Proms 2015: Today's the day

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  • Nazard
    Full Member
    • Aug 2014
    • 21

    #16
    Forgive me if this has already been oft-discussed. Are there still plans to appoint a permanent Proms director to take over from Roger Wright? I see that Edward Blakeman is only being referred to as "this year's Prom's director".

    Comment

    • Prommer
      Full Member
      • Dec 2010
      • 1260

      #17
      Originally posted by Barbirollians View Post
      I think it is the best season in ages - Nelsons in Beethoven 9 , Vanska conducting the last three Sibelius symphonies . Elder and the Halle in VW and Elgar, VPO. Rattle , Barenboim in the Triple Concerto Haitink in Schubert 9 with Pires In Mozart, Uchida playing the Schoenberg PC, the seasongs back on the last night with B Grosvenor and Jonas Kaufmann , Boston SO , St Petersburg PO , Andsnes playing all the Beethoven concertos ….
      Yes, all of the above are to look forward to, but there are vast swathes of dullness and meh in between! The VPO flying in right at the end of the season only partially redeems things.

      No Wagner, only one Bruckner symphony, no Strauss apart from one tone poem.

      But we have Schmidt 2! I heard Bychkov conduct this at the RAM last year and it is a very fine piece indeed.

      Comment

      • Demetrius
        Full Member
        • Sep 2011
        • 276

        #18
        Originally posted by zola View Post
        One of the more ill conceived concerts seems to me to be Gergiev and the LSO with three different pianists traversing all five Prokofiev piano concertos in one concert ?
        Seems like Gergiev tried it before; assuming that he wouldn't reenact a total disaster this might actually turn out quite interesting (thank god it's three pianists, and not just one btw). Piano Concertos seem to be a theme this year - there are at least 24 of them. Mozart and Haydn enjoy a bit of a comeback. A complete Beethoven PC cycle has been done a few years ago, now we are at it again, with the Choral Fantasy and the Triple concerto thrown in as an encore. Maybe Beethoven gets a tad too much exposure at times; my thoughts on the yearly 9th Symphony wasn't "oh Great, Nelsons is doing the 9th" but "damn, one Nelsons concert wasted on the 9th". Doing it every year simply creates tedium.

        Again, we have an all-out birthday party for a composer (is there any orchestral music by Sibelius that didn't make it into the program?). While I like Sibelius, I remember my pain during the Wagner year - too much of any one composer is a bit of cruel and unushual punishment for those who do not like them; the seasons tend to become a bit lopsided due to those "fests". They also drown out chances to celebrate other birthdays with at least one or two pieces. David Diamond was born in 1915. I hoped at least for one token piece, maybe Rounds for Orchestra. Not happening.

        The neglected British Composers are neglected a bit more than usual compared to the last few years, though the big names like Elgar, VW, Walton are represented with quite a few pieces (and lesser known onces, at that).

        I will likely enjoy this season quite a bit more than the last two; but it still feels very uneven. Cutting out some of the alternative concerts (leaving those with ties to Radio 3 - jazz, ex-World Routes, Ten pieces and 1! John Wilson Orchestra Prom) in exchange for classical ones might well rectify that - the number seems to have risen a bit this year.
        Last edited by Demetrius; 23-04-15, 15:12.

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        • MickyD
          Full Member
          • Nov 2010
          • 4819

          #19
          Apparently we are also going to get an "Ibiza Dance Night" Prom. Seriously!

          A Radio 1 dance night and a Sherlock Holmes celebration are among the more unusual proms in the 92-concert season – which feature more matinees this year and put the piano centre stage

          Comment

          • MrGongGong
            Full Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 18357

            #20
            This is what we want

            The world-famous contemporary music ensemble celebrates the 90th-birthday year of one of the most important figures in contemporary music, Pierre Boulez.

            Comment

            • MrGongGong
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 18357

              #21
              Originally posted by MickyD View Post
              Apparently we are also going to get an "Ibiza Dance Night" Prom. Seriously!

              http://www.theguardian.com/music/201...piano-matinees
              Better than the fawning that will doubtless ensue over the "Glorious" one with Sir Simon and the execrable DoG (but you all knew I would say that)
              GO to Shiori's piece instead, she is a wonderful composer with an extraordinary voice and give me BCMG any day

              Comment

              • french frank
                Administrator/Moderator
                • Feb 2007
                • 30457

                #22
                Originally posted by Nazard View Post
                Forgive me if this has already been oft-discussed. Are there still plans to appoint a permanent Proms director to take over from Roger Wright? I see that Edward Blakeman is only being referred to as "this year's Prom's director".
                Yes. Whether it will be Edward Blakeman (I doubt it) we have yet to see, but applications for the post closed several weeks ago. The new controller, R3, does NOT propose to take it on, so we gather …
                It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.

                Comment

                • Prommer
                  Full Member
                  • Dec 2010
                  • 1260

                  #23
                  Originally posted by MrGongGong View Post
                  Mmmm... how enticing. One for the new audiences. Who would certainly never come back!

                  Comment

                  • Stunsworth
                    Full Member
                    • Nov 2010
                    • 1553

                    #24
                    Originally posted by MickyD View Post
                    Apparently we are also going to get an "Ibiza Dance Night" Prom. Seriously!

                    http://www.theguardian.com/music/201...piano-matinees
                    Looking forward to that. It's a genre I know nothing about.
                    Steve

                    Comment

                    • DracoM
                      Host
                      • Mar 2007
                      • 12987

                      #25
                      How soon are we going to here that Pete Tong is 'curating' the Ibiza Night?
                      Simply MUST put that unmissable date in my diary.

                      Comment

                      • teamsaint
                        Full Member
                        • Nov 2010
                        • 25226

                        #26
                        come on, admit it, you all missed it, in the blizzard of Beethoven concertos, Sibelius symphonies, etc etc..
                        A Proms debut at last for Henry Cowell. ( at least I think it is a debut).

                        the Piano Concerto ,in a rather unmissable looking concert onAugust 30.
                        I assume this coincides with the 50th anniversary of his passing.

                        which is somewhat bittersweet, but welcome anyway.


                        Right cheers having died down, a first grumble. For folks who are going to travel from way out of town, some of the concert planning seems very ill thought out. Weekends are obviously a good time for those who need to stay over, ( not me, so this isn't a personal grumble,) and take in a few concerts, so is a coupling of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group in the afternoon, with Fiddler on the roof in the evening really the best possible fit, for example?

                        back to not grumbling, there are a few that look really very tempting. Prom 38 , Foulds/ Turangalila and Prom 66, Uchida playing the Schoenberg with Beethoven and DSCH look mouthwatering.
                        If you can look mouthwatering.
                        Looking forward to hearing more Boulez too.

                        and back to grumbling, no Rubbra, Simpson, Arnold, Holmboe, etc etc etc etc. of any note.

                        Also, has the RVW symphony cycle over several years been abandoned? I'm sure there were more to do.
                        Last edited by teamsaint; 23-04-15, 16:48.
                        I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                        I am not a number, I am a free man.

                        Comment

                        • Beef Oven!
                          Ex-member
                          • Sep 2013
                          • 18147

                          #27
                          Originally posted by DracoM View Post
                          How soon are we going to here that Pete Tong is 'curating' the Ibiza Night?
                          Simply MUST put that unmissable date in my diary.
                          Here, here!

                          Comment

                          • Pulcinella
                            Host
                            • Feb 2014
                            • 11062

                            #28
                            Originally posted by Beef Oven! View Post
                            Here, here!
                            There, there (wherever you are) might be better than here, here!

                            Comment

                            • Beef Oven!
                              Ex-member
                              • Sep 2013
                              • 18147

                              #29
                              Originally posted by teamsaint View Post
                              come on, admit it, you all missed it, in the blizzard of Beethoven concertos, Sibelius symphonies, etc etc..
                              A Proms debut at last for Henry Cowell. ( at least I think it is a debut).

                              the Piano Concerto ,in a rather unmissable looking concert onAugust 30.
                              I assume this coincides with the 50th anniversary of his passing.

                              which is somewhat bittersweet, but welcome anyway.


                              Right cheers having died down, a first grumble. For folks who are going to travel from way out of town, some of the concert planning seems very ill thought out. Weekends are obviously a good time for those who need to stay over, ( not me, so this isn't a personal grumble,) and take in a few concerts, so is a coupling of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group in the afternoon, with Fiddler on the roof in the evening really the best possible fit, for example?

                              back to not grumbling, there are a few that look really very tempting. Prom 38 , Foulds/ Turangalila and Prom 66, Uchida playing the Schoenberg with Beethoven and DSCH look mouthwatering.
                              If you can look mouthwatering.
                              Looking forward to hearing more Boulez too.

                              and back to grumbling, no Rubbra, Simpson, Arnold, Holmboe, etc etc etc etc. of any note.

                              Also, has the RVW symphony cycle over several years been abandoned? I'm sure there were more to do.
                              I haven't yet checked the programme out, can only go on line at the moment, but great news about the Henry Cowell!

                              Would have liked some RVW symphonies, but to be fair, I've attended scores of performances of his symphonies, so no great loss for me (and many other people have too, I suspect).

                              Can't wait for the London Dub Extravaganza - that will be worth queuing up for!

                              Will Laibach be back from the USA in time for their Prom special?

                              Looking forward to the Sibelius.

                              Comment

                              • Suffolkcoastal
                                Full Member
                                • Nov 2010
                                • 3292

                                #30
                                I presume this is still the work of the dreaded RW, bears all the hallmarks. As usual, plenty of dull predictable pieces, uninspired programming, odd & awkward programming, plenty of the same old composers for most of the time, same old pieces, The Planets, Shos 10, Mahler . For the anniversary composers Sibelius & Nielsen, not as much of the former as I'd expected, Dukas, that predictable piece, Glazunov nothing, Diamond, nothing, Magnard, the 2nd of two chances, again nothing. The only pluses: Franz Schmidt, a good work but maybe the 3rd or 4th Symphony would have been better, RVW Sancta Civitas (about time), but would have been far more interesting to programme it with BF. The added plus I suppose is my credit card can be put away for another year.

                                Comment

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