BBC Proms schedule: Full programme of events
Read on for every concert taking place during the 2021 BBC Proms.
It’s billed as the ‘World’s Greatest Classical Music Festival’ and is one of the most popular parts of the BBC’s summer schedule each year – yes, it is time for the BBC Proms.
Running from Friday 30th July until Saturday 11th September, the festival takes place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary. While last year the event was virtual, this year audiences are being welcomed back and coverage of the concerts will also feature on the BBC for those not lucky enough to get tickets.
BBC Radio 3 will be broadcasting every concert live, and they will also be broadcast on BBC Sounds and will be available on demand, too. Twenty Proms will also be shown on BBC TV, including the famous First Night of the Proms and the Last Night of the Proms.
The full schedule is listed below, followed by details of how you can book tickets to one of the 52 concerts that are performed over the 44 day festival.
BBC Proms Schedule
Friday 30th July, 7.30pm – First Night of the Proms 2021
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The BBC Symphony Orchestra launch the 2021 Proms with a programme featuring Vaughan Williams, Poulenc and a world premiere by Sir James MacMillan.
Saturday 31st July, 7.30pm – The Golden Age of Broadway
Classic Broadway songs from Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and more performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Sunday 1st August, 11.45am – Organ Recital
Organist Martin Baker celebrates the Royal Albert Hall’s 150th anniversary.
Sunday 1st August, 8pm – An Evening of Mozart with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra performs Mozart’s final three symphonies, all composed in the summer of 1788.
Monday 2nd August, 1pm and 6pm – Michael Collins, Adrian Brendel and Michael McHale celebrate Zemlinsky
A fresh take on composer Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Clarinet Trio.
Monday 2nd August, 7.30pm – Ryan Bancroft Conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The orchestra explores who composers including Purcell and Brahms used the hypnotic repeated pattern of the ‘chaconne’.
Tuesday 3rd August, 7.30pm – Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven
Conductor Ben Gernon leads this BBC Philharmonic Prom.
Wednesday 4th August, 7.30pm – Vaughan Williams, Respighi and Mendelssohn
Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji performs with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Thursday 5th August, 7.30pm – Grazinyte-Tyla Conducts the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performs the work of British composer Ruth Gipps.
Friday 6th August, 7.30pm – The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Celebrates Stravinsky
Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform ‘Pulcinella’.
Saturday 7th August, 7.30pm – Nicola Benedetti and the NYOGB
The teenagers of the National Youth Orchestra perform work including Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony.
Sunday 8th August, 7.30pm – Dvorák’s ‘New World’ Symphony
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales performs Dvorák’s Ninth Symphony.
Monday 9th August, 1pm and 6pm – The Marian Consort Performs Josquin
Vocal ensemble The Marian Consort performs Josquin des Prez.
Monday 9th August, 7.30pm – Elgar’s Cello Concerto
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra perform with cello soloist Johannes Moser.
Tuesday 10th August, 7.30pm – Parallel Universes
Britta Byström’s Parallel Universes is performed alongside Sibelius’s Romantic Violin Concerto.
Wednesday 11th August, 3.30pm and 8pm – Stravinsky from Memory
The Aurora Orchestra perform Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite from memory.
Thursday 12th August, 7.30pm – Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO
Jurowski makes his final appearance as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor.
Friday 13th August, 7.30pm – Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra are conducted by Brabbins for this concert featuring works by Payne, Berlioz and Beethoven.
Saturday 14th August, 7.30pm – Víkingur Ólafsson Plays Bach and Mozart
Icelandic pianist Ólafsson makes his Proms debut.
Sunday 15th August, 7pm – Abel Selaocoe: Africa Meets Europe
South African cellist Selaocoe blends traditional playing styles with improvisation, singing and body percussion in this concert.
Monday 16th August, 1pm and 6pm – The Marmen Quartet Plays Haydn and Simpson
The Marmen Quartet make their BBC Proms debut.
Monday 16th August, 7.30pm – To Soothe the Aching Heart
British opera stars perform excerpts on themes of separation and reconciliation.
Tuesday 17th August, 7.30pm – Manchester Collective
Manchester Collective make their Proms debut alongside harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani.
Wednesday 18th August, 7.30pm – Nubya Garcia
British saxophonist, composer, DJ and bandleader Garcia makes her Proms debut.
Thursday 19th August, 7.30pm – The BBC Singers and Shiva Feshareki
Experimental composer Feshareki joins the BBC Singers for a choral playlist that includes the world premiere of Aetherworld.
Friday 20th August, 7.30pm – Mystery Prom
Details of this prom will be revealed nearer the time.
Saturday 21st August, 7.30pm – Moses Sumney Meets Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
A concert blending soul, jazz, art-pop and spoken word.
Sunday 22nd August, 7.30pm – Sir Simon Rattle Conducts the London Symphony Orchestra
Simon Rattle conducts a concert to mark the 2021 Stravinsky anniversary.
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- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Monday 23rd August, 1pm and 6pm – The Sound of Argentina
Guitarist Sean Shibe makes his Proms debut in this concert also featuring flautist Adam Walker and mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta.
Monday 23rd August, 7.30pm – Mystery Prom
Details of this prom will be revealed nearer the time.
Tuesday 24th August, 7.30pm – Chineke! Orchestra
Britain’s only majority Black and ethnically diverse orchestra returns to the Proms.
Wednesday 25th August, 3.30pm and 8pm – Eight Seasons
Violinist Joshua Bell performs with the Academy of St Martin In The Fields.
Thursday 26th August, 7.30pm – George Lewis and Beethoven
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Second Symphony alongside a world premiere from American composer George Lewis.
Friday 27th August, 7.30pm – Charlotte Bray, Walton & Arnold
William Walton’s Viola Concerto, Malcolm Arnold’s Symphony No 5 and the premiere of Charlotte Bray’s Where Icebergs Dance Away are featured.
Saturday 28th August, 7.30pm – Bartók Roots
Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja traces the evolution of Hungarian folk song in this Prom.
Sunday 29th August, 2.30pm and 7pm – Family Prom
A special family performance of Saint-Saëns’s zoological fantasy, The Carnival of the Animals, featuring author Michael Morpurgo.
Monday 30th August, 1pm and 6pm – French Fancies
Three oboe sonatas by Saint-Saëns, Dutilleux and Poulenc will be performed at this Anglo-French Prom.
Monday 30th August, 7.30pm – Sir George Benjamin Conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Sir George Benjamin conducts works including Ravel’s Piano Concerto.
Tuesday 31st August, 5pm – Wagner’s Tristan & Isolde
The Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Tristan and Isolde.
Wednesday 1st September, 7.30pm – Sir John Eliot Gardiner Conducts the Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists
Sir John makes his 60th Proms appearance, directing music from Bach and Handel.
Thursday 2nd September, 7.30pm – 20th Century British Film Music
Classic British film scores, including The Cruel Sea and The Belles of St Trinian’s, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Friday 3rd September, 7.30pm – Semyon Bychkov Conducts the BBC SO and Kirill Gerstein
Russian-American pianist Gerstein returns to the Proms.
Saturday 4th September, 11.45am – Organ Recital
Organist Thomas Trotter pays tribute to composer Saint-Saëns.
Saturday 4th September, 7.30pm – John Wilson Conducts the Sinfonia of London
The Sinfornia performs a programme that includes Ravel and Johann Strauss II.
Sunday 5th September, 7.30pm – Sheku Kanneh-Mason Plays Dvorak’s Cello Concerto
This concert also features former BBC Young Composer winner Grace-Evangeline Mason presenting a world premiere.
Monday 6th September, 1pm and 6pm – Pauline Viardot and Her Circle
BBC New Generation Artist Ema Nikolovska and pianist Malcolm Martineau perform music by the 19th century composer.
Monday 6th September, 7.30pm – BBC Concert Orchestra and James McVinnie
Organist McVinnie performs Philip Glass’s Mad Rush, in a concert that also features the premiere of Samy Moussa’s A Globe Itself Unfolding.
Tuesday 7th September, 7.30pm – Benjamin Grosvenor Performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no 4
The programme also includes Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony and the Proms debut of soloist Anna Lapwood.
Wednesday 8th September, 7.30pm – Mystery Prom
Details of this prom will be revealed nearer the time.
Thursday 9th September, 7pm – Bach’s St Matthew Passion
Period-instrument ensemble Arcangelo return to the Proms with the Arcangelo Chorus.
Friday 10th September, 7.30pm – Mystery Prom
Details of this prom will be revealed nearer the time.
Saturday 11th September, 7.30pm – Last Night of the Proms 2021
The climax of the music festival, featuring – of course – Rule, Britannia!, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 in D Major (Land of Hope and Glory) and Jerusalem.
You will find more information on how to book tickets to the BBC Proms here. And if you’re looking for something to watch, check out our TV Guide.
