NEW YEAR'S CONCERT

PROGRAMBENJAMN BRITTEN, WILLIAM WALTON, EDWARD ELGAR, GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ, EDVARDGRIEG

Conductor YOEL GAMZOSOPHIE BEVANBaritone TOMASZ KUMIĘGAPiano BENJAMIN GROSVENOrchestra and Orchestra of the Teatr Wielkiego - National Opera

The end and beginning of the year have a special energy in music. This is a time of rituals, great emotions and programs created with a bang. Vienna's New Year's Eve concerts at the Musikverein attract the audience with tradition - listeners know when to clap to the rhythm of the Radetsky March of Johann Strauss (father), and when to get carried away by the undulating melody An der schönen blauen Donau by Johann Strauss (son). London's Last Night of the Proms surprises with its repertoire and the invariably sounding Land of Hope and Glory by Edward Elgar. On the other hand, the finals of artistic seasons are often a demonstration of the strength of the whole team — a moment when institutions reach for a particularly impressive and engaging repertoire.

What would it be like to combine the energies of these three musical traditions in one evening? Yoel Gamzou and the invited guests will try to answer this question. In the spirit of the BBC Proms, the programme will be dominated by masterpieces by English creators: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra op. 34 and Les Illuminations op. 18 by Benjamin Britten, Pomp and Circumstance by Edward Elgar, Crown Imperial by William Walton and even Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

The grand finale of the season will be Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 16 performed by Benjamin Grosvenor — a frequent guest of the BBC Proms and winner of the 2020 Diapason d'Or de l'année award for the recording of Fryderyk Chopin's piano concertos. The overture for Grażyna Bacewicz's orchestra will bring a local accent, referring to the exceptionally “urban” character of Vienna's New Year's Eve concerts.

On stage, the conductor will also be accompanied by two singers. Soprano Sophie Bevan knows the atmosphere of London's Royal Albert Hall perfectly — in 2024 she performed at the first evening concert of the BBC Proms. This time she will sing on New Year's Eve in Warsaw, and she will be partnered with the well-known audience of the Teatr Wielki — the National Opera baritone Tomasz Kumięga.

It promises to be an evening full of brilliance, energy, hope and glory — actually two evenings, because the program will also return during the New Year's concert.