Sir Simon Rattle’s sudden withdrawal from the Proms threatened to overshadow this evening’s Prom, but Jonathon Heyward stepped in with remarkable poise and buckets of gusto. Leading the celebrated Chineke! Orchestra, he delivered a gripping performance from the get-go: opening with a mixed bag of non-Shostakovich ‘sorties‘, before delivering a searing, emotionally charged tour de force of Russian anguish that captivated.

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor (1953), was the main event — an hour long, and the only Shostakovich piece in the programme. The expansive first movement, moody and mysterious, was played with such precision you could hear a pin drop — indeed, the orchestra achieved breathtaking softness. It’s unusual to hear applause between movements, but the closing of the first movement begged for it; and the audience was glad to oblige.

As with all great Shostakovich symphonies, the emotional peaks and valleys built to a stunning close. Violins raced to the finish, locked in fierce battle with churning double basses, wailing reeds, and blazing brass—until all were finally silenced by the triumphant boom of the timpani. Breathtaking. Thrilling.

Opening the concert, the real spark came with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s ten-minute orchestral dance The Bamboula (1911), not heard at the Proms in 91 years. Joyous and electrifying, it was a revelation from a British composer whose work is now enjoying a renaissance. Completing the programme were Valerie Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times (2021) and the European premiere of James Lee III’s Visions of Cahokia (2023), which don’t really warrant much mention — competent, if unremarkable. Shostakovich was, as ever, the star of the show.

Tickets for all 72 Proms are available from just £8 on the Royal Albert Hall’s BBC Proms 2025 website.