Prom 13 - 24.07.17: Malcolm Sargent's 500th Prom

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Monday 24 July 2017 ON TV
Royal Albert Hall

Unknown: The National Anthem (arr. Wood)
Hector Berlioz: Overture 'Le carnaval romain'
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Edward Elgar: Overture 'Cockaigne (In London Town)'
William Walton: Façade, Suite No. 1
William Walton: Façade Suite No. 2 – Popular Song
Gustav Holst: The Perfect Fool
Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
Benjamin Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra


Beatrice Rana piano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Davis conductor


To mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Malcolm Sargent, chief conductor of the Proms from 1947 until his death in 1967, Sir Andrew Davis recreates Sargent's 500th Prom from 1966, highlighting his work as a champion of English music.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Sir Andrew Davis is surely the natural successor to Sir Malcolm.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sir Andrew Davis is surely the natural successor to Sir Malcolm.

- I think that's fair to both conductors. (Hickox was another such, too, I think; particularly with his recordings/performances of Choral Music.)

[pastoralguy]

I'm looking forward to hearing the wonderful Beatrice Rana play the Schumann concerto. A very special musician, imho. Her Goldberg Variations are terrific.

[Prommer]

Both great men. (Runs for cover...)

[Prommer]

Can we expect Sir Andrew in white tie and with carnation for the full effect?

[mrbouffant]

This is just the perfect Prom for me. Perhaps I was born about 50 years too late.. !

[BBMmk2]

In agree that Sir Andrew is Sir Malcolm's successor. Has the same rapport with the Prommers.

[cloughie]

In agree that Sir Andrew is Sir Malcolm's successor. Has the same rapport with the Prommers.

You mean a kind of Andy Capp cf Flash Harry!

[pastoralguy]

I'm really looking forward to hearing the wonderful Ms. Rana tonight. I've listened to her Goldberg Variations many times now and it's extraordinarily fine playing.

An artist to watch.

[Ein Heldenleben]

At last , with the National Anthem, an appropriate response to the various Anti- Brexit demos. Just kidding - really looking forward to this one....

[bluestateprommer]

Nice start just now with Le carnaval romain (after the National Anthem, of course), where I was pleasantly surprised via the engineering to hear woodwind detail at the start that I've never noticed in any other rendition, recorded or otherwise. (One horn would-be near train-wreck later, but all kept soldiering on, of course.) Just listening to the audio clip now of Sargent, during the piano 'Heave Ho' bit.

[pastoralguy]

Nice start just now with Le carnaval romain (after the National Anthem, of course), where I was pleasantly surprised via the engineering to hear woodwind detail at the start that I've never noticed in any other rendition, recorded or otherwise. (One horn would-be near train-wreck later, but all kept soldiering on, of course.) Just listening to the audio clip now of Sargent, during the piano 'Heave Ho' bit.

Quite agree. I heard lots of, to me, unknown wind detail. Didn't notice the horn 'train wreck'!

[edashtav]

Yes bsp, your "nice" was an appropriate and very English description. My metrics for Le carnival romain have been set and recalibrated by Tommy Beecham, Constantin Silvestrin ( with an orchestra including a peerless hornspieler) and Sir Alexander Gibson. By their sparkling, unbuttoned standards, this carnival was a little damp. I hear that Rome has a dearth of rain these days but this was an English carnival with everyone pretending they were having a good time whilst trudging around in overcoats: As Torrents in Summer.... I did enjoy the cor anglais (!) solo at the outset. The "English horn" is a recalcitrant machine that's difficult to warm up: to get it singing and phrasing beautifully from the word go is a feather in its player's cap. Elsewhere, the broad and full-throated playing was akin to Elgar in 'nobilmente' mood.

Was the balance in the Schumann tilted too far in favour of the fine soloist, Beatrice Rana? Again, did the conductor whip up excessive fervour in climaxes, thus pushing the soloist to produce more volume than she was comfortable with? I prefer the restrained but poetic playing on the CD with Jan Lisiecki and Pappano. I see the work as feminine, conditioned as I am by early live performances by the diminutive Myra Hess dressed in sober black silk, fringed with lace. However, later I did hear Moura Lympany who was quite a muscular pianist. It was Lympany who played the piece in Sir Malcolm Sargent's 500th Prom, so, maybe, that coloured the approach to tonight's performance. I found Rana's touch clear and precise rather than soft and gentle in the slow movement. The finale started in four-square fashion. I needed more infectious, dance-filled rhythms. Sometimes, Rana's rhythms became over-pointed, emphatic and mannered; ladies don't sweat, they glisten,and glide. Did Beatrice feel lonely and exposed in the vast expanses of the RAH? Time and again, I thought she tried too hard. A performance for Beatrice to learn from, but one that I expect to forget. It was workmanlike.

[pastoralguy]

I thought the Schumann was exquisite and very musical and I look forward to listening again on the iplayer. Alas, I've never thought the Albert Hall is a sympathetic venue for soloists.