Prom 7: Tuesday 19th July 2011 at 10.00 p.m.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Presented by Petroc Trelawny

One of the greatest pieces of chamber music for the first of this season's Late Night Proms. A leading quartet of our time is joined by the distinguished cellist and founder member of the Berg Quartet, Valentin Erben. Barely thirty years old, but already near death, Schubert had his String Quintet rejected by his publisher and only performed and published many years after his death. But its exploratory outer movements and the sublimely transcendent slow movement, continue to inspire musicians, poets, film makers and audiences to this day.

Schubert: Quintet in C major, D956

Belcea Quartet
Valentin Erben (cello).

[Frances_iom]

Presented by Petroc Trelawny

One of the greatest pieces of chamber music for the first of this season's Late Night Proms. A.

and obviously new to a significant band of happy clappers who applauded each movement - for me this can destroy the unity of a piece but guess shows the Proms does attract newcomers to chamber music

[Bryn]

and obviously new to a significant band of happy clappers who applauded each movement - for me this can destroy the unity of a piece but guess shows the Proms does attract newcomers to chamber music

Or perhaps just old hands who like to respond as they might in Schubert's time.

[bluestateprommer]

Actually, speaking from my vantage point in the Arena tonight, I go with Frances_iom regarding the applause between movements. None of it was from the Arena. I'm sort of surprised since my admittedly ill-informed impression is that the late night Proms attract the die-hards, who would presumably expected to be classical music veterans and thus know not to applaud between movements. That aside, the new incarnation of the Belcea, plus Valentin Erben, did a very fine job, one or two fractional slips in the finale aside. The vastness of the RAH space did make the overall tone of the concert perhaps a tad more 'relaxed' in sonority, which certainly wouldn't have been the case if they'd done this concert at Wigmore Hall or a smaller space such as on the South Bank (where I admit I've never seen a concert, so I speak in the abstract).