The 2012 Proms season

[doversoul1]

As far as I recall it goes right back to the construction of the hall. To raise funds to build the thing, seats were sold off in perpetuity, or on 1000 year leaseholds or somesuch.

They're traded by the likes of Harrods Estates. You can deduce for yourself the kind of sums involved from that alone. Doubtless there are several too many zeros on the end for them to ever be of anything but academic interest to me!

Aha, a cursory search turns up:

http://www.harrodsestates.com/assets...nformation.pdf

Seatholders pay an Annual Contribution towards the upkeep of the Hall, which in
2007 amounts in net terms to £497 per seat.
(re: http://www.harrodsestates.com/assets...nformation.pdf)

Does this mean the Proms are not really the ‘world greatest classical music events for people’, then? Or have I been too naïve?

[David Underdown]

The hall is allowed a certain number of "exclusive lets" each year. On these occasions debenture holders normal rights do not apply, and all tickets are sold by the box office. I forget the exact figures (I think there's an explanation in the most recent Proms book, published 2008), there is a particular number of exclusive lets allowed in various different categories - this is apparently one reason why operas during the Proms are often semi-staged: they then don't fall into the concert category for exclusive lets. The proms as a whole is allowed quite a high proportion of the available exclusive lets for each year. The privately owned seats in any case form a very small percentage of the 6000 odd places in the hall

[doversoul1]

David
Thank you for explaining the matter. I shall listen to the proms without being bothered by non/un-musical thoughts.

[bluestateprommer]

last 'PromWatch' before The First Night

Here goes, the last tally of sold-out Proms before the musical festivities begin:

Prom 1: The First Night
Prom 2: My Fair Lady
PCM 1: Alice Coote & Julius Drake
Prom 7: Handel/Le Concert Spirituel (free Prom)
Prom 9: Beethoven/Boulez/WEDO 1
PSM 1: JSB, The Art of the Fugue
PCM 2: Tenebrae
Prom 12: Beethoven/Boulez/WEDO 3
Prom 13: Beethoven/Boulez/WEDO 4
Prom 18: Beethoven 9, WEDO/Barenboim
PSM 2: Les 24 Violons du Roy
Prom 20: Wallace & Gromit
PCM 3: La Tarantella
Prom 23: RVW/Delius/Walton, BBC NOW/Otaka
Prom 26: JSB, Mass in b
PCM 4: Debussy/Ravel
Prom 39: Berlioz, Requiem, BBC NOW/Fischer
PCM 5: Nicola Benedetti & friends
Prom 43: RPO/Dutoit/Grosvenor
Prom 50: BBC SO/Vänskä/Collins
Prom 59: The Broadway Sound
Prom 60: The Marriage of Figaro
Prom 63: BPO/Rattle 1
Prom 64: BPO/Rattle 2
PCM 8: Debussy, Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Prom 70: Desert Island Discs 70th Anniversary
Prom 71: Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/Robertson/Tetzlaff
Prom 73: VPO/Haitink 1
Prom 76: The Last Night

So we're up to 29 sold-out Proms; not bad.

I have to admit that I've read 2 different explanations about the RAH and lets apart from the explanations given here, and my head still swims at trying to grasp the idea completely. It does make sense that initially 'sold out' concerts had some of those tickets in the hands of box owners, although the subsequent resale and variation in appearances on the sold out list, between postings, would indicate some release of those box seats, at the least.

That's also an interesting point about concerts during the actual time of the Olympics, July 27 through August 12, perhaps not getting as much traffic as they might if the Olympics weren't at the same time. However, from looking at those programs that aren't quite in the "House Full" category, I suspect that many of them wouldn't necessarily have sold out in advance anyway. In Prom 19, for example, Pelle Gudmunsen-Holmgreen and Rued Langgaard aren't exactly big box-office names. Anyway, just a bit less than 15 hours to go :) .

[amcluesent]

Hardly an auspicious start. 10 minutes gone, we've had maybe 4 minutes of music and a lorra, lorra of prattle from Trelawny. We can only hope the ratio of music to blathering improves.

EDIT - I've turned off now, Trelawny's bellowed banalities are quite insuferable

[Nick Armstrong]

Rather lumbering attempt at Cockaigne on now

[notinajumalainukhaju]

Full, detailed programme for the entire season

Why can't they list the performers as well as the repertoire on the weekly view? So infuriating...

Yes, where is the common and garden full programme with all details - of works and performers?

[notinajumalainukhaju]

You're all too kind

Perhaps I was trying to make myself redundant

Anyway, I've finished highlighting and have now copied it into two printable versions, in the usual 2-column and 3-column formats, and have posted 'in the usual place'. (There's now a link to it on the blog, as well as one to this messageboard.)

(I've marked the printables as 'Version 1' so that I can re-issue if any errors are found or if any important details alter before the performances. If anybody spots any errors, please let me know.)

Many thanks!

[PhilipT]

The privately owned seats in any case form a very small percentage of the 6000 odd places in the hall

It isn't as small a percentage as all that, David. The figures from the RAH's website here are that the Ordinary Let capacity is 3,929, and the Exclusive Let capacity is 5,250. However, those figures assume that (a) the Choir seats are on sale, and (b) the Arena is full of chairs which are on sale. The capacity can indeed approach 6,000 at a Prom (assuming close to 1,000 standing in the Arena as opposed to about 740 seated, and 505 in the Gallery).

[french frank]

Many thanks!

Referring, of course, to Andrew's blog and one-page Proms listings: links are on the forum homepage in the left-hand sidebar.

Not to mention, of course (as I am about to do), bluestateprommer's concert entries in the forum calendar, which generate the 7-days ahead Proms concert reminders at the foot of the forum homepage.

[amcluesent]

Surely I am not along in thinking Trelawny's shouting and bellowing is ruining every Prom? He really is extraordinarily annoying, I have to leap for the remote to hit the mute button.

[EdgeleyRob]

Surely I am not along in thinking Trelawny's shouting and bellowing is ruining every Prom? He really is extraordinarily annoying, I have to leap for the remote to hit the mute button.

You are not alone

[Barbirollians]

I agree - he is dreadful . What a shame that in recompense the Zimbabwean authorities did not offer hima long term job .