Here's your brief guide to the BBC Proms concert taking place at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday, 26 July 2024. Want to stay across all the 2024 Proms? Head to our full BBC Proms 2024 listings to find every concert and every performer.
What's on at the Proms today?
Today's Prom, Prom 10, features the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth in performances of the Symphonic Suite from Benjamin Britten's Gloriana and Edward Elgar's upbeat and emotional Symphony No. 2 in E flat major. They're then joined by the brilliant cellist Laura van der Heijden for a performance of ‘Earth, Sea, Air’, the cello concerto dedicated to her by contemporary British composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad.
What is Gloriana by Benjamin Britten?
Gloriana is an opera by Benjamin Britten, composed for the Royal Opera House’s celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The opera follows the life story of the Queen’s predecessor, Elizabeth I. ‘Gloriana’ was a nickname bestowed on her by the 16th-century poet Edmund Spenser. Though the opera was a critical failure, and rarely performed today, a series of Courtly Dances celebrating the Queen’s virtues are often performed as a concert piece.
Gloriana's main narrative thrust is the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Depicting Elizabeth I as a somewhat flawed queen, Gloriana was not a success for Britten. However, a symphonic suite was taken from it, which remains very popular and which you'll hear today. Its Courtly Dances, in particular, are well loved.
What about Elgar's Symphony No. 2?
Begun a couple of years after his acclaimed First Symphony, Elgar's Symphony No. 2 is in many ways a more thoughtful work than its boisterous, confident predecessor. However, it has many wonderful moments: the opening movement is warm-hearted and high-spirited, with some unforgettable melodies, while the Larghetto second movement is one of the great slow movements in the British symphonic repertoire, right up there with the Romanza from Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony.
Who is Laura van der Heijden?
Laura van der Heijden is one of the most talented and incisive cellists performing today. She memorably won the 2012 BBC Young Musician of the Year at the age of 15, with arguably one of the best Young Musician performances of all time.
She's also exceptionally thoughtful and articulate about music, and about her own musical journey, as you can discover in our interview with Laura van der Heijden. You can also listen to a special episode of our podcast, in which Laura talks to our editor Charlotte Smith about how musicians cope with pressure.
