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Mark Forrest live from the Royal Albert Hall

Mark Forrest keeps the Proms Countdown atmosphere buzzing with star guests and live music as crowds gather outside the Royal Albert Hall.

The sound of summer pours from your radio in Proms Countdown 2026. From first light to the very first note of the BBC Proms, Radio 3 broadcasts live from the Royal Albert Hall. Tom McKinney, Georgia Mann, Mark Forrest and Katie Derham take you behind the scenes as excitement builds for the opening night — from unlocking the doors to the moment the performers step on stage.

Proms Countdown is your access-all-areas pass, with exclusive interviews from Proms performers, backstage stories and live performance — a front-row seat to the sounds and stars of the world’s greatest classical music festival.

Around 1 o’clock, as First Night rehearsals pause for lunch, the Gallery of the Royal Albert Hall becomes our stage. Violinist Alena Baeva joins Mark Forrest and performs live, exclusively for Proms Countdown. She returns to the Proms later in July with Korngold’s Violin Concerto. And there's more live music from Chineke! musicians, who'll be playing Dvorak's 'American' String Quartet and looking forward to playing his 8th Symphony later in the season. Plus composer Mark-Anthony Turnage drops by to tell Mark about the UK premiere of his Festen Suite, with music drawn from his acclaimed opera.

28 days left to listen

3 hours, 30 minutes

Last on

Yesterday13:00
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Dobrinka Tabakova

    Orpheus' Comet

    Orchestra: Hallé. Conductor: Delyana Lazarova.
    • Tabakova: Orpheus' Comet.
    • Halle Concerts Society.
    • 1.

  • Pyotr Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no.6 in B minor Op.74 'Pathetique' (3rd mvt)

    Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Conductor: Kirill Petrenko.
    • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique".
    • Berliner Philharmoniker.
    • 2.

  • Fritz Kreisler

    Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice, Op. 6

    Performer: Alena Baeva.

  • Henryk Wieniawski

    Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22 (3rd mvt, Finale à la Zingara)

    Performer: Alena Baeva. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Conductor: José Maria Florêncio.
    • Frederick Chopin Institute.

  • Antonio Vivaldi

    Clarinet Concerto No. 3 in F major, 'Il Mezzetino'

    Performer: Martin Frost. Music Arranger: Andreas N. Tarkmann. Orchestra: Concerto Köln.
    • Vivaldi.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 13-16.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 (4th mvt)

    Ensemble: Players from Chineke! Orchestra.

  • Florence Price

    Symphony No 1 in E minor (4th mvt, Finale)

    Orchestra: Chineke! Orchestra. Conductor: Roderick Cox.
    • Florence Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement; Symphony No. 1 in E Minor.
    • Decca.
    • 7.

  • Ralph Vaughan Williams

    Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

    Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Andrew Manze.
    • ONYX.

  • Grażyna Bacewicz

    Overture

    Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • Bacewicz: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1.
    • Chandos.
    • 109.

  • Paul Dukas

    The Sorceror's Apprentice

    Music Arranger: Victor Staub. Performer: Yuja Wang.
    • Fantasia.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 012.

  • Samuel Coleridge‐Taylor

    5 Fairy Ballads, No. 2, Alone with Mother

    Performer: Tom Poster. Performer: Amy Harman.
    • The Bassoonist’s Songbook.
    • Chandos Records Ltd.
    • 15.

  • Carl Heinrich Graun

    L'empio rigor del fato (Rodelinda, regina de' langobardi)

    Singer: Jeanine De Bique. Orchestra: Concerto Köln. Director: Luca Quintavalle.
    • Berlin Classics.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Mass in B minor (Sanctus and Osanna)

    Ensemble: Arcangelo. Conductor: Jonathan Cohen.
    • Bach: Mass in B minor.
    • Hyperion.
    • 10.

  • Mark‐Anthony Turnage

    Festen Suite (excerpt)

    Orchestra: Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Alondra de la Parra.

  • Richard Strauss

    4 Songs, Op. 27 (version for soprano and orchestra)

    Performer: Yoonshin Song. Singer: Louise Alder. Orchestra: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Nicholas Collon.
    • R. Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, TrV 233 & 4 Lieder, Op. 27, TrV 170.
    • Ondine.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19

    Performer: Martha Argerich. Orchestra: Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 4.

  • Charles Villiers Stanford

    The Blue Bird (8 Partsongs Op.119)

    Choir: Gabrieli Consort. Conductor: Paul McCreesh.
    • McCreesh: Silence & Music.
    • Signum Classics.
    • 1.

  • Gabriela Ortiz

    Revolucion diamantina (Todas)

    Choir: Los Angeles Master Chorale. Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel.
    • Platoon.

  • Franz Liszt

    Etudes d'execution transcendante S.139 for piano; No 10, Allegro agitato molto

    Performer: Kirill Gerstein.
    • Myrios.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K447

    Performer: Felix Klieser. Ensemble: Camerata Salzburg.
    • Berlin Classics.

Broadcast

  • Yesterday13:00
    BBC Radio 3