From Copland to Gershwin and a new Emily Dickinson-based commission it was America\u2019s evening \u2013 but with a surprise Mancunian encore<\/p>\n
And we\u2019re back. The \u201cworld\u2019s greatest classical music festival\u201d has flung wide the doors of the Royal Albert Hall for another eight-week season. Where the Last Night of the Proms<\/a> is often strangely separate \u2013 a self-contained musical party for an entirely different audience \u2013 the First Night is the celebration for those here for the long haul, the scene-setter and season in microcosm. So what does this year\u2019s have to say?<\/p>\n Whatever its current geopolitical strain, the \u201cspecial relationship\u201d is live and kicking in the concert hall. The 250th anniversary of American independence is front and centre this summer (because nationalism is always less embarrassing when it\u2019s someone else\u2019s), trumpeted from the off with \u2013 what else \u2013 Aaron Copland\u2019s crowd-pleaser Fanfare for the Common Man.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/b7395b19339abd31c07c8ab4fa1215497e785beb\/325_86_891_713\/master\/891.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a68c9b1e70f19867ab3895bac0b2c6c9\" "\\"First")
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