Recording the Proms

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I've set my set-top box to record several Proms this year, and I understand some have done the same for the entire series. The rub comes when the first half of the concert overruns and the recording is cut off in mid-flow. Fair enough - the broadcasters aren't psychic and can only estimate the finishing time of a live performance.

But it has occurred to me that Prom concerts never start on time. A concert scheduled for 1930 hours should mean the conductor makes his/her entry at half past seven on the dot. But instead, we have up to 8 minutes of presenter-rambling before a not is played. When a live football match is broadcast, the kick-off isn't delayed for an instant. So if it is thought necessary to give the presenters something to do, maybe the broadcast should being at 7.25 to allow for this?

[Beef Oven!]

I've set my set-top box to record several Proms this year, and I understand some have done the same for the entire series. The rub comes when the first half of the concert overruns and the recording is cut off in mid-flow. Fair enough - the broadcasters aren't psychic and can only estimate the finishing time of a live performance.

But it has occurred to me that Prom concerts never start on time. A concert scheduled for 1930 hours should mean the conductor makes his/her entry at half past seven on the dot. But instead, we have up to 8 minutes of presenter-rambling before a not is played. When a live football match is broadcast, the kick-off isn't delayed for an instant. So if it is thought necessary to give the presenters something to do, maybe the broadcast should being at 7.25 to allow for this?

Are you sure the starts are delayed to allow the presenters to finish? I was watching on TV last week and the conductor walked on and it kicked off and the presenters hadn't finished and were cut short.

If the starts can only go ahead once the presenters are finished, then that's unacceptable.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Are you sure the starts are delayed to allow the presenters to finish? I was watching on TV last week and the conductor walked on and it kicked off and the presenters hadn't finished and were cut short.

If the starts can only go ahead once the presenters are finished, then that's unacceptable.

I'm not sure at all, but sometimes there's a short interview before the music begins, so that may be pre-planned?

[PhilipT]

Are you sure the starts are delayed to allow the presenters to finish?

Yes, but possibly there's no coordination between radio and TV presenters? I recall one (just one!) occasion when a start was delayed more than usual, and a bluecoat displayed three fingers to the Arena to indicate that Radio 3 were to blame.

There was a very memorable (for a variety of reasons) late-night Prom in the mid-1990s when the first group on were four Korean dancing drummers. During a particularly long pause between pieces their leader, noticing the Arena getting restless, pointed to a small red light on the platform and said (in English, with a heavy accent, but quite clearly): "Must wait - radio!". The light flashed, and they started the next piece.

[LHC]

Although it makes sense to coordinate the start with the radio presentation for the proms, late starts seem endemic to all classical concerts (at least in recent years in the UK). I can't remember when I last attended a concert that actually started on time. Usually the orchestra wander on about 5 minutes after the advertised start time. By the time they have tuned up, and the leader and conductor have entered to applause, the concert starts about 10 minutes late.

The worst example I can remember was a performance of Ariodante with Il Complesso Barocco, conducted by the late Alan Curtis. In this case the band came on about 10 minutes late, and then took another 10 minutes to tune up as the leader tuned each section individually. To add insult to injury, when they finally started, their playing was terrible.