Proms 2023 - what is in your diary ?

[Pulcinella]

As usual here, we'll probably end up tuning in to a lot of them, but even if I lived closer there are increasingly few that would warrant a trip down (up?): some seem very poor value (in terms of amount of music involved) indeed.

Some smart bits of programming though: if you've got to have two pianos for the Stravinsky Symphony of psalms, it makes sense to use them for Carmina Burana too.

[teamsaint]

A Northern Soul Prom ?
Really?

Interesting cultural phenomenon, but I have to say that it is a pretty thin are for music of real quality.

Any prom with under 75 minutes music to be played needs bulking out . Most people have a long way to go to , and a lot of money to spend to reach South Kensington.

[Barbirollians]

As usual here, we'll probably end up tuning in to a lot of them, but even if I lived closer there are increasingly few that would warrant a trip down (up?): some seem very poor value (in terms of amount of music involved) indeed.

Some smart bits of programming though: if you've got to have two pianos for the Stravinsky Symphony of psalms, it makes sense to use them for Carmina Burana too.

Playing Carmina Burana never makes sense to my ears.

[Barbirollians]

A Northern Soul Prom ?
Really?

Interesting cultural phenomenon, but I have to say that it is a pretty thin are for music of real quality.

Any prom with under 75 minutes music to be played needs bulking out . Most people have a long way to go to , and a lot of money to spend to reach South Kensington.

That BBCNOW prom with Prokofiev PC 3 and Tchaikovsky 5 is particularly short measure.

[Norrette]

The proms ticket prices are the only element that aren’t a ripoff . If the prices in the RAH bars are anything like they were pre lockdown then it’s definitely a case of BYO . ( I mean bottle not case obvs)

Sandwiches and a half bottle of red under Albert, if the weather's good.

[Pulcinella]

Playing Carmina Burana never makes sense to my ears.

Worth it for In trutina if nothing else (imho).

[Petrushka]

Going through the Proms Guide looking for the concerts to attend is like doing the same with finding the likely winner of the Grand National. In both cases you accept that you can immediately write off 75% of what's on offer as easily dismissed. You are then left with a handful, maybe ten or so, that look really promising and tick the right boxes. This is where the really tough choices have to be made.

As far as the Proms are concerned, and bearing in mind the very significant cost factors involved, I need to eliminate the ten or so possibles down to around three or four. The most likely winner, taking into account the music played combined with the artists involved, is for me the LSO/Rattle Poulenc/Mahler 9 concert and making a weekend of it with the two Boston SO Proms.

After 45 years of work, retirement was meant to give me the opportunity to attend those Proms I wanted but the many knock on effects of Covid and Brexit have blown all that apart and it's welcome to the new reality which turns out to be not that much different from the old one.

[Barbirollians]

Worth it for In trutina if nothing else (imho).

But I can just listen to Lucia Popp singing that in the Icon box without the rest of it.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I've only had a quick look. I lighted upon Elijah - a possible as I live 60 - 80 minutes journey away. Not short measure either.

Good cast of soloists - I have one reservation - a crucial one, though. Roderick Williams is a fine - very fine artist - but, having heard him live in a War Requiem at the RAH his voice didn't have the heft to carry in that performance in that Hall - of course on the broadcast everything was balanced, fine and dandy. Has he acquired the vocal heft? Shall I devote the whole excursion to the risk of finding that out?

I've heard stonking performances of Elijah in the last few years, notably from James Platt. Unless I can get a seat in a near sector of the stalls for this year's prom, I'm not sure I'd want to be there.

[Pulcinella]

But I can just listen to Lucia Popp singing that in the Icon box without the rest of it.

That's true: and she is indeed the one to listen to.

[Simon B]

If anybody's interested I've managed to coax my code into producing a draft single page listing, here. It needs checking before I announce it formally, so if anyone spots any errors or omissions, I'd be very grateful if you could let me know!

Thanks once again to Andrew for his previous work in writing a parser to turn the Proms webpages into a digestible list. It makes extracting the actual useful information so much easier.

Once again, the striking thing is the general watery insipidness of the Proms offering compared with the rather bolder offerings of up to about 10 years ago. The impact of diminishing budget and rising costs is firmly sealed in.

The last time I recall there being any "Must go at all costs" events was probably around the time the Gothic Symphony and the Ring Cycle made their appearances. That said, given the sheer number of events, as ever, a number will turn out to be worth the bother. For a start, enthusiasts of obscure tonal 20th century symphonies may find the Dora Pejačević Symphony worth hearing. Oramo certainly seems to believe in it based on a recent Barbican performance.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I've only had a quick look. I lighted upon Elijah - a possible as I live 60 - 80 minutes journey away. Not short measure either.

Good cast of soloists - I have one reservation - a crucial one, though. Roderick Williams is a fine - very fine artist - but, having heard him live in a War Requiem at the RAH his voice didn't have the heft to carry in that performance in that Hall - of course on the broadcast everything was balanced, fine and dandy. Has he acquired the vocal heft? Shall I devote the whole excursion to the risk of finding that out?

I've heard stonking performances of Elijah in the last few years, notably from James Platt. Unless I can get a seat in a near sector of the stalls for this year's prom, I'm not sure I'd want to be there.

I heard him in the orchestration of Six Songs from Butterworth’s Shropshire Lad by Phillip Brookes and RW was perfectly audible from the balcony. He also sang them very affectingly. Also heard him at the ROH in the amphitheatre and again he was absolutely fine. Mind you I went to a Proms Das Lied von der Erde sung by Janet Baker and she was pretty faint but I was just about as far away as you can get in the gallery.

[Darkbloom]

Going through the Proms Guide looking for the concerts to attend is like doing the same with finding the likely winner of the Grand National. In both cases you accept that you can immediately write off 75% of what's on offer as easily dismissed. You are then left with a handful, maybe ten or so, that look really promising and tick the right boxes. This is where the really tough choices have to be made.

As far as the Proms are concerned, and bearing in mind the very significant cost factors involved, I need to eliminate the ten or so possibles down to around three or four. The most likely winner, taking into account the music played combined with the artists involved, is for me the LSO/Rattle Poulenc/Mahler 9 concert and making a weekend of it with the two Boston SO Proms.

After 45 years of work, retirement was meant to give me the opportunity to attend those Proms I wanted but the many knock on effects of Covid and Brexit have blown all that apart and it's welcome to the new reality which turns out to be not that much different from the old one.

I wonder whether the familiar sense of deflation whenever a new Proms season comes around is partly because a lot of the conductors we would get excited about seeing over the years have died and there aren't that many new ones of equal stature who have replaced them. I'm looking forward to the JEG Trojans (The Guardian seems to think it's the first complete performance, but I have already been to two complete ones at the Proms over the years so it's not exactly a first) and my expectation levels are so low these days that if I find half a dozen worth listening to then I will consider myself happy with that.

[teamsaint]

Mason Bates ?
Good ?

[teamsaint]

A few that tempt me.

Prokofiev 3, Mahler 3, in fact anything with a 3 .
Schumann Paradies
Schumann Spring plus Elgar VC
Mahler 9
The Trojans, but need to bring own sandwiches.

Definitely NOT Rufus bloody Wainwright ( 2 proms ? It needs to be very good)