A seeming safe ticket – Handel, Bruckner, Clara Schumann and Beethoven’s Fifth – became in the hands of Elim Chan and the BBCSO a dazzling, joyous launch night

“Adventures in classical”, promises the BBC Radio 3 branding at the back of the stage for this year’s Proms season. It’s a slogan certain to irritate sticklers for grammar. But it may also fox anyone tempted to assume that a First Night programme culminating in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – perhaps the most famous piece of classical music out there – is less of an “adventure” in 2024, more of a safe bet. Particularly as preceded by a Handel favourite, some choral Bruckner, Clara Schumann’s best-known work and a world premiere too short to frighten anyone. On paper, this didn’t look high-octane.

What happened in the packed Royal Albert Hall was a different matter. The overture to Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks started with a monumental wash of sound, Elim Chan conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra baton-free, arms sweeping as if applying thick paint with a roller. But she also commanded minute pianissimos and a level of detail easily lost in this mixing-bowl acoustic. The fast movements were thrilling – as airborne and sprightly as the opening had been weighed down – with impossibly crisp trumpet playing and achingly stylish strings.

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