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Yuja Wang performs at Last Night of the Proms
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Yuja Wang played Barber's 26-minute Piano Concerto at the Last Night of the Proms.
It was the concerto's first-ever Proms performance, closing the festival's 99th season.
Background
The Last Night of the Proms is the closing concert of the BBC Proms, an eight-week festival that in 2026 ran 86 concerts across its 99th season. This year's finale at the Royal Albert Hall paired Yuja Wang's return as piano soloist with a tribute to the late Dolly Parton, following her death last month. Sakari Oramo conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and BBC Singers.
How it unfolded
- Sep 10, 2026Colin's Column reports the Last Night programme, including Yuja Wang giving the first Proms performance of Barber's Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto.
- Sep 11, 2026The Guardian reviews 'Playing With Fire', a virtual reality work at Southbank Centre in which a Yuja Wang avatar performs Ravel, Debussy, Prokofiev and Liszt.
- Sep 12, 2026The Last Night of the Proms takes place at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 7.15pm–c10.30pm, with Yuja Wang as piano soloist.
- Sep 12, 2026The Times publishes a rare interview with Wang about celebrating America at the Royal Albert Hall and cloning herself in virtual reality.
- Sep 12, 2026The Last Night is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds from 7.10pm, with Part 1 on BBC Two and iPlayer and the Finale on BBC One and iPlayer from 9pm.
Who’s saying what
- Public
- BBC live coverage described the Dolly Parton tribute as having 'big hair', a 'glittery suit' and a 'jolly' atmosphere, adding 'the Queen of Country would have loved it'.
- Expert
- A BBC reporter at the Royal Albert Hall called Scottish tenor Nicky Spence's rendition of Rusalka a 'triumph of trumpets and drums'.