Proms 2026 From the Alps to the Auvergne

Step into the great outdoors with Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Kristine Tjøgersen’s Between Trees plunges listeners into the mossy shade of a Nordic forest. Childhood walks with his father through the mountains and villages of his native Auvergne inspired Joseph Canteloube’s much-loved orchestral songs. ‘Glorious’ soprano Louise Alder – soloist at last year’s Last Night of the Proms – returns, performing these luscious miniatures, not heard at the Proms since 2010. These sonic strolls limber us up for Richard Strauss’s epic journey up to a mountain summit. Listeners must traverse glaciers, thickets and pastures, survive storms and cross streams to gain the triumphant orchestral vistas that are the climax to the composer’s mighty An Alpine Symphony.

Louise Alder © Will Alder