Beethoven, Jarvis, Sherlock: eclectic BBC Proms line-up announced

By Hugh Lawson LONDON (Reuters) - Beethoven's piano concertos and Sibelius' symphonies will jostle with Jarvis Cocker and an evening of Sherlock Holmes-inspired music at the 120th BBC Proms festival of classical music in London this summer, the organizers said on Thursday. The piano takes center stage at this year's two-month season of concerts, described as "the world's largest and longest running music festival". More than 25 solo pianists will appear, with Beethoven and Prokofiev's complete concertos and six late Mozart piano concertos all on the bill. Former Pulp frontman Cocker will present a Prom he describes as "a nocturnal investigation of the human condition" with the BBC Philharmonic based on his radio show 'Wireless Nights', and Sir David Attenborough will narrate another inspired by his television series 'Life Story'. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Sir Andras Schiff and violinist Alina Ibragimova will perform in a series of late-night concerts of solo works by J.S. Bach. And although Simon Rattle is not due to take over as conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra until 2017, the Proms will have him leading one of the grandest choral pieces in British music during the festival's 120th anniversary season. Rattle, one of the world's most sought-after conductors, will lead the Vienna Philharmonic in Edward Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius", scored for soloists, a massive chorus and a beefed-up orchestra. The Proms will open on July 17 at London's Royal Albert Hall with an evening of Mozart, Sibelius and British composer William Walton as well as a world premiere - one of 21 over the course of the season - for a short work by Gary Carpenter. The famous Last Night of the Proms, on Sept. 12, when the audience joins in the singing, will be conducted by Marin Alsop, who in 2013 became the first woman ever to lead the final night of the festival. For details of the season of concerts, click on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)