Is it to early to comment on this years festival?
Some outstanding concerts in prospect with three great visiting orchestras: not just the BPO, not just the Leipzig Gewandhaus but the VPO as well!
Three Vaughan Williams symphonies in one evening must be a first!
Gurrelieder and Les Troyens were the others that stood out on an initial surfing of the BBC site.
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I took a quick browse late last night. Some superb looking evenings there. Sadly it seems that the spatchcock ticketing system remains, so am geariing myself up for a 'You are 4500th in the queue' message when I submit my booking request the second the Greenwich pips signal the start of booking.
JKH
Well, JKH, in the case of ticketing problems, perhaps you should consider not going to the most overrated music festival in the world and get a life instead.
Yes, imagine what a limited, blinkered, mediocre and unenlightened existence I must share with those other many thousands of sad folk who are similarly deluded as to think going to the Proms is a worthwhile musical experience and the sole means of escape from not having 'a life'.
JKH
By normal Proms standards that's about 3 years worth of Vaughan Williams in one evening!
Some interesting concers in the offing but taken as a whole it's a bit Beethoven heavy. (I await the hate mail).
Getting to the concerts is difficult for me but I shall be glued to Radio 3. I hope that the BBC make a slightly more varied choice of concerts to televise this year.
Even heavier Beethoven since all the symphonies will be conducted by Barenboim, oh dear.
They need to televise more concerts but I suspect the cuts imposed upon the Corp and gleefully applied by the outgoing and uncharismatic DG will prevent that. Shame!
The most pointless post so far.
Overrated by whom, you, alone?
Something for everyone, and so inevitably something for everyone to complain about. For me that dreary and depressing tenth- rate song "You'll never walk alone" making an appearance on the Last Night for the third year running means that it is now established as a Proms tradition to be endured for the rest of my days. But let us strike up a more joyful sound! A packed Albert Hall resounding to the greatest music ever conceived by Man. All the Beethoven 9 played by the fantastic W-E Divan young musicians? This is not something to worry about; it would be worth a season ticket alone; an ode to joy!
Sooner two minutes of "You'll never walk alone" than five hours of Barenboim conducting Beethoven with his middle-eastern pick-up band.
The proms is a wonderful music festival Spadger, and we're lucky to have it.
In the last five years, I have been fortunate enough to hear amongst others, the following: Sibelius 2, Honegger 3 and Beethoven 9 all under Bavarian Radio Orchestra with Jansons, Rachmaninov 1 with BBC Phil and Noseda, The Planets with BBC Phil/Mackerras, Mussorgsky's Pictures with RPO/Dutoit, Sibelius 1 with Concertgebouw/Jansons, Part 4 with Philharmonia/Salonen, Rimsky's Sceherazade and Tchaikovsky 2 with BBC Scottish/Brabbins, as well as Brian's mighty Gothic last year with Brabbins and BBC Wales and Concert orchestras...
And those are just the classics in the repertoire!
Besides which I have heard renowned pianists like Martha Argerich and also seen emerging pianists like Ashley Wass at Cadogan Hall, and heard more contemporary music from Knussen and the Birmingham group and an impressive concert of Cage, Cardew, Skempton and Feldman with BBC Scottish.
What I love about the proms: I get that mixture of classics and newies, hear some of the world's greatest orchestras/conductors, and hear both established and emerging talent. All live.
Which is not to say anything about the marvellous atmosphere at the Proms - as someone who used to go to two concerts a week in London at one time as my social life, the ambience at the proms is like no other: studied concentration and deep appreciation are noticeable. It really is a unique feeling at a Proms concert.
Regards
Mark
Fraz Jo - disapntd. Bn ringin this grl al week. No ansr...looks lke she changed her mnd. O well...Ldwg...
Must say that I am disappointed in the response. Perhaps, the Proms, as a thread, will be revived nearer the time or are posters happier talking about music on CD?
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