The conductor who has led more Last Nights than any other will helm the Proms’ first ever sojourn outside of England.

“I approach the Last Night with a mixture of eager anticipation and total dread. Anticipation because it is the festive conclusion of what I still think is the greatest music festival in the world, and dread because you have this mob there who are determined to enjoy themselves.” The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis has conducted more Last Nights than any other conductor, so it seems fitting he will helm the Proms’ first ever sojourn outside of England’s green and pleasant land. Davis spoke with Limelight about what the Proms means to him. “The BBC Proms has played an enormously important part in my life, ever since my maiden aunt took me to my first one when I was eight. I’d never heard an orchestra live before and during my teens I used to go up regularly, probably ten times during the season.”

I approach the Last Night with a mixture of eager anticipation and total dread

As a teenager, the Proms became a habit for Davis. “I lived...