Proms 2011 Announced Changes

[Ravensbourne]

"Fantastic Appearances of a theme by Berlioz" lasts 55 minutes, but will be performed in a shortened version made by Honeck, which will last about 23 minutes. The theme is "The Song of the Flea" from "The Damnation of Faust," which Braunfels introduces with a cornet solo.

There's far more information on the piece here than BBC Radio 3 thought to give the listener. Do they assume we were all so familiar with the piece that no explanation was needed?

On the other hand, we did learn lots about the composer's grandson.

[Roehre]

' "Fantastic Appearances of a theme by Berlioz" lasts 55 minutes, but will be performed in a shortened version made by Honeck, which will last about 23 minutes. The theme is "The Song of the Flea" from "The Damnation of Faust," which Braunfels introduces with a cornet solo.

A "shortened version": of the introduction plus 12 Appearances lasting (according to the score) some 47 minutes, we only got less than 15 minutes consisting of the introduction + appearance 1 + appearance 4. Is Honeck listening to Breakfast, I am wondering
Considered the frequency with which Beethoven PC4 and Tchaikovsky 5 are performed, this is IMO an unacceptable form of artistic vandalism.

[Ruth Elleson]

That's the problem with new commissions at the Proms, especially if they are a world premiere, nobody really knows just how long they are going to take to finish: I remember one year I was at a performance of a Symphony by Robin Holloway to celebrate the Minnennium, which probably dates it about 2000. It was listed at c35 minutes but it was still going on for nearly an hour: now I'm a great fan of this composer's work (I have both the 2nd and 3rd Concertos on NMC and was present at the world premiere of 'Seascape and Harvest' with Rattle and the CBSO) but people were beginning to get a bit restless: especially when in the second half, Runnilcles and the BBCSSO were doing the whole of the 3rd Act of Richard Wagner's 'Walküre'. It was a great concert, but seemed to go on all night.

It was indeed 2000 - my second-ever Prom. I had set a recording device up at home to capture the radio broadcast of the Wagner - needless to say that because the Holloway symphony overran so drastically, I got barely half of it before the recording cut out