Prom 1 2016, Royal Albert Hall

The Proms shine a spotlight on music for the cello this year, and so the season opens with one of the most loved pieces in the repertoire, Elgar’s Cello Concerto. The soloist is Sol Gabetta from Argentina, who describes the work as “not a battle with the orchestra, but a dialogue”.

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Written in 1919, and shot through with both personal and shared pain in the aftermath of the First World War, the intensely moving and at times determinedly buoyant concerto was popularised by a landmark recording in 1965 by Jacqueline du Pre that casts a long shadow over her successors as soloist. Gabetta admits du Pre is a hard act to follow but says, “I’ve found the Elgar in me…”.

The concert opens with Tchaikovsky’s fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet, introducing the Proms’ Shakespeare thread in the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death, and concludes with Prokofiev’s stirring cantata Alexander Nevsky, with the mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina. Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and BBC National Chorus of Wales.

General booking opens Saturday 7 May, 9:00.