Notable in the 1970s was Monteverdi’s Poppea, given semi-staged by Kent Opera, who had it in repertoire at the time. In the 8os this was followed by Monteverdi’s Orfeo, this time fully staged, by Kay and my Early Opera Project. The set was erected and lit overnight on the Albert Hall stage, and the procession of the players and singers through the hall to the sound of the introductory Toccata made an impressive opening. I made my Proms tenor debut singing Orfeo’s echo from the very top Gallery.

But in that decade, of major importance for our future were two Proms by the London Classical Players in 1984 and 1986. They had already appeared a few times before, but now our performances of Beethoven Symphonies 2 and 6 convinced EMI that they should be recording these works with us. All were on CD by 1990.

Enjoyable Proms in the 90s included Mozart’s Zauberflöte, with the LCP in a elliptical circle in front of the singers, as we had just recorded it for EMI; and the London premiere of Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto with the dedicatee Joshua Bell and the LPO. This was a work I had commissioned with St Lukes in New York, and had premiered it there.

The 2000s, in which I appeared every year, started strongly with a lovely B Minor Mass on the exact 250th anniversary of Bach’s death. How to play a piece, written for smallish forces in a Leipzig church, in the cavernous paces of the Albert Hall? I decided to be bold. The solo numbers were performed with the smallest of forces, grouped around the chamber organ. But much larger string forces matched a largish chamber choir for the big pieces. I was fearful that my reputation for historical practice might be in tatters, and I recall the Proms’ boss Nicholas Kenyon looking appalled at the string forces when he visited the camera rehearsal. But all was made clear in the performance. The balances were fine. Everybody sang and played superbly. And Nick’s wife Gigs said it was not only the best B Minor she had ever heard, but the best concert! Thank you Gigs, and of course thank you J.S. Bach, the genius.

The decade continued with a strong showing by my Continental orchestras, Stuttgart Radio in 2001, Camerata Salzburg in 2002, and Stuttgart again, with Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini, in 2003. One of several NYO concerts brought Mahler 1 in 2004 and, in 2005 the First Night of the Proms with a notable Tippett Child of Our Time. This was only a week after the London terror bombings, and Nick Kenyon asked me to make a speech at the opening, dedicating he evening to those who had suffered. I remember saying that some of those killed might have had tickets for this very evening.

2008 was busy. In July Stuttgart were back with a centenary performance of Elgar 1; and in September came the mighty challenge of the Last Night of the Proms, with Helene Grimaud, Bryn Terfel, the BBC Symphony, and Singers, and Chorus, and 7 or 8 million live viewers.  I must admit that, despite the stress, it was all more fun than I expected. The massed balloons and painted faces look much better from the front, and that sort of raw enthusiasm for classical music is, in the end, a heart-warming experience. I made the traditional speech, and included a little poem, which went viral for a day or two on social media…

My final Proms decade was dominated again by my European orchestras, with Mahler 9, Dvorak New World and Brahms 1 from Stuttgart, and a powerful St John Passion with my Zurich Chamber Orchestra and chorus. But an intriguing, and highly unusual concert was with Les 24 Violons du Roi from Versailles, with wonderful works by Lully and his many followers, played on exact copies of his little royal  orchestra. Nice for me still to be involved in research and works from 1600, while by now pushing the boundaries of early 20th century performance style.

My last Prom I conducted was also the last ever given by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony SWR, before its merger in 2016. We played Berlioz overture Béatrice et Bénédict, Beethoven 4th Piano Concerto with my dear friend Bobby Levin, and Brahms 1. A great evening.