Prom 32: An Alpine Symphony - 11.08.19

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

11:00 Sunday 11 August 2019
Royal Albert Hall

Benjamin Beckman - new work - UK première
Hector Berlioz, Les nuits d’été, Op 7
Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony

Joyce DiDonato mezzo-soprano
The National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Sir Antonio Pappano conductor

Celebrated American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is reunited with regular collaborator Sir Antonio Pappano to mark the 150th anniversary of Berlioz’s death with a performance of the composer’s sumptuous orchestral song-cycle Les nuits d’été – a musical journey from springtime love to cruellest loss.
The National Youth Orchestra of the USA undertakes a journey of quite a different kind in Strauss’s monumental An Alpine Symphony, whose vast orchestral forces and massive soundscapes conjure up the craggy drama of the Bavarian Alps.
The concert opens with a new work, by Benjamin Beckman, one of the NYO-USA’s two Apprentice Composers.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I know our US friends operate in different time zones from us, but 11.00 a.m. is a tad early for a concert.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I know our US friends operate in different time zones from us, but 11.00 a.m. is a tad early for a concert.

Really? I'd really enjoy it if there were more weekday Proms, starting at 9:00am, lasting 3 hours - and broadcast Live, of course.

[LMcD]

I know our US friends operate in different time zones from us, but 11.00 a.m. is a tad early for a concert.

Alywin would agree with you! (Thread entitled 'Mid-morning Proms - what do you think?')

[kernelbogey]

I know our US friends operate in different time zones from us, but 11.00 a.m. is a tad early for a concert.

Surely you of all people Alpie know that when you go hiking in the Alps, you start early. These days 0500 would not be an unduly early start.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Really? I'd really enjoy it if there were more weekday Proms, starting at 9:00am, lasting 3 hours - and broadcast Live, of course.

[LMcD]

Really? I'd really enjoy it if there were more weekday Proms, starting at 9:00am, lasting 3 hours - and broadcast Live, of course.

Ah - 'Essential Proms'!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Ah - 'Essential Proms'!

Better than the current "Essentially Promos"

[cloughie]

Should there be a ‘trump’et concerto in their programme?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There is an American Youth Orchestra recording of the Alpine Symphony - one from Texas, and it's very well played. There's also one with our own NYOGB.

[richardfinegold]

I know our US friends operate in different time zones from us, but 11.00 a.m. is a tad early for a concert.

That is 4:00 AM New York time, so here is hoping they have had a few days to visit and acclimate before the concert

[bluestateprommer]

I know our US friends operate in different time zones from us, but 11.00 a.m. is a tad early for a concert.

The NYOUSA is on tour now, and their Proms concert looks to be the 3rd stop on their European tour this year:

https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Young-Musicians/NYO-USA/Residency-and-Tour

They played at Carnegie on Saturday night, so presumably they all flew out to Berlin for Day 1 of their tour this past Sunday, for a Monday arrival (i.e. today) in Berlin, just ahead of tomorrow's concert. In between their Berlin and London appearances is a date at the EIF, at the Usher Hall. So anyone near Edinburgh can hear the NYOUSA live, albeit in not completely the same program that will be at the RAH. In other words, they should be slightly less jetlagged, and reasonably rested, for an 11 AM appearance next Sunday.

[Darkbloom]

I wonder how well attended this concert will be? Unless you live locally you'd need an early start - on a Sunday of all days - to get there in time. And how many people are ready for a programme like this so early in the day? I suppose it's worth a try but I'm not that hopeful.

[LMcD]

I wonder how well attended this concert will be? Unless you live locally you'd need an early start - on a Sunday of all days - to get there in time. And how many people are ready for a programme like this so early in the day? I suppose it's worth a try but I'm not that hopeful.

You might like to have a look at Alywin's thread 'Mid-morning Proms - what do you think?'

[Petrushka]

I attended a 10 am concert start in the RAH way back in 1993 when Haitink and the BPO gave their Europa Concert on May 1. In addition, the VPO have had 11.15 am starts on Sundays for decades one of which (Mahler 3!) I attended in the Musikverein several years ago. Once in the hall, one isn't aware of what time it is.

Rail travel on a Sunday is so hopeless from here that if I'm attending a Sunday Prom I routinely go down on a Saturday anyway.