Proms 2024

[LMcD]

The Proms Guide listing says: Piano Concerto No. 5 – Andante. So it's only the middle movement being played (and that does take about 11 minutes).

Please tell me that's a mispirnt (sic)!
It's a bit like hearing just 'The Angel's Farewell' from Gerontius - hang on, that's what's currently on air....

[oddoneout]

Please tell me that's a mispirnt (sic)!
It's a bit like hearing just 'The Angel's Farewell' from Gerontius - hang on, that's what's currently on air....

The difference is that Breakfast doesn't claim to be a classical music festival...

[Petrushka]

I would much prefer The Proms were (almost) entirely classical music but I can see why this is happening. Classical music in general has become increasingly marginalised from mainstream life in the UK, for reasons far outside the BBC’s control, and The Proms audience appears to be becoming older. Certainly the Arena is a very different place to 30 years ago. It's not unreasonable for the BBC to be concerned by this and they appear to be taking a two pronged approach:

There are various light classical concerts: the CBBC and Doctor Who Proms, Songs and Dances with the Kanneh-Masons, etc. There are more of these than 30 years ago and they are not my thing at all but they sit firmly in the tradition of the original Henry Wood Proms and pop-classical events since the year dot.

More contentiously perhaps there are some that are firmly non-classical including Disco, Nick Drake, and Sarah Vaughan. I’ve never heard of Sam Smith but gather he fits here. I can see Disco and Sarah Vaughan working well in the Albert Hall; penny for Nick Drake’s thoughts. I guess the idea here is to build the audience for The Proms in general. I have no idea how effective this approach is but it seems a popular one amongst marketeers.

A not trivial consideration is that several of the pop-classical and non-classical events are likely to be money-spinners for the Beeb. I can accept a Doctor Who prom or two if they help pay for rarities like the Holst or Zemlinsky. We’d like this not to be necessary but the BBC in general and Radio 3/The Proms in particular are under considerable financial pressure, indirectly through the marginalisation of classical music in contemporary life, and directly through freezing the licence fee. None of us like this but it's a sad reality.





My opinion is a minority here so if I am trying to close down different opinions I’ve been notably unsuccessful! I just found the predictability of some of the earlier responses amusing. They conflate two separate issues: The first one is the proliferation of pop-classical and non-classical concerts. As above, I don’t like this but I understand, to a degree, why it is happening. The second is the broadening of the spectrum of composers and performers, overall I think this is a good thing.

I’d also like there to be more Bruckner. However, the two concerts with Bruckner symphonies could be very fine indeed.

With luck this will be my 36th consecutive season of Proming. I think it's a decent programme with a lot to look forward to, especially the orchestral blockbusters that can work really well in the hall. I still think it's the best way to spend a summer in London.

I find this to be an interesting, well-reasoned and logical post. It's not how I want it to be but given the current reality of Britain today then it has, to a degree, to be reluctantly accepted.

I've been attending the Proms every season since 1978 but there's very little excited anticipation of the season announcement now. It felt like Christmas Day at one time but truth to tell, I'd forgotten that yesterday was 'the day' until well into the morning.

[Petrushka]

No Haydn at all?

For some strange reason Haydn has always had a raw deal at the Proms. A few of the better known symphonies aside, I can only recall the odd Creation and Trumpet Concerto since I've been going.

A performance of The Creation using the massed forces Haydn actually wanted would be perfect for the RAH.

[LMcD]

I find this to be an interesting, well-reasoned and logical post. It's not how I want it to be but given the current reality of Britain today then it has, to a degree, to be reluctantly accepted.

I've been attending the Proms every season since 1978 but there's very little excited anticipation of the season announcement now. It felt like Christmas Day at one time but truth to tell, I'd forgotten that yesterday was 'the day' until well into the morning.

I'm afraid that now seems to apply to most aspects of life in what my father-in-law used to call - unfairly, I thought at the time - the Benighted Kingdom.

[AuntDaisy]

I'm afraid that now seems to apply to most aspects of life in what my father-in-law used to call - unfairly, I thought at the time - the Benighted Kingdom.

This Septic Isle, set in a soiled sea?

On the bright side, the sun has just popped out, here in the Forest of Dean, and Spring has sprung.

[mopsus]

For some strange reason Haydn has always had a raw deal at the Proms. A few of the better known symphonies aside, I can only recall the odd Creation and Trumpet Concerto since I've been going.

A performance of The Creation using the massed forces Haydn actually wanted would be perfect for the RAH.

I recall a performance of the Military symphony at a Prom about 15 years ago where many of the percussionists left after the second movement, only to process on stage during the last one playing various instruments including a 'Jingling Johnny'.

Haydn's orchestral Masses seem to be very out of favour on the concert platform at the moment. I have for some years been trying to persuade a choir I sing in to programme one, but to no avail as yet, although we've had a lot of Mozart.

[french frank]

I've been attending the Proms every season since 1978 but there's very little excited anticipation of the season announcement now. It felt like Christmas Day at one time but truth to tell, I'd forgotten that yesterday was 'the day' until well into the morning.

I'm at a loss to know what the personal motivations are for such changes to the Proms and Radio 3. Is there genuinely something high-minded in the search for inclusion, (musical) diversity, the breaking down of barriers? Or is it all deeply cynical, 'necessary measures in a changing world', pays the rent so make the most of it while it lasts? And we've moved on since Pet Shop Boys and Paloma Faith.

How do you characterise the strategy of 'If at first you don't succeed, just keep doing variations of the same thing until you do' ?

[Retune]

The Proms Guide listing says: Piano Concerto No. 5 – Andante. So it's only the middle movement being played (and that does take about 11 minutes).

I don't think I've heard single movements of anything at the Proms before, except as encores (Currentzis and Andsnes have done this in recent years), but perhaps it's more common than I imagine. I hope it's not a sign of things to come.

[Pulcinella]

Very little that appeals at first glance here.
And for anyone travelling from 'out of town', weekend offerings seemed particularly dire.

Britten MND stands out though: will certainly listen to that.

[Roger Webb]

This Septic Isle, set in a soiled sea?

On the bright side, the sun has just popped out, here in the Forest of Dean, and Spring has sprung.

Ditto here just over the River Wye from you!

On the down side my wife and I are reminiscing of those years when we would rush to WH Smiths on the first day of issue of the Proms Guide and plan our trips to London - after much discussion we would settle on the best fortnight to take narrowboat 'The Vancy' up the Kennet and Avon from Bristol to Paddington Basin and cram in as much as we could!

As Pulcinella says, very little appeals now!

[LMcD]

I'm at a loss to know what the personal motivations are for such changes to the Proms and Radio 3. Is there genuinely something high-minded in the search for inclusion, (musical) diversity, the breaking down of barriers? Or is it all deeply cynical, 'necessary measures in a changing world', pays the rent so make the most of it while it lasts? And we've moved on since Pet Shop Boys and Paloma Faith.

How do you characterise the strategy of 'If at first you don't succeed, just keep doing variations of the same thing until you do' ?

I would venture to suggest that that is precisely what it is.

[Quarky]

Looking at the Proms in a little detail, and mixing the programmes in a very non-rigorous way with demographics of listening audiences, may be the division between classical and pop concerts is a little misleading.

Firstly, I note that practically all concerts feature a symphony orchestra, apart from some chamber music, some workshops, and proms 51 and 64. Even Prom 2 , Disco Music, will be performed by a Symphony Orchestra.

On demographics, a survey by Classic FM showed that 83 percent of British people under 25 are 'encountering' and 'engaging' with orchestral music. Obviously the great majority of people under 25 prefer pop music, of one type or another. For Classical music, the target audience for the BBC is the 39-54 age group, whereas the average age of the BBC Radio 3 listener is 65. My very un-scientific conclusion is that Proms 2024 is consistent with Henry Wood's aim in the sense of attempting to attract younger people to the Classical world. OK, tear me apart....

There is quite a bit of interest for me in Proms 2024, including Purcell Faerie Queen, Britten Midsummer Night's Dream, even Britten's 4 minute "Shepherd's Carol". However I will be picking and choosing and not attending the concerts in person.

[vinteuil]

...the best fortnight to take narrowboat 'The Vancy' up the Kennet and Avon from Bristol to Paddington Basin and cram in as much as we could!

... allowing a week or so for the Caen Hill locks before Devizes

[Roger Webb]

... allowing a week or so for the Caen Hill locks before Devizes

Yes, I have done them solo, but even 'breasted-up' with another boat they can be exhausting.....but what a glorious example of civil engineering. After Devizes, 20-odd miles of lock-free cruising through the attractive Wilts countryside....the return journey in Autumn magnificent!