Why doesn’t the BBC blaze the glories of its orchestras year round, not just at the Proms?

Wed, 20 Aug 2025

The orchestras and choirs of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation are at the centre of Denmark’s cultural life. As its Symphony Orchestra comes to the Proms, what the BBC can learn from its European counterpart?

This week, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 at the BBC Proms. It could well prove a season highlight. After nearly a decade under chief conductor Fabio Luisi, the orchestra has never sounded better.

The ensemble’s anglicised name conceals the fact that it’s operated and funded by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). Five years older than the BBC Symphony Orchestra, it celebrates its centenary this year – the second-oldest so-called “radio orchestra” in Europe.