Opus Arte

Photo © Neil Rickards

The First Night of the Proms is one of the most anticipated dates of the classical music season. This year, 76 concerts are taking place at the Royal Albert Hall, in addition to a series of Chamber Proms and matinee concerts at Cadogan Hall and a selection of special events before the season culminates in the famous Last Night and the Proms in the Park, in Hyde Park on September 11.

13 May 1833 – the premiere of Mendelssohn’s fourth symphony, the Italian symphony, in London. The work was a partial fulfilment of a commission from the Philharmonic Society of London and, at its premiere, Mendelssohn conducted the piece himself. He was never fully satisfied with it however, and stopped the score from ever being published in his lifetime.

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is a relative youngster, having been founded in 1949. It is one of three orchestras serving the city of Munich and derives its name from its association with the Bayerischer Rundfunk

© Alberto Venzago/LSO (2010)

The London Symphony Orchestra lives in the Barbican, its home since 1982, and is considered to be one of the world’s more flamboyant orchestras. It was founded in 1904 and was the first self-governing orchestra in the UK. In 1912, The LSO was booked onto The Titanic, to transport it across the Atlantic for an American tour, but last minute changes of plans averted the sinking of the orchestra.

© Jordan Fischer (9/12/2005)

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra began life in 1891 and is referred to as one of the American ‘Big Five’, alongside the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras.