Proms 2024

[Darkbloom]

It was the Royal College of Music, across the road from the RAH. If memory serves, the Peter Maxwell Davies talk in 1982, introduced by Robert Ponsonby, was held in a room at the RAH and the Ask the Director events were held in the auditorium itself.

The oddest venue used was the Royal Geographical Society building on the corner of Exhibition Road when Julian Anderson gave a talk. It's actually a very nice place and ideal for a pre-Prom event and should have been utilised more often.

I went to the Royal Geographical Society for a talk once. I think it was the composer Steven Stucky. Yes, I agree it was ideal for that kind of talk. The two at the RAH I can remember involved Salonen for one, and Humphrey Burton introduced Wonderful Town at the other. It was probably a hassle opening the hall early so I'm not surprised it wasn't used all that much.

[alywin]

We only went to one pre-Prom talk. We might have gone to more but it clashed with joining the Arena queue under the old system.

But the whole point of the old system was that you got a raffle ticket to mark your place in the queue, then went off to the pre-Prom talk, and came back and rejoined the queue. Or am I missing something?

[PhilipT]

But the whole point of the old system was that you got a raffle ticket to mark your place in the queue, then went off to the pre-Prom talk, and came back and rejoined the queue. Or am I missing something?

No, you are not. That was, originally [see below] the only point of raffle tickets.

I could bore for England on this, but: Up to and including the 1992 season, queuing was organised by the Prommers themselves. The rules were attached to the lamppost at the top of the steps, and there was a list that one signed on arrival in the queue. In 1993 the Hall intervened, abolished the old system, banned lists, and began to experiment with different queuing systems. They began issuing raffle tickets, in the afternoon, to allow those queuing to leave their places to go to the talk and then re-join the queue.

Much has changed since then. About (someone please correct me) eight years ago there was a rash of ram-raiding attacks on crowds of people. The Hall management panicked, and began issuing raffle tickets at 9:00am, allowing people to leave the queue all day if they wished. About (someone please correct me) five years ago, halfway through the season, the Stewards began issuing two raffle tickets per person, a system that still rankles with those who queue for themselves alone and which the Hall management have never made any attempt to justify. Letters to the Hall complaining about this about this are met with a bland "we review the queuing arrangements every year" response.

Oh, I can't go on. RAH management are beneath contempt. It's not as though we pay their salaries, is it?

[Ein Heldenleben]

No, you are not. That was, originally [see below] the only point of raffle tickets.

I could bore for England on this, but: Up to and including the 1992 season, queuing was organised by the Prommers themselves. The rules were attached to the lamppost at the top of the steps, and there was a list that one signed on arrival in the queue. In 1993 the Hall intervened, abolished the old system, banned lists, and began to experiment with different queuing systems. They began issuing raffle tickets, in the afternoon, to allow those queuing to leave their places to go to the talk and then re-join the queue.

Much has changed since then. About (someone please correct me) eight years ago there was a rash of ram-raiding attacks on crowds of people. The Hall management panicked, and began issuing raffle tickets at 9:00am, allowing people to leave the queue all day if they wished. About (someone please correct me) five years ago, halfway through the season, the Stewards began issuing two raffle tickets per person, a system that still rankles with those who queue for themselves alone and which the Hall management have never made any attempt to justify. Letters to the Hall complaining about this about this are met with a bland "we review the queuing arrangements every year" response.

Oh, I can't go on. RAH management are beneath contempt. It's not as though we pay their salaries, is it?

I’m not sure about the “ram-raiding” phrase . That’s all about burglary. Do you mean terrorist attacks on crowds using cars ? That’s some thing completely different. Once you decide public queuing is unsafe it’s very difficult to devise a system that isn’t open to some form of gaming. It always struck me that the old queuing system was great for those with spare time but not so good with those with a job.

[smittims]

On another tack, as it were, it may be early to sum up this year's season, but one thing that has occurred to me is that the commemoration of the Bruckner and Schoenberg anniversaries has been rather meagre. I think it's the urge to include so many 'non-classical ' concerts that has restricted this, and that the Proms no longer deserve the BBc's boast about the 'greatest classical music festival'.

[Petrushka]

On another tack, as it were, it may be early to sum up this year's season, but one thing that has occurred to me is that the commemoration of the Bruckner and Schoenberg anniversaries has been rather meagre. I think it's the urge to include so many 'non-classical ' concerts that has restricted this, and that the Proms no longer deserve the BBc's boast about the 'greatest classical music festival'.

The Schoenberg anniversary seems to have passed by largely unnoticed, not just at the Proms, much as I'd feared.

Is his music still considered box office poison?

[DracoM]

Yep - Radio 2 / Classic FM style-progs have shoved an awful lot of R3 classical repertoire aside. Made a number of concerts unlistenable for me. That and daily increase of jazz has re-shaped R3. Hence my use of the Finnish classic music site Yle Klassinen | Yle Areena. while watching cricket / football on Sky.

Ahem.......................

[Darkbloom]

On another tack, as it were, it may be early to sum up this year's season, but one thing that has occurred to me is that the commemoration of the Bruckner and Schoenberg anniversaries has been rather meagre. I think it's the urge to include so many 'non-classical ' concerts that has restricted this, and that the Proms no longer deserve the BBc's boast about the 'greatest classical music festival'.

The Proms is the ideal place to do something you wouldn't hear anywhere else and a Bruckner cycle would have been welcome, along with an intelligent selection of Schoenberg. I don't have a problem with the more populist programming, but not if it's going to crowd out the Proms' core purpose.

[mopsus]

The Schoenberg anniversary seems to have passed by largely unnoticed, not just at the Proms, much as I'd feared.

Is his music still considered box office poison?

I'm going to next Monday's Prom - an RVW/Schoenberg (Violin Concerto)/Shostakovich programme - and ticket sales for that seem to have been healthy. But perhaps those of us who want to hear his music are peopling the rather limited concerts where it's been programmed.

[Petrushka]

The Proms is the ideal place to do something you wouldn't hear anywhere else and a Bruckner cycle would have been welcome, along with an intelligent selection of Schoenberg.

There are some good programmes to be had that could usefully couple both of them together eg Schoenberg Piano Concerto ( or Chamber Symphony No 1) with the Bruckner 7 or Ewartung with the Bruckner 9. There are many different possibilities and combinations.

[alywin]

I’m not sure about the “ram-raiding” phrase . That’s all about burglary. Do you mean terrorist attacks on crowds using cars ? That’s some thing completely different. Once you decide public queuing is unsafe it’s very difficult to devise a system that isn’t open to some form of gaming. It always struck me that the old queuing system was great for those with spare time but not so good with those with a job.

Although actually the rejigging of the queues started, I think, when the underground works on the RAH were started and the Gallery day queue which had been in Bremner Road(?) had to be moved to down the steps like the others. The current (day ticket) system may still not be not so good for those with a job if that job doesn't allow them to log on at precisely 10.30. I lost 3/4 hour working time last week while waiting to get in to book.

And I agree about the Bruckner and Schoenberg anniversaries. I'd barely registered the Bruckner one, and the Schoenberg not at all :(

[smittims]

Schoenberg's piano concerto will be broadcast in Radio 3 in Concert on Monday 16 September,played by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, one of its principal current intepreters.

[edashtav]

Schoenberg's piano concerto will be broadcast in Radio 3 in Concert on Monday 16 September,played by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, one of its principal current intepreters.

Excellent News: thank you smittims.

[oddoneout]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/sep/10/tell-us-your-highlights-from-this-proms-season

[LMcD]

https://www.theguardian.com/music/ar...s-proms-season

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's Tchaikowsky 5th
'Beethoven for Three'
NYO's Mahler 1st
Martyn Brabbins's London Symphony and Enigma Variations
Dalia Stasevska's Sibelius 5th