BBC Singers reprieve and early Proms 2023 news

[Pulcinella]

I can't find the thread about the BBC Singers, and didn't really want to launch a Proms 2023 thread just yet, but am happy for this to get moved or posted elsewhere. I nearly posted on the Good News or Pedants' Paradise thread but thought it might get overlooked there.

Early news coverage from the Guardian here:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/20/female-conductors-to-open-and-close-bbc-proms-for-first-time

I can't currently link to the equivalent Times article (glitch in sharing) but sadly it includes a rather unfortunate comment from Pickard, who seems to get overestimating and underestimating wrong:

....the value of the Proms as a major classical music festival cannot be underestimated.

Oh yes it can!

PS: Glitch fixed (but not the statement):

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-proms-choir-singers-new-programme-2023-z5w0fswpx?shareToken=827d49d65c437b091ab6cb1cdacf0f6a

[LHC]

Re the BBC Singers, the LSO have changed the programme for their concert at the Barbican this Sunday to include the BBC Singers. I received this note about the concert a few days ago:

This concert will now feature an added second half, with a performance of Francis Poulenc’s Figure humaine by the BBC Singers, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. The BBC Singers will appear at the invitation of Sir Simon and the LSO, in a mark of solidarity with the choir and the broader music community, in response to uncertainty over future funding to the orchestral and choral sector in the UK.

The first half of the concert, featuring Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, remains unchanged, and the concert will now end at approximately 9.25pm.The full programme is as follows.


Its also been reported that Rattle and the LSO had refused to appear at this year's Proms unless the BBC Singers were reprieved.

[Petrushka]

Re the BBC Singers, the LSO have changed the programme for their concert at the Barbican this Sunday to include the BBC Singers. I received this note about the concert a few days ago:

This concert will now feature an added second half, with a performance of Francis Poulenc’s Figure humaine by the BBC Singers, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. The BBC Singers will appear at the invitation of Sir Simon and the LSO, in a mark of solidarity with the choir and the broader music community, in response to uncertainty over future funding to the orchestral and choral sector in the UK.

The first half of the concert, featuring Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, remains unchanged, and the concert will now end at approximately 9.25pm.The full programme is as follows.


Its also been reported that Rattle and the LSO had refused to appear at this year's Proms unless the BBC Singers were reprieved.

Wouldn't that programme be better done in reverse?

[LHC]

Wouldn't that programme be better done in reverse?

Possibly, but I suppose this allows those who only want to hear Mahler 7 to leave the concert at the expected time and not stay for the new second half.

Edited to add that as this is a very late addition to the programme, its possible that some audience members would have already made travel and other arrangements for what to do after the concert and the LSO didn't want to disrupt those plans with a very late change that would result in Mahler 7 ending an hour later than originally announced.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Proms threads now moved to the new forum.

[muzzer]

It was quite an evening (feel free to move this, obviously).

Rattle came on before the Mahler to explain the change in programme and make a pitch to anyone thinking of not staying for the second half, though he was preaching to (from?) the choir, boom boom.

The Mahler was epic on all fronts. Over 100 players onstage. I shall leave a proper review to those qualified. I was exhausted just watching and listening.

Rattle began the second half with a very measured address which touched on the reasons for the amended programme and made the sort of points you’d expect him to make about those responsible for managing the public funding of classical music in Britain. I couldn’t help feeling he was sticking two fingers up to the philistines in government, and I hope they’re all suitably ashamed of themselves. If only. It is still a scandal he is leaving, but that’s not entirely on point here.

The BBC Singers came on to much applause and the Poulenc followed. I don’t know the piece but the performance was world class to my ears.

They got a standing ovation of the sort I’ve not seen there for classical music events. I hope it ‘goes viral’ and has some wider impact.

[Petrushka]

It was quite an evening (feel free to move this, obviously).

Rattle came on before the Mahler to explain the change in programme and make a pitch to anyone thinking of not staying for the second half, though he was preaching to (from?) the choir, boom boom.

The Mahler was epic on all fronts. Over 100 players onstage. I shall leave a proper review to those qualified. I was exhausted just watching and listening.

Rattle began the second half with a very measured address which touched on the reasons for the amended programme and made the sort of points you’d expect him to make about those responsible for managing the public funding of classical music in Britain. I couldn’t help feeling he was sticking two fingers up to the philistines in government, and I hope they’re all suitably ashamed of themselves. If only. It is still a scandal he is leaving, but that’s not entirely on point here.

The BBC Singers came on to much applause and the Poulenc followed. I don’t know the piece but the performance was world class to my ears.

They got a standing ovation of the sort I’ve not seen there for classical music events. I hope it ‘goes viral’ and has some wider impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7eUCh_m1FE

[muzzer]

Bravo.

[LHC]

It was quite an evening (feel free to move this, obviously).

Rattle came on before the Mahler to explain the change in programme and make a pitch to anyone thinking of not staying for the second half, though he was preaching to (from?) the choir, boom boom.

The Mahler was epic on all fronts. Over 100 players onstage. I shall leave a proper review to those qualified. I was exhausted just watching and listening.

Rattle began the second half with a very measured address which touched on the reasons for the amended programme and made the sort of points you’d expect him to make about those responsible for managing the public funding of classical music in Britain. I couldn’t help feeling he was sticking two fingers up to the philistines in government, and I hope they’re all suitably ashamed of themselves. If only. It is still a scandal he is leaving, but that’s not entirely on point here.

The BBC Singers came on to much applause and the Poulenc followed. I don’t know the piece but the performance was world class to my ears.

They got a standing ovation of the sort I’ve not seen there for classical music events. I hope it ‘goes viral’ and has some wider impact.

I was there too and agree with all you say. The extended standing ovation was well deserved and also quite emotional for both performers and audience.

The concert was recorded for future broadcast on R3. It will be interesting to see if Rattle's comments about the BBC's management are retained for the broadcast.

Re' Petrushka's earlier comment, in his introduction Rattle said that everytime Mahler conducted the 7th, it was placed in the first half of the programme with a shorter piece of about 1/2 an hour after the interval, so perhaps the placing of the pieces in the concert was more appropriate than initially thought.

[Pulcinella]

The Guardian has printed Rattle's speech.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/24/simon-rattle-barbican-speech-we-are-facing-a-fight-for-existence-uk-classical-music-cuts

[Ein Heldenleben]

The Guardian has printed Rattle's speech.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...cal-music-cuts

Interesting how many of the commenters in the Guardian aren’t particularly supportive . There’s a few “rich classical musician “ , “elitist , white , problematic. “ type comments .Classical music unfortunately has a big “image” problem and one it largely doesn’t deserve. Some on the right dislike the idea of public subsidy for the Arts , some on the left think it’s elitist and middle class. Of course it’s very largely none of these things but these days perception is reality as we know. The irony is that some of the most “elitist “ elements e.g.Country House Opera aren’t subsidised much at all. So all the outreach work that the LSO and BSO fir example do gets completely overlooked.
In my view Rattles speech was a bit too anti BBC - it’s not their fault they are having to make 15 to 20 per cent savings across the board.

[french frank]

In my view Rattles speech was a bit too anti BBC - it’s not their fault they are having to make 15 to 20 per cent savings across the board.

Depends what you mean by 'across the board'. Does that mean it has to be cut equally 'across the board'? It's surely their choice where they make the cuts?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Depends what you mean by 'across the board'. Does that mean it has to be cut equally 'across the board'? It's surely their choice where they make the cuts?

Yes across the board means equally. You might find this difficult to believe but over the last twenty years the performing groups have been protected. The cuts have been done through outsourcing to indies , getting rid of older production staff , replacing with younger and freezing entry level salaries. Also big cuts to pension provision. But they’ve gone about as far as they can go with that.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In my view Rattles speech was a bit too anti BBC - it’s not their fault they are having to make 15 to 20 per cent savings across the board.

I do think the BBC has to accept some responsibility. For years, they have pursued a policy of constant expansion. Beginning with radio, there was the Home Service (later R4) and then the Light Programme (later R2). Then the Third Programme was introduced as a high quality evening channel, being expanded with the Music Programme and the Study Programme in the 1960s. Pirate radio was rife at the time, so the BBC launched their own version of this: Radio 1. Meanwhile, BBC Radio Leicester started the local radio service which expanded nationwide. Later, Radios 5, 6 & 7 were added to the mix.

Television began with just one BBC channel, with ITV providing the only competition from the late 1950s onwards. Then BBC2 came along, later followed by the BBC copying ITV's proposed Breakfast TV, with very great haste. Then followed CBBC, CBeebies, BBC 24 hour News, BBC 3, BBC 4, BBC iPlayer.

The bubble was bound to burst.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Will Gompertz in his Today radio interview (I posted on the BBC orchestras thread earlier this evening) said that he'd worked long enough in the BBC to know that enough management jobs could be axed, the loss of which wouldn't be noticed, to find the funds to avert the cuts. At which point, the presenter hurriedly announced they'd "run out of time"..........

(I still hold in mind the Victoria Wood sketch set in a village hall where the BBC "Head of Chairs" was laying down the law about the placement of... chairs.