大象传媒

Triumphant horns and a flirtatious, vivacious solo violin set the tone for Strauss鈥檚 vivid autobiographical tone-poem Ein Heldenleben 鈥� 鈥楢 Hero鈥檚 Life鈥�, outwardly inspired by 鈥榓n ideal of great and manly heroism鈥�.

The orchestra is also at the forefront in Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Cello Concerto, sounding as an equal partner to the soloist 鈥� German cellist Daniel M眉ller-Schott, who returns to the Proms under tonight鈥檚 debut conductor Otto Tausk 鈥� in an intensely personal work that marries a pervasive sense of longing with real passion.

In the centenary year of British women gaining the right to vote, Ethel Smyth鈥檚 evocative Act 2 Prelude from The Wreckers celebrates a key British composer who, as a suffragette, spent two months in Holloway Prison.

Image: Otto Tausk @ Priska Ketterer