People's Proms?

[Pianorak]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8451742/BBC-Proms-2011-audience-call-the-shots-in-Peoples-Prom.html

Benjamin Grosvenor worth listening to and David Gardiner's letter worth reading methinks.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Yes David Gardiner's comments are interesting, can you imagine being a regular at Glastonbury of the V Festivals and suddenly finding that from now on a proportion of the Festival will now consist of classical concerts and an opera? The inverse-snobbery comment is very true why does the integrity of classical music now seem to be sacrificed in order to 'sweeten' it with cheap gimmicks.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

why does the integrity of classical music now seem to be sacrificed in order to 'sweeten' it with cheap gimmicks.

Any such attempts generally lead to utter failure, as does pandering to the perceived tastes of children in musical education.

[french frank]

The Telegraph comments divide down the usual lines. I did like this one, though:

"their stated aim was "to run nightly concerts to train the public" "

When I was growing up, the great Manchester Corporation trained the city's youngsters by sending them to the Free Trade Hall to hear the Halle Orchestra under John Barbirolli.
How lucky we were.

I think there are some similar schemes running now, plus the excellent Cavatina Trust. But what I don't think either the 'traditional' or the wacky schemes really creates is that nonchalant acceptance of the going to concerts and recitals as part of 'what people do'.

The 'Request Prom' is a late night hour-long concert. Bit like Breakfast, since they'll all be shorter works, apparently.

[mercia]

I'm not sure I'd want to be "trained" to appreciate music - rather an odd word

would it involve one of those long circus whips?

[french frank]

I'm not sure I'd want to be "trained" to appreciate music - rather an odd word

would it involve one of those long circus whips?

The full quote is in:

Newman arranged to meet Wood at Queen's Hall one spring morning in 1894 to talk about the project. 'I am going to run nightly concerts to train the public in easy stages,' he explained. 'Popular at first, gradually raising the standard until I have created a public for classical and modern music.'

I think people would be more likely to resent this approach now than they were 100 years ago. 'They' [generalisation] still had the self-improvement ethic at that time.