The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s first Prom of the season, conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, featured the world premiere of Brett Dean’s The World’s Wife with soprano Claire Booth. The reviewer found Dean’s theatrical song cycle richly textured and engaging, while Judith Weir’s Moon and Star was praised for its cinematic colour; Elgar’s First Symphony, however, was considered competent rather than fully moving.

Dean’s five-part setting uses Carol Ann Duffy poems that reconsider figures including Icarus, Darwin and Perseus through women’s perspectives. Booth was commended for delivering the varied material as love song, satire, prayer and meditation, while Dean’s music was likened to a blend of Pierrot Lunaire and Façade; in Elgar, choppy transitions and occasional balance issues prevented the performance achieving greater emotional momentum.