Park and Storgårds lead BBC Proms in Sibelius and Strauss
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- Sueye Park made her Proms debut with the BBC Philharmonic under John Storgårds in Sibelius's violin concerto, the review praising her 'lean, silvery tone' and 'intensely lyrical' phrasing across all three movements
- John Storgårds conducted the BBC Philharmonic in Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, which the review said 'fits the Albert Hall perfectly,' with the subterranean organ 'turbocharging' the opening fanfares and a bell placed up in the gallery
- Betsy Jolas, who 'turns 100 in two weeks' time,' had her 1977 Tales of a Summer Sea — written to overcome a childhood fear of the ocean — performed by the orchestra with seven percussionists, gong and timpani to summon the storm
- Jupiter Ensemble, founded by lutenist Thomas Dunford, made a 'singularly idiosyncratic Proms debut' alongside British tenor Laurence Kilsby, marking 400 years since Dowland's death with pieces including Flow, My Tears and Sorrow, Stay
- The late-night Jupiter set closed with Dunford cajoling the audience into a group rendition of Hey Jude, a moment the review noted listeners will only catch via the broadcast
Why it matters: The BBC Proms used a single Royal Albert Hall evening to fold a centenary (Betsy Jolas turns 100 within two weeks), a quatercentenary (400 years since Dowland's death), and a breakthrough soloist (Sueye Park's Proms debut) into one double bill — an unusually dense concentration of milestone programming from a single orchestra-run event.
