Prom 26: British Composers (5.08.15)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

18:30
Royal Albert Hall

Chloë Hanslip, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Tadaaki Otaka live at the BBC Proms in an all-British programme including music by Walton, Elgar and Grace Williams


Walton: Spitfire Prelude and Fugue
Vaughan Williams: Concerto accademico
Grace Williams: Fairest of Stars
Elgar: Overture 'Froissart', Op 19
Walton: Symphony No. 2

Chloë Hanslip (violin)
Ailish Tynan (soprano)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Tadaaki Otaka (conductor)

Elgar's Froissart overture throbs with national pride and swagger, while Walton's Second Symphony sustains an altogether darker, more contemplative mood. British violinist Chloë Hanslip is the soloist in Vaughan Williams's rarely heard Concerto accademico - a work whose lyrical slow movement and dancing finale are anything but 'academic'. The concert also features Welsh composer Grace Williams's ecstatic, neo-Straussian Fairest of Stars for soprano and orchestra, a musical celebration of Milton's poetry.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Elgar's Froissart overture throbs with national pride and swagger...

Perhaps our illustrious BBC Radio 3 website ""experts"" should do their homework about the 14th Century Frenchman who inspired this work?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Perhaps our illustrious BBC Radio 3 website ""experts"" should do their homework about the 14th Century Frenchman who inspired this work?

Be fair, Alpie - the blurb didn't specify whose "national pride and swagger"

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Be fair, Alpie - the blurb didn't specify whose "national pride and swagger"

True, but I'd be very surprised if the anonymous writer was thinking of jingoistic British nationalism. Elgar's musical style has been labelled with this, even though this work predates by several years the very small number of nationalistic works.

[Pabmusic]

Be fair, Alpie - the blurb didn't specify whose "national pride and swagger"

Trouble is, Froissart is specifically not about anyone's national pride or swagger. It's about the notion of chivalry, if anything, which is more an individual characteristic - or at least held sway before nation states existed.

[Enough, Pabs, your tea is ready]

[mrbouffant]

Looking forward to this one tonight!

Not looking forward to the long stroll back to Victoria afterwards due to the tube strike...

[Ferretfancy]

[QUOTE=mrbouffant;501123]Looking forward to this one tonight!

Not looking forward to the long stroll back to Victoria afterwards due to the tube strike...[/QUOTE

The Prom starts at 6.30 and finishes at 8.45 so that the Welsh players can get home to Cardiff for their cocoa. You could wait a little while at the hall to allow the rush to lessen, and the get a 52 bus opposite the RAH to Victoria.

I'll be there but I'll be walking across the park for a bus to Golders Green, enjoy the concert!

[Suffolkcoastal]

I was going tonight, but the Tube strike has put pay to that. Sadly for those of us in East Anglia the station is Liverpool Street, no chance of walking that distance back, so that's £50 poured down the drain (train & ticket). Not having a good year all round.

[Serial_Apologist]

I was going tonight, but the Tube strike has put pay to that. Sadly for those of us in East Anglia the station is Liverpool Street, no chance of walking that distance back, so that's £50 poured down the drain (train & ticket). Not having a good year all round.

There are Boris bikes, if you're prepared to chance it on our streets, SC, and probably get soaked if the forecast's anything to go by!

[Suffolkcoastal]

I thought about putting my bike on the train, but I'm not that good with finding my way around London, and its still a good 10 miles I think with my arthritic knees and asthma, I'm more likely to end up in hospital than the RAH!

[Serial_Apologist]

I thought about putting my bike on the train, but I'm not that good with finding my way around London, and its still a good 10 miles I think with my arthritic knees and asthma, I'm more likely to end up in hospital than the RAH!

Yes - not far off 5 miles each way.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

How much for a cab?

[Simon B]

How much for a cab?

It's £10 just to Paddington, hence walking being the option for those with more sense than money. So, to LST - £30? Chances of getting one this evening anyway?

Sorry that's happened to you SC... Exasperating. I know the feeling as Worst Late Western are going on strike again (though it might be hard to tell the difference from the usual "service" some days) leaving me with similar problems.

In a previous season I got from Ipswich to the RAH with no tube by changing at Stratford and using the Overground to Kensington Olympia. However, it took... a while, it's still quite a walk, everything will doubtless be rammed this evening and it's too late this time anyway.

Unless you were going to be in the 20% of the hall sweetspot it'll probably sound better on radio.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Thanks Simon, I listen to the RVW anyway. I did think about Cab too but the normal price is £25-30 & I wouldn't be surprise if its even more expensive tonight even if you could get one. There's rarely anything of interest in the proms for me, it tends to put me off going even more sadly.

[bluestateprommer]

Massive brain lapse on my part caused me to "tune in" on iPlayer 30 minutes late, so I just caught the applause for the RVW, but right before her encore with the orchestra of Elgar's "Salut d'amour". Slight edge to the broadcast sound and tone that I could tell, but done all in good spirits. Ailish Tynan was her usual bubbly self in the interview introduction prior to the Grace Williams work Fairest of Stars, which struck me overall as OK, if nothing spectacularly memorable. But good on The Proms for giving it a fresh airing. I don't recall having heard Elgar's Froissart before in any format (certainly not live, and no Memorex that I can remember), but the work did tend to sprawl, with typical Elgar touches in the writing that I recognize from other works.

Walton 2 is airing as I type this. The interval speakers tried to make the best case for it, but it really does pale in the face of #1. Otaka and the BBC NOW are handling it well overall (with audience applause between all the movements). Will have to catch up with the first two works later.