Prom 75 - 7.09.13: Last Night of the Proms

[Nick Armstrong]

Probably! I thought the top looked a bit like a 'honeymoon nightie' !!
(If you know what I mean ...)

A propos Ms Westwood, Jean-Yves Thibaudet showed you can do the 'fashion' thing and not look like a plonker or a dessert.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I confess that I liked Katie Derham's outfit. Am I doomed?

Not at all, Flay - you need worry only if you find yourself admiring her pronunciation of "Berliner Philharmoniker".

[amac4165]

I think the last night of the Proms is a show not a full fledged Concert there were many good concerts. As there are to many armchair critics on this site who seem to dislike everything.

Indeed it is a show ! - of for a lot of people it is more fun complaining about the last night than going to it !

[french frank]

I think the last night of the Proms is a show not a full fledged Concert there were many good concerts. As there are to many armchair critics on this site who seem to dislike everything.

If you have a large number of people expressing their opinions, everything will be disliked by someone, and everything will be liked by someone. That doesn't mean that signiificant numbers dislike everything, any more than it means that significant numbers like everything. The views expressed here seem to reflect the views of plenty of people who wouldn't be seen dead treading these boards.

[Mr Pee]

Indeed it is a show ! - of for a lot of people it is more fun complaining about the last night than going to it !

Let's see...An expensive train to London, long queues to get into the Albert Hall, (a venue that is wrong on so many levels), which will be filled with a lot of people on corporate junkets, most of whom wouldn't recognise a Beethoven symphony if it got up and kicked them in the knackers- (witness the early applause at the end of Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves last night)-, a dreadful mish-mash of music such as we heard yesterday, and then a mad rush back to Victoria Station to try and catch the last train home, which I would no doubt have to share with a load of Saturday night p**s heads.

On balance, yes, it is much more fun to complain about it.

[amateur51]

most of whom wouldn't recognise a Beethoven symphony if it got up and kicked them in the knackers

Such style, such flair ... such demographic subtlety

[Padraig]

. The views expressed here seem to reflect the views of plenty of people who wouldn't be seen dead treading these boards.

Not sure I'm with you there, ff, but I suspect you are not dishing out any compliments.

I'll just add my sum up if I may. For a last night, as we have come to know it, it was good value. I hope Marin Alsop was happy with everyone, including herself. I liked the 'political' bits of her speech. I enjoyed the soloists - what performers! - and it goes without saying that anyone who sings Danny Boy is a friend of mine.

[french frank]

Not sure I'm with you there, ff, but I suspect you are not dishing out any compliments.

No, it wasn't intended as a compliment. I merely wanted to say that lambasting the Last Night is not a sport confined to this forum.

[Anna]

No, it wasn't intended as a compliment. I merely wanted to say that lambasting the Last Night is not a sport confined to this forum.

Well, The Telegraph and The Guardian thought it was sensational. I thought it was a bit of a dog's dinner, a rag-bag, but - I've seen worse - and better.
It's a dilemma, how to mark the end of the season. However, I would say, we are grateful for the Proms, it's what keeps R3 the station we all listen to (at least during the Summer), cannot imagine life without the Proms. Having said that, the tv coverage was awful with all the editing and topping and tailing. Still waiting for the Lachenmann to be broadcast .....

[Mary Chambers]

However, I would say, we are grateful for the Proms, it's what keeps R3 the station we all listen to (at least during the Summer), cannot imagine life without the Proms. Having said that, the tv coverage was awful with all the editing and topping and tailing...

I agree with all of that. I am very grateful for the Proms. 74 concerts, only a few of which are rubbish, and thousands of people going to hear serious music. Unlike most people, I dislike summer - too hot (sometimes!), and too boring. The Proms are what get me through it.

(Autocorrect or something has just altered 'theProms' to 'Thermos'.)

[teamsaint]

Let's see...An expensive train to London, long queues to get into the Albert Hall, (a venue that is wrong on so many levels), which will be filled with a lot of people on corporate junkets, most of whom wouldn't recognise a Beethoven symphony if it got up and kicked them in the knackers- (witness the early applause at the end of Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves last night)-, a dreadful mish-mash of music such as we heard yesterday, and then a mad rush back to Victoria Station to try and catch the last train home, which I would no doubt have to share with a load of Saturday night p**s heads.

On balance, yes, it is much more fun to complain about it.

Oh noes, that is the SECOND time this weekend I have had to agree with you.

One of us must be going wrong.
Is the Wagner getting to me, perhaps?

[BBMmk2]

My sentiments entirely, Mary.

[ahinton]

Let's see...An expensive train to London, long queues to get into the Albert Hall, (a venue that is wrong on so many levels), which will be filled with a lot of people on corporate junkets, most of whom wouldn't recognise a Beethoven symphony if it got up and kicked them in the knackers- (witness the early applause at the end of Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves last night)-, a dreadful mish-mash of music such as we heard yesterday, and then a mad rush back to Victoria Station to try and catch the last train home, which I would no doubt have to share with a load of Saturday night p**s heads.

On balance, yes, it is much more fun to complain about it.

Apart from the fact that I'd rather say nothing about it at all and that, for me, it would be Paddington rather than Victoria (or would be were it even possible to catch a train back after a Prom), it would be hard for me to disagree with any of this; all that I would be inclined to add is a comment about it being largely a waste of Marin Alsop...

[Flosshilde]

(Autocorrect or something has just altered 'theProms' to 'Thermos'.)

Thermos flasks can keep cold drinks cold as well as hot drinks hot, so the 'suggestion' isn't as outlandish as it might seem (& if the cold drinks contain some alcohol, even better for getting you through a boring hot summer).


Reading this thread is as entertaining as reading the annual New Year's Day Concert thread. Inspired levels of bitchiness from some contributors (this is not a complaint, nor would I suggest that Mary is being - or ever has been - bitchy )

[OldTechie]

Mrs OT and I were there (in the circle - tickets courtesy of a friend in the BBC Symphony Chorus.) I think the previous LNotP that I attended was a Manchester LNotP with the Hallé more than 50 years ago, and it was a much more subdued affair (especially as the Free Trade Hall did not allow for actual promenading.)

In general I'm not much of a fan of NK because he is inclined to choose to play in a style to match the appearance he carefully presents. I was quite fearful of him playing The Lark Ascending. However, I thought it was excellent. He did not try to present it as a virtuoso demonstration, but played with all the required constraint. Throughout he was playing with the orchestra, not being accompanied by the orchestra. This was, unfortunately, partially destroyed by the sound mix when I listen to the iPlayer version. In the hall the first few notes he played were perfectly balanced with the orchestra violins. On the iPlayer mix his carefully controlled playing has been "enhanced" to suit the preference of the sound mixer, possibly because watching a close up of him on the TV screen would encourage that. My only complaint in the hall was that there was too much air conditioning noise where we were seated.

The humour in the Csardas worked in the hall, but I could not see it transferring to radio or TV very well.

I did find the large screens most distracting. On shot changes it was hard not to look at them, and a close up of someone playing in the distance ruins the sound! To add to this, they were not using the transmission feed (because that had shots including the screens, and so there would have been a video howl-round which is not pretty) and the operator was frequently caught out by the camera he was on suddenly zooming in to focus or doing some other move the instant it was not on the transmission output. This seemed to alarm Mrs OT quite a lot. Looking at a close up of JD while she was singing gave me the distinct impression that the sound was coming from the PA speakers hung between them (though I'm sure it was not.) We probably had more of Ms Alsop than the transmission view, and she came over as highly competent. Even I could see what she wanted people to do, and she often made it clear that she was pleased with the result.

I was most impressed by the audience singing which sounded very much better in the hall than the very second-rate reproduction on the iPlayer feed where it is all a bit too distant. It was very well in tune and on time (I kept shut up in order not to destroy the effect.)