10. NYO at the Proms

More than 150 of the country's best young musicians embark on a musical journey to the underworld and back, under the watchful eye of conductor and composer, Thomas Adès. Always a highlight of any BBC Proms season, the National Youth Orchestra is at the Royal Albert Hall with a programme that opens with Liszt's intoxicating Mephisto Waltz No. 1, a whirlwind score based on Nikolaus Lenau’s epic poem Faust. Next is a rare treat of a new piece, conducted by the composer himself: Purgatorio–Dante ballet Part II is Thomas Adès’s contemplation of purgatory, the central act of his Grammy Award-winning ballet. To round off the concert, the orchestra delivers the dazzling Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. A vast young orchestra drenches the Royal Albert Hall in this mesmerising symphony. Presented by Petroc Trelawny.