Chineke! plays Dvorak at the BBC Proms

Linton Stephens celebrates summer music-making in the UK and beyond.

All summer we’re in residence at the Royal Albert Hall for highlights from the BBC Proms. Today, the groundbreaking Chineke! Orchestra performs Dvorak’s beloved Symphony No. 8, and superstar soprano Angel Blue joins the group for Barber’s nostalgia-infused Knoxville: Summer of 1915. There’s more from renowned French organist Olivier Latry as he puts the Royal Albert Hall’s magnificent organ through its paces in music that Bach originally wrote for solo violin: the awe-inspiring Chaconne from the Partita in D minor. And we make a return trip to the elegant Pittville Pump Rooms to hear more from Radio 3’s New Generation Artists at this year’s Cheltenham Music Festival. Today, the Astatine Trio play music by Felix Mendelssohn, and there’s Prokofiev from violinist Hana Chang.

From the BBC Proms 2026:
Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Angel Blue (soprano)
Chineke! Orchestra
Jonathon Heyward (conductor)

From Cheltenham Music Festival 2026:
Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
Astatine Trio

From the BBC Proms 2026:
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88
Chineke! Orchestra
Jonathon Heyward (conductor)

Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Gigout
Mein gläubiges Herze (Aria from Cantata No. 68)
Olivier Latry (organ of the Royal Albert Hall)

From Cheltenham Music Festival 2026:
Sergei Prokofiev
Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op.94a
Hana Chang (violin)
Jonathan Ware (piano)

From the 2026 Mozart Festival Würzburg:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457
Severin von Eckardstein (piano)

From the BBC Proms 2026:
Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Messerer
Chaconne (Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004)
Olivier Latry (organ of the Royal Albert Hall)

To listen to this programme (using most smart speakers), just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Live".