Today's the day... What do we think of Proms season 2011?

[BBMmk2]

Ive been wondering about this to. Would they be able to pull it off?

[Petrushka]

I can't make up my mind on this. I've heard Mahler 2 on quite a few occasions....all good...some extremely memorable. I associate - perhaps unfairly - the SBO with up-tempo music but maybe I am doing them a disservice and that their Mahler 2 could be exquisite. What do the rest of you think?

Same here. It could be good, it could be unforgettable, it could equally be a disaster. One for the short list though.

[ucanseetheend]

What has the BBC Proms website become?
Unreadable , unusable and very unuser friendly, It was simple to use for years , week by week diary links , composer links and orchestra/artists links, If this is an attempt to promote sales of the overpriced Proms guide it ain't gonna succeed in my house.

[BetweenTheStaves]

Like this!



Taken from 2008.

I dread to think how much it cost to develop the new 'naff' website.

[Norrette]

Yes, they've taken a leaf out of the Barbican book. Show the composer's name on the list but not the piece. I think it is because they want us to click through to see the details so they can count the hit rates on each prom maybe? But I can't see that it would be a true indicator of prom popularity.

Prices seem a good bit higher - or do I have a short memory?

[David Underdown]

I don't pay much attention to the prices for seats. Promming prices (day and season) are the same as last year.

[Chris Newman]

I can't make up my mind on this. I've heard Mahler 2 on quite a few occasions....all good...some extremely memorable. I associate - perhaps unfairly - the SBO with up-tempo music but maybe I am doing them a disservice and that their Mahler 2 could be exquisite. What do the rest of you think?

Rather than put on the obviously noisy bits of Mahler 3 here is a bit from the SBO which requires some subtlety and humour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxbgsw6wFVk

I think I shall give the Ressurection a fair hearing.

[BBMmk2]

Rather than put on the obviously noisy bits of Mahler 3 here is a bit from the SBO which requires some subtlety and humour:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxbgsw6wFVk

I think I shall give the Ressurection a fair hearing.

I think I still have my doubts.

[BetweenTheStaves]

Thanks for that link, Chris. Think I'll give them a miss....

[Donnie Essen]

I'm going to see The Monkees. Other than that, I might steer away from the Albert Hall this year. Except for the Brian symphony, perhaps. I'll have to see if anything gets me excited nearer the time, but I ain't too inspired at present. Got enough expenses, anyway. I just noticed that Lisa Batiashvili is playing this year. I had a ticket to see her playing Berg at last year's proms and I made sure to sit close 'cause she's kinda hot, but she fell ill and was replaced by a dude and I was sad. Dude was Gil Shaham though and he was great. Anyway, it's real decent of them to open ticket sales on a Saturday. That's kinda rare. Most of the time, you gotta make sure you get to work for the correct time and then not work but sit there pretending by the PC all anxious and hoping to get tickets. This makes it easier for us non-retirees. I thank them for that, but I agree that the new web design sucks.

[BBMmk2]

Donnie Essen, not even Janacek's Sinfonietta?

[Eudaimonia]

Everyone who's complaining about the price of the Proms Guide should be glad to hear you can get it on Amazon for 3.89, shipping included:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1849902631/sr=1-1/qid=1303661230/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1303661230&sr=1-1&seller=

[Donnie Essen]

Donnie Essen, not even Janacek's Sinfonietta?

Never heard it. I got gaps in my knowledge. I do like his operas, though, and now that you've gotten me interested, I'll see about downloading a copy and will probably book a ticket.

[bluestateprommer]

Overall, regarding the 2011 season, I have more of a sense of buried treasure (e.g. the various Frank Bridge works; Birtwistle's new violin concerto), among the obvious and more familiar selections and the opening weekend blockbusters like William Tell and HB 1. So while overall, 2011 may not be a "knockout" season, I had the same feeling about 2010 too, but I crossed the pond anyway last year for the proceedings. Once the season gets rolling and people go to the concerts and report on them here and elsewhere, people may be surprised.