'Rule Britannia' toned down as Proms kick off

The most famous music festival in the world got under way in traditional fashion at the Royal Albert Hall, London, last night when the violinist Maxim Vengerov and the bass-baritone Willard White took centre stage for the first night of the Proms.

While huge swathes of the population will remain oblivious until the famed Last Night on 14 September, more than 70 concerts will be broadcast by the BBC through the height of the summer.

Highlights will include the conductor Valery Gergiev bringing the chorus and orchestra of the Kirov Opera for a Russian weekend, the Royal Concertgebouw of Amsterdam under its music director, Riccardo Chailly, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts Mahler's Eighth Symphony and there will be appearances by musical heavyweights including Bernard Haitink, the just-retired music director of the Royal Opera House, Claudio Abbado and Pierre Boulez.

Soloists include a clutch of the world's greatest pianists in Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin and Andras Schiff while Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming are among the singers.

The Proms has already endured its annual dose of controversy with the decision to perform the instrumental version of Rule Britannia – with the public expected to add a few nationalistic sentiments – instead of the version with full seven verses and choruses led by a soloist.

But it has faced nothing so far to compare with the issues of sensitivity and taste caused by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, towards the end of the season five years ago, or the terrorist attacks of 11 September which took place last year in the final week.

Leonard Slatkin, the American chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which performs in 13 of the concerts, said there was nothing like the Proms.

He said: "It is simply the best music festival in the world."

While the headlines are usually grabbed by the star names and the controversy, the BBC will continue another tradition in giving the world premieres of three new commissions from Mark-Anthony Turnage, Anthony Payne and David Sawer.

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Two themes dominate much of the programme – religion and Spain. The 2002 season includes more than 60 pieces written by Spanish and Latin American composers while an Old Testament theme entails the performance of major oratorios including Handel's Samson and Israel In Egypt and, last night, Belshazzer's Feast by William Walton.

While much about the Proms is based on tradition, there will be some more novel touches. The pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet will ditch black tie or tails tomorrow in favour of an outfit by Vivienne Westwood.

All the Proms are broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and many others are televised on BBC 1, BBC 2 or the digital BBC 4.