Proms 2018

[oddoneout]

Well, we can't really help it if the BBC is now effectively(?) run by sensationalist imbeciles.

Perhaps 'in effect' rather than 'effectively'. I don't think either side of the R3 divide would consider that it is being run effectively?

[Bryn]

This was the quote this morning from a Guardian letter to which I took exception , as I think it is just plain wrong in its generalisation. Possibly it reflects the kind of music the writer favours, but as a view it does seem to display a lack of awareness of the different kinds of music and the purposes for which it is written and to which it is put.
I was puzzled by the implied criticism of those who sit still while listening; it can be an indication of intense concentration, but another consideration is that when sitting close to others isn't it simply good manners not to fidget(as it might be interpreted)? There are occasions when movement as a response to music is reasonable and desirable(and what happens in one's own home when listening to music is nobody else's business...), but not necessarily for the standard 'classical' concert?

The entertainment 'essence' of music was the subject of a debate between Frank Zappa and Kent Nagano. Not sure they ever resolved their differences on ths matter. FOr me, muisic should challenge, more than entertain.

[teamsaint]

Punk very much approved of by today's Radio 3. And I daresay those who don't approve will say they do

You mean they bought a Ramones t shirt in Sainsbury’s, and read a review of the new Viv Albertine book?!

The sort of thing that ends up with the Stranglers at the Proms backed by a Symphony orchestra.
Aaaaaarrrrggghhh

[zola]

Beethoven with punk proclivities ? Punk rock was 40 years ago. As far removed from today as the charleston was to kids growing up in the sixties. John Lydon is 62. Just saying.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Perhaps 'in effect' rather than 'effectively'. I don't think either side of the R3 divide would consider that it is being run effectively?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

This was the quote this morning from a Guardian letter to which I took exception , as I think it is just plain wrong in its generalisation.

Given the etymological* roots of the word "entertain" give us a meaning like "something that enters and holds" (the imagination, for example) then I'd say that "entertainment" is indeed a "fundamental purpose" of the Arts. (But it's possible that such a recherche interpretation of the word wasn't intended by the Guardian letter-writer. )


* = I had to double-check that spelling - I'm doing the Butterfly Count at the moment.

[french frank]

* = I had to double-check that spelling - I'm doing the Butterfly Count at the moment.

No, no, no, that's lepidopterally entertaining.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[Serial_Apologist]

No, no, no, that's lepidopterally entertaining.

Kenny Wheeler once put out an LP titled "Flutter By, Butterfly".

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Kenny Wheeler once put out an LP titled "Flutter By, Butterfly".

Wasn't he also active in Azimoth?

[LMcD]

I think that the question mark which follows 'effectively' in #643 conveys precisely what is meant...

[bluestateprommer]

FWIW, here in the USA, the Public Radio International program SymphonyCast chooses a set of Proms each summer for delayed relay to us benighted Yanks. It's usually around 10 or so Proms, and SymphonyCast pretty much always includes the First Night and the Last Night, which clearly places strong limitations on what can be chosen in between. So far, these are the Proms aired or just about to be aired for 2018 relay:

1. The First Night
2. Prom 2 (RPO, Altinoglu)
3. Prom 4 (BBC Phil, Mena, Mark Simpson)
4. Prom 12 (BBC SO, Canellakis)

And looking ahead:

5. Prom 15 (BBC Phil, Gernon)
6. Prom 31 (Minnesota Orchestra)
7. Prom 50 (ASMF, Bell)
8. Prom 60 (Baltimore SO, Alsop)
9. Prom 65 (BBC SO, Bychkov)
10. The Last Night

Most of the "middle" choices don't surprise me, given that the US public radio classical types don't want to rock the boat or "disturb" audiences too much. For example, even before I found it, my guess was that after the KC/BBC SO Prom, the BBC Phil Prom with Ben Gernon and Paul Lewis was a pretty safe bet. The counter-argument would be that it's nice that the choices do include modern works by Anna Meredith, Magnus Lindberg, Andrew Norman, Tansy Davies, and Roxanna Panufnik. Whatever one may think of those works, at least they are present.

On the "nationalism" side, the choices of the two Proms with American orchestras are understandable, as well as the Karina Canellakis- (which helps to solidify her place as the female conductor of the moment, perhaps, which gives MG-T a break from that spotlight) and Joshua Bell-led Proms, again given the American factor.

[kernelbogey]

Promming and queuing protocols

I am looking in vain for a good guide to Proms etiquette which used to be a sticky. Anyone seen it?

[LMcD]

If you google 'how to behave at proms' you should find all the advice you need provided by various sources.

[teamsaint]

The rules about how long you need to be actually in the queue seem to have been relaxed in the last year or two.

The advance online tickets don’t seem to be causing the non controversy that they did’t cause last year.