Radio 3 also broadcast a recording of this performance on New Year's Day 2010. The Dream of Gerontius The Chorus has performed Elgar’s oratorio, The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, many times since it first performed it at the Queen's Hall, London, on 18 May 1931, conducted by Stanford Robinson. A performance of the oratorio was given in the sixth-century St Irene's Church as part of the 1997 Istanbul International Music Festival. Leonard Slatkin conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with mezzo-soprano Jean Rigby, tenor John Aler and baritone Alan Opie. A special performance of the oratorio was given from St Paul's Cathedral on 26 November 1997 to mark the 75th anniversary of the BBC. Andrew Davis conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers, tenor Philip Langridge and bass Alastair Miles. The concert was broadcast live on BBC Two television and BBC Radio 3, and later released on VHS video (NVC Arts), whereupon it was heralded as "the most convincing modern interpretation of Gerontius", and DVD (Warner Music Vision). The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music, 2008, gave its maximum four star rating to this DVD recording of The Dream of Gerontius, rating it as "the finest recorded Gerontius ever". On 6 April 2014, another performance was given at the Barbican by Sir Andrew Davis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, tenor Stuart Skelton and bass David Soar, following a recording of the work for Chandos Records. The recording was the winner, choral category, in both the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2015, and the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2015. The Chorus today Although normally associated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Chorus does perform independently. Venues regularly visited include the Barbican Centre and the Royal Albert Hall. As the resident chorus at the BBC Proms, the Symphony Chorus usually performs both on the first and last night. It makes regular recordings for classical music station BBC Radio 3. New works play a vital part in the life of the Chorus. They try to balance well-known scores with the challenges of newer or more difficult works. Premieres and commissions in recent years have included works by Peter Maxwell Davies, Dame Judith Weir, John Tavener, Hugh Wood and Anthony Payne. The level of the Chorus is widely acknowledged to be exceptional, with works in its repertoire so difficult as sometimes to be