Inspired by the playful Cadavre exquis game - where each person writes a line, folds the paper, and passes it on - Anders Hillborg creates a wild, energetic musical collage in Exquisite Corpse.

Inspired by the Italian sun and hearty dances he played with his Hungarian violinist friend in his youth, Brahms’ gloriously lyrical Violin Concerto seems to express the very soul of the violin.

Conductor Gemma New returns to BBC NOW this January with a programme of Russian masterpieces, starting with a work which needs little introduction, Prokofiev’s exhilarating Classical Symphony.

Bursting with catchy tunes and drenched in joy, Dvořák’s firecracker Eighth Symphony pulses with life and vigour.

Bursting with catchy tunes and drenched in joy, Dvořák’s firecracker Eighth Symphony pulses with life and vigour.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

BBC NOW – NOW! is back this spring bringing you the best in new music from around the world. Presenting five UK premieres we kick off the evening with Isabella Gellis’ Valedictions.

Left handed piano sensation Nicholas McCarthy makes his debut with BBC NOW in Ravel’s emotionally powerfully and highly virtuoso Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

Born in Cardiff, Novello left an extraordinary legacy, composing more than 230 published songs and creating eight West End musicals that shaped British musical theatre for over thirty years.

Marrying unmistakeable Britten with flavours of Copland and hints of jazz, Britten’s American Overture launches this evening conducted by the acclaimed Tomas Djupsjöbacka.

From the celebratory orchestral firework, Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, to one of his greatest symphonies, Symphony No. 10, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama musicians come together to present two masterpieces.

Dazzling woodwinds tarry with bustling strings, folk-like melodies weave with vibrant dance and climactic rushes make way to stately grandeur in Tchaikovsky’s charmingly wintery First Symphony, oozing his trademark symphonic craftsmanship from the off.

Dazzling woodwinds tarry with bustling strings, folk-like melodies weave with vibrant dance and climactic rushes make way to stately grandeur in Tchaikovsky’s charmingly wintery First Symphony, oozing his trademark symphonic craftsmanship from the off.

Following the success of the release of their fifth studio album Mynd A’r Tŷ am Dro and a sold-out tour, Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog’s stunningly beautiful music will be performed with the Orchestra in a career spanning concert arranged and conducted by John Qu

In a gentle and deeply personal work, Brahms’ lyrically uplifting Requiem stands as one of the world’s greatest choral works.

Striking a balance between the light-hearted and the noble, Elgar’s Variations are an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends plus an astute self-portrait; an enigma hidden within the score.

Striking a balance between the light-hearted and the noble, Elgar’s Variations are an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends plus an astute self-portrait; an enigma hidden within the score.

Earthly travail lead to heavenly bliss in Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration. To conduct we welcome back award-winning French conductor Alexandre Bloch.

Earthly travail lead to heavenly bliss in Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration. To conduct we welcome back award-winning French conductor Alexandre Bloch.

The ever-popular Martyn Brabbins returns to BBC NOW this May as we travel to St Davids for the annual Cathedral Festival.

Although less frequently performed that some of his other symphonies, Beethoven’s Second Symphony is a snapshot of Beethoven at his most humorous. Unpredictability and playfulness tally with a bold explosion of joy in this vividly contrasting symphony.

Although less frequently performed that some of his other symphonies, Beethoven’s Second Symphony is a snapshot of Beethoven at his most humorous. Unpredictability and playfulness tally with a bold explosion of joy in this vividly contrasting symphony.

Principal Conductor Ryan Bancroft takes to the podium for his final concert in the title role as we draw our 2025-26 Season to a close, starting with Stravinsky’s symphonic poem Song of the Nightingale.

Principal Conductor Ryan Bancroft takes to the podium for his final concert in the title role as we draw our 2025-26 Season to a close, starting with Stravinsky’s symphonic poem Song of the Nightingale.

We mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the document of independence with an all American programme featuring some of the most famous American composers in history, from Copland, Barber and Bernstein to William Grant Still and Christopher Tin.

For their first Prom of the 2026 season, Ryan Bancroft and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform spiritually charged works by Lili Boulanger, Szymanowski, Messiaen and Strauss, each reflecting on death and the afterlife

Up to twenty brilliant disabled and non-disabled young musicians from the National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) join guest players from BBC NOW in a concert that redefines what a modern orchestra can be.

Elena Schwarz and the BBC National Orchestral of Wales perform Dvořák’s passionate Symphony No. 7 alongside Zimmermann’s 1950 Fairy-Tale Suite and Mendelssohn’s famous Violin Concerto, with Proms regular Alina Ibragimova as soloist

Ryan Bancroft and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform two 20th-century ballets – Copland’s Billy the Kid and Stravinsky’s Petrushka – alongside a new Clarinet Concerto by Portland-based composer and songwriter Gabriel Kahane

From the serenity of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, the programme moves to Cameron Biles-Liddell’s gritty new Harp Concerto, before closing with Beethoven’s joyful Pastoral Symphony, a richly illustrative celebration of nature and landscape.

A vivid musical journey unfolds from Farrenc’s Overture No. 2 to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, with Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto spotlighting Alis Huws, former Royal Harpist, and flautist Elizaveta Ivanova, in a charming celebration of nature.

A vivid musical journey unfolds from Farrenc’s Overture No. 2 to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, with Mozart’s Flute and Harp Concerto spotlighting Alis Huws, former Royal Harpist, and flautist Elizaveta Ivanova, in a charming celebration of nature.

Protest, Power, Revolution, Resistance is a concert with something urgent to say. Conducted by Johanna Malangré, Music Director of the Orchestre de Picardie in France, the programme showcases her electrifying musicality and imaginative leadership.

From spring light to Berlioz’s imagination: Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps sparkles with colour and motion; Schubert’s Allegretto, with Steven Osborne, offers lyric intimacy; Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy leads to Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

Voices collide as BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales join composer-sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun in a of Indian classical and Western orchestral music, with acclaimed soloists, reimagined opera, and vibrant new works celebrating voices UK

Marking 60 years since the Aberfan disaster, this special event centres on Paul Mealor’s newly commissioned From Darkness into Light: a concert requiem for hope.

Marking 60 years since Aberfan, this concert centres on Paul Mealor’s new requiem From Darkness into Light, joining massed Welsh forces in remembrance, framed by music moving from urgency to hope by Clyne, Haydn, Mozart and Vaughan Williams.

Join us this Halloween for our much‑loved Spooktacular! Bring the family for an afternoon of spooky favourites, mysterious music and big orchestral thrills. Dress up, enjoy the chills and join us for a fang‑tastic family celebration.

Join us this Halloween for our much‑loved Spooktacular! Bring the family for an afternoon of spooky favourites, mysterious music and big orchestral thrills. Dress up, enjoy the chills and join us for a fang‑tastic family celebration.

Love in all its colours shapes this programme with Martyn Brabbins. Debussy’s Faune shimmers between dream and desire; David Childs voices lost love in Mealor’s Euphonium Concerto; Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet brings elation and fate.

War and peace meet in music of remembrance and journey. Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin shimmers with colour, Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel, sung by Steffan Lloyd Owen, turn inward and Sibelius’s First Symphony drives north with urgency and force.

War and peace meet in music of remembrance and journey. Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin shimmers with colour, Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel, sung by Steffan Lloyd Owen, turn inward and Sibelius’s First Symphony drives north with urgency and force.

War and peace meet in music of remembrance and journey. Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin shimmers with colour, Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel, sung by Steffan Lloyd Owen, turn inward and Sibelius’s First Symphony drives north with urgency and force.

Hold the date for a spectacular evening with BBC National Orchestra of Wales and BBC Radio Cymru in Pontio this mark. Artists to be announced.

A boldly imaginative programme led by Simon Crawford‑Phillips, featuring two UK premieres and a world premiere. HK Gruber opens with Short Stories, Erika Fox’s new Viola Concerto stars Lawrence Power, and Steven Mackey’s Concerto for Curved Space...

A festive, family friendly celebration conducted by Luis Castillo Briceño. Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel Prelude and Bridge’s Christmas Dance lead into Britten’s Young Person’s Guide, before Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite closes in seasonal magic.

Wrap up warm and step into the sound of Christmas as voices young and old come together for a joyful afternoon of music. From timeless carols everyone loves to sing, to moments of seasonal storytelling, this is a celebration for the whole family.

Celebrate the season with an uplifting evening of music, from much loved seasonal favourites to orchestral showpieces full of colour and sparkle. Warm, reflective and joyful, this concert invites you to pause, listen and share the spirit of the season.

Celebrate the season with an uplifting evening of music, from much loved seasonal favourites to orchestral showpieces full of colour and sparkle. Warm, reflective and joyful, this concert invites you to pause, listen and share the spirit of the season.

Celebrate the season with an uplifting evening of music, from much loved seasonal favourites to orchestral showpieces full of colour and sparkle. Warm, reflective and joyful, this concert invites you to pause, listen and share the spirit of the season.