:00:32. > :00:34.The next eight weeks are crammed with the world's finest
:00:35. > :00:41.Welcome to a spectacular summer of music.
:00:42. > :00:46.Whether it's Mozart, Mahler, Bowie, Gershwin or Gospel
:00:47. > :00:49.which takes your fancy, there's something at the Proms
:00:50. > :00:54.In 20 minutes or so, the celebrated Argentine cellist
:00:55. > :01:01.Sol Gabetta makes her Proms debut with Elgar's Cello Concerto.
:01:02. > :01:04.The cello is in the spotlight at the Proms this year, with no
:01:05. > :01:05.fewer than ten concertos across the season.
:01:06. > :01:08.But we open tonight with Tchaikovsky's Romeo
:01:09. > :01:10.And Juliet overture, in this special year
:01:11. > :01:19.celebrating the life and work of William Shakespeare.
:01:20. > :01:27.And as you can see, the BBC Symphony Orchestra is already on the stage.
:01:28. > :01:29.The atmosphere in the Royal Albert Hall, as always as Leon the first
:01:30. > :01:37.night, is electric. Here comes the leader of the BBC
:01:38. > :01:57.Symphony Orchestra, Stephen Bryant. And their chief conductor,
:01:58. > :02:05.Sakari Oramo, to open La Marseillaise, the French
:02:06. > :04:01.national anthem - a Proms tribute to those
:04:02. > :04:11.who lost their lives in Nice. Tchaikovsky's fantasy
:04:12. > :25:04.overture Romeo And Juliet, performed by the BBC
:25:05. > :25:05.Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo.
:25:06. > :25:10.It's just one of an extraordinary range of music inspired
:25:11. > :25:20.by our greatest playwright. And there will be lots more to come
:25:21. > :25:23.in this year's Proms celebrations to mark 400 years
:25:24. > :25:32.since Shakespeare's death. Tchaikovsky was a huge admirer
:25:33. > :25:34.of Shakespeare ? in his letters, he wrote glowingly about the Bard's
:25:35. > :25:37.work, and even learnt English so he could read the plays
:25:38. > :25:53.in their original language. Next tonight, Elgar's
:25:54. > :25:55.Cello Concerto, one of my Elgar completed it at his cottage
:25:56. > :25:59.in Sussex in the summer of 1919, just months before the death
:26:00. > :26:02.of his beloved wife, Alice. Don't expect Pomp And Circumstance ?
:26:03. > :26:06.it's often described as autumnal, written shortly after the horrors
:26:07. > :26:08.of World War 1 and haunted cellist Sol Gabetta,
:26:09. > :26:16.by the hugely popular Argentine taking her own distinctive
:26:17. > :26:35.approach to this music. The intimacy you have in the
:26:36. > :26:39.concerto is unique. For example, especially in the first movement.
:26:40. > :26:43.Many times, the cello it is playing almost alone. The Orchestra is
:26:44. > :26:48.somewhere there, they want to support you but they leave you
:26:49. > :26:57.alone. If I lose myself, I can just forget
:26:58. > :27:05.myself and get into the music. I am sure I will have so many strong
:27:06. > :27:13.emotional moments in this evening of the Proms.
:27:14. > :27:23.So here comes Sol Gabetta performing at The Proms for the first time ?
:27:24. > :27:26.she's with the conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra Sakari Oramo
:27:27. > :27:45.to perform Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor.
:27:46. > :56:34.MUSIC: Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor by Edward Elgar
:56:35. > :56:45.Thunderous applause here for Sol Gabetta.
:56:46. > :56:48.Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, played by soloist Sol Gabetta,
:56:49. > :56:53.with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo.
:56:54. > :57:07.The First Night of the Prom continues at 8.30pm on BBC4 ? do
:57:08. > :57:08.turn over, we've got Prokofiev's glorious Cantata
:57:09. > :57:12.And I also think we might be getting an encore!
:57:13. > :57:27.Join me, Katie Derham, as I don my dancing shoes once again
:57:28. > :57:31.to take to the floor with the Strictly professionals.