LA Phil to Perform in 2026 BBC Proms for First Time In Over Two Decades

A farewell concert of sorts, the director of the LA Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, leads as the orchestra performs at the Royal Albert Hall on August 11 this year. This year, Dudamel will be departing the Los Angeles orchestra to become the New York Philharmonic’s Music and Artistic Director in September. The concert is also significant as it marks the first time the LA Philharmonic has participated in the Proms in over two decades. 

The program is an oddity, presenting two opposing cosmic pictures through music. Beethoven begins the evening with his Symphony No. 6, often called the “Pastoral Symphony.” As its nickname suggests, the work is a pleasant–though not without its tense moments–picture of the rural setting, with the composer providing descriptive titles before each movement (“Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside”–“Scene by the brook”–“Merry gathering of country folk”–“Thunder, Storm”–“Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm”). 

The program’s second half will feature a portion of Thomas Adès’ Dante, which was, in fact, commissioned by the LA Phil. Dante–Part 1: Inferno, as those of you who’ve had to read the poem in school would guess, begins with grotesque scrapings on the violin accompanied by bells that only bring the music to horrific heights.