The 2025 BBC Proms programme has been unveiled, promising an eight-week musical festival from Friday, 18 July to Saturday, 13 September 2025. This year’s Proms draw together a distinguished roster of soloists, orchestras, conductors, and ensembles from across the globe.
A total of 86 Proms events will be staged, with 72 concerts hosted at London’s Royal Albert Hall, complemented by 14 performances in UK locations including Bradford, Sunderland (both making their Proms debut), Bristol, Gateshead, and Belfast.
String soloists are prominently featured throughout the festival, many of whom have been highlighted in The Strad. They will present both iconic favourite works and newly explored pieces. Key string-centric concerts include:
Opening the Proms on Friday, 18 July, acclaimed violinist Lisa Batiashvili will perform the enduringly popular Sibelius Violin Concerto alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo.
On Saturday, 20 July, French violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and his ensemble Le Consort will make their Proms debut with a programme featuring violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi and works by Carl Avison, Giovanni Legrenzi, Benedetto Marcello, and Matteo Junior.
Randall Goosby, the American violinist, will debut at the Proms on Wednesday, 23 July, performing Joseph Bologne’s Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8 and Ernest Chausson’s expressive Poème with the Orchestre National de France under Cristian Măcelaru.
The next evening, Thursday, 24 July, violinist Augustin Hadelich will perform Mendelssohn’s celebrated Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo, featured alongside music by Stravinsky, Anthony Davis, and Richard Strauss.
On Tuesday, 5 August, Liya Petrova will perform Vaughan Williams’s evocative The Lark Ascending with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Nil Venditti during the Great British Classics Prom, which also includes works by Walton, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Britten, William Mathias, John Rutter, Grace Williams, and closes with Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
From 8 to 9 August, the Royal Albert Hall will host the ‘From Dark Till Dawn’ all-night Prom featuring organist Anna Lapwood, cellist Anastasia Kobekina, pianist Hayato Sumino, and the Norwegian ensemble Barokksolistene.
On Friday, 22 August, violinist Joshua Bell, along with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Dalia Stasevska, will present the UK premiere of Thomas de Hartmann’s Violin Concerto. This concert also features Górecki’s powerful Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.
The following day, Saturday, 23 August, violinist and director Zoë Beyers will lead the Britten Sinfonia in a Prom at Bristol Beacon. The programme includes works by Mozart, Arvo Pärt, and Gavin Higgins, with violin soloist Miranda Dale.
Conductor Klaus Mäkelä, making his Proms debut as chief conductor designate of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, appears on Sunday, 24 August. Violinist Janine Jansen will join for a performance of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1, a recording recently recommended by The Strad.
On Sunday, 31 August, Pekka Kuusisto takes the stage both as violinist and director of strings with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. Joined by singer and composer Katarina Barruk, the performance will include traditional joik songs from Sábmie alongside pieces by Michael Tippett, Philip Glass, Hannah Kendall, Bach, and Caroline Shaw. The programme concludes with Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, an arrangement of his String Quartet No. 8 by Rudolf Barshai.
The April 2025 cover artist of The Strad, violinist Arabella Steinbacher, will perform on Sunday, 7 September with Vasily Petrenko conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She will present Darius Milhaud’s Le boeuf sur le toit in a violin and orchestra arrangement.
Cellist Anastasia Kobekina returns to the Proms on Wednesday, 10 September, performing Shostakovich’s emotionally charged Cello Concerto No. 1 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Delyana Lazarova. The concert will close with Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor.
For detailed information on all events and performances, explore the full 2025 BBC Proms programme here.
— The Violin Post Editorial Staff
