# First Night of the Proms review – 250th anniversary of US independence takes centre stage

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/first-night-of-the-proms-review-250th-anniversary-of-us-independence-takes-centre-stage/
- Published: 2026-07-17T22:02:32+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-18T05:15:40+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jul/17/first-night-of-the-proms-review-250th-anniversary-of-us-independence-takes-centre-stage
- Topics: Americas, Culture, Entertainment, Music, Offbeat, TV, Weird & Viral, World

## Key points

- Proms season opened with US 250th-independence-themed First Night programme
- Dalia Stasevska conducted Copland, Gershwin and Ravel with mixed second-half fare
- Pianist Yunchan Lim impressed; night ended with surprise Wonderwall encore

## Summary

The Proms opened its new eight-week season at the Royal Albert Hall with a First Night programme built around the 250th anniversary of American independence, featuring works by Copland, Gershwin and Ravel alongside a new commission. Conductor Dalia Stasevska led the BBC Symphony Orchestra with characteristic energy, and the evening served as both a celebration of the "special relationship" in music and a scene-setter for the season ahead.

The concert opened with Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man before moving to a bold, brash account of Gershwin's An American in Paris. South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim then gave a precise, understated performance of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major. The second half proved less cohesive, with a new Emily Dickinson-inspired commission from Josephine Stephenson and Finzi's For St Cecilia (featuring tenor Thomas Atkins and the BBC Singers) both judged somewhat slight, though the night closed with an unexpected mass-singalong encore of Oasis's Wonderwall.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.