal Albert Hall's capacity.
