Prom 1: First Night of the Proms

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Friday 12 July
7.30pm – c. 10.20pm
Royal Albert Hall

Julian Anderson
Harmony (c4 mins)
BBC Commission, World Premiere
Britten
Four Sea Interludes from 'Peter Grimes' (17 mins)
Rachmaninov
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (23 mins)
Lutosławski
Variations on a Theme by Paganini (8 mins)
INTERVAL
Vaughan Williams
A Sea Symphony (66 mins)

Sally Matthews soprano
Roderick Williams baritone
Stephen Hough piano
BBC Proms Youth Choir
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo conductor

The 2013 Proms begins with a surge of natural energy in sea-inspired works by Britten and Vaughan Williams, the latter combining the 300-strong forces of the Proms Youth Choir and the BBC Symphony Chorus. Julian Anderson's new commission sets some lines concerning nature and time by the 19th-century mystical writer Richard Jefferies. Stephen Hough performs one of the best-loved works in the repertory, kicking off a season in which the piano concerto will loom large. And 100 years after his birth, Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski is celebrated alongside the music of his compatriots, beginning tonight with one of his most popular pieces.

[french frank]

Concert threads being progressively released for discussion.

[BBMmk2]

Not a bad combination! be great having the two Pag Varaitions coupled together!

[VodkaDilc]

I would have liked to have gone to this one, but, by the time I got to the front of the queue on 'that' Saturday, there were only Restricted View seats available. I'll have my radio ready.

I notice it's being shown complete on TV - but half an hour later. "Why, oh why", as the tabloids used to say! The televising of the Proms looks like a real dog's-dinner this year.

(Actually, if it's as hot as this, the RAH will not be a pleasant place to sit for nearly three hours on Friday.)

[Petrushka]

Much as I like RVW, I'm afraid the Sea Symphony is the one of the nine that does little for me. Still, a semi-live TV broadcast might make me look on it a bit differently.

Agree that the Proms TV broadcasts are a real dog's dinner. The opportunities that television holds for classical music are being stupidly squandered by the BBC, a situation I find as predictable as it is baffling.

[EdgeleyRob]

Really looking forward to watching this on telly.

[Alison]

So another Proms season starts with a very short brand new piece.

Ditto the Last Night.

Could it, should it be otherwise ?

[Hornspieler]

Much as I like RVW, I'm afraid the Sea Symphony is the one of the nine that does little for me. Still, a semi-live TV broadcast might make me look on it a bit differently.

Agree that the Proms TV broadcasts are a real dog's dinner. The opportunities that television holds for classical music are being stupidly squandered by the BBC, a situation I find as predictable as it is baffling.

I totally agree, Pet.

What sort of an audience are they chasing?

From one extreme to the other, with the least appetising RVW symphony in between the two extremes.

HS

[mrbouffant]

Well, I for one am looking forward to hearing my first Sea Sym live...

Altogether now: "Today a rude brief recitative,
Of ships sailing the seas, each with its special flag or ship-signal,
Of unnamed heroes in the ships -- of waves spreading and spreading far as the eye can reach,
Of dashing spray, and the winds piping and blowing,
And out of these a chant for the sailors of all nations,
Fitful, like a surge."

[VodkaDilc]

Well, I for one am looking forward to hearing my first Sea Sym live...

Altogether now: "Today a rude brief recitative,
Of ships sailing the seas, each with its special flag or ship-signal,
Of unnamed heroes in the ships -- of waves spreading and spreading far as the eye can reach,
Of dashing spray, and the winds piping and blowing,
And out of these a chant for the sailors of all nations,
Fitful, like a surge."

A wonderful symphony! Perhaps those who don't like it are thinking of it in terms of a conventional (orchestral) symphony. My advice is to forget all that and enjoy it as a one-off. MrB has started those wonderful melodies going through my head! - and has revived memories of some later sections, sung by the great Isobel Baillie.

[Sir Velo]

A wonderful symphony! Perhaps those who don't like it are thinking of it in terms of a conventional (orchestral) symphony. My advice is to forget all that and enjoy it as a one-off. MrB has started those wonderful melodies going through my head! - and has revived memories of some later sections, sung by the great Isobel Baillie.

Totally agree! The emotional temperature rises at the words "O Thou Transcendent" to an ecstatic climax in the best performances. There are longueurs aplenty but like Wagner they somehow are necessary in order to achieve the full cathartic splendour of the closing pages.

[amateur51]

Surely RVW's A Sea Symphony is the most spectacular of all his symphonies and thus most suited to the Proms' First Night. What other RVW symphony would fit the bill? It's a British symphony which is what so many on here say they want to hear.It's not been featured since 2005, the archive says.

I do find all this nay-saying at this stage of the proceedings to be deeply unnecessary and frankly flatulent

[Beef Oven]

Totally agree! The emotional temperature at the words "O Thou Transcendent" never fails to send a shiver down the spine. There are longueurs aplenty but like Wagner they somehow are necessary in order to achieve the full cathartic splendour of the closing pages.

This is making me want to stick it on the turntable without any further delay!

[Sir Velo]

Got Job on as it happens. Will keep the Sea Symphony back 'til Friday.

[Beef Oven]

Got Job on as it happens. Will keep the Sea Symphony back 'til Friday.

Good idea, I think I will play Job now. Haven't played it in a while. I understand that it can be downloaded from the Boy Scouts website for 5p.