Proms 2021 General topics

[LMcD]

The thread currently running on Wellington's Victory is, IMHO, a splendid example of the Forum operating at its best. For once, I have no need to regret asking a question!

[teamsaint]

I know that many of my opinions, especially around digital ID and related subjects are not terribly well received, but they are always ventured on this forum, in the spirit of honest and open debate, even when the subjects are important and difficult.

I’m not sure, other than venturing off topic, if my comments on this thread have caused offence, but if they have, I’d like to be told on open forum , or by PM.

Or maybe I have completely misread the cause of offence on this thread.
Misunderstanding is easy, and nuance often difficult on social media.

[Bryn]

I know that many of my opinions, especially around digital ID and related subjects are not terribly well received, but they are always ventured on this forum, in the spirit of honest and open debate, even when the subjects are important and difficult.

I’m not sure, other than venturing off topic, if my comments on this thread have caused offence, but if they have, I’d like to be told on open forum , or by PM.

Or maybe I have completely misread the cause of offence on this thread.
Misunderstanding is easy, and nuance often difficult on social media.

For my part, I would always challenge your opinions openly. While I do see some of those opinions helping to create an environment in which conspiracy theories might thrive, I recognise that that is not the same as being a conspiracy theorist, yourself.

[Cockney Sparrow]

TS, I haven't been offended that you hold views which in general "go against the grain" of my approach to the issues in question. Your contributions, I've read or scanned all of them (edited out: ”most” - not what I meant) seem temperate, even if expressing strongly held views or concerns. Part of life is coming up against views that don't sit well with one's own.
I have limited time to spend on the forum so I would have to refrain from starting any dialogue I couldn't sustain, as that seems impolite. At the moment I'm away on holiday, which for me means even less time / energy than usual to read or post here. But I don't feel any need to take offence at views genuinely held and politely expressed. Nor would I (do I) feel slighted if a post I make receives no response and I wouldn't take offence if others wouldn't agree with my views, no matter the certainty of my position. We're all different, with varying degrees of tolerance but I don't think lack of respect and politeness, whether sharp and one instance, or low level but very constant - including constant niggling on the known sensitivities of others - should pass without challenge, but reasonably expressed.
The one occasion I used the ignore facility was when the poster became angry and offensive on occasion after a long presence and many posts that were, to me, riddles assuming I was ready to spend disproportionate amounts of my time establishing what the question in the riddle was or meant, let alone answer that question. I saved time by not reading any of it - as simple as that.

[Serial_Apologist]

It's taken me an age to find the BBC Sounds page for this year's Proms: why it shouldn't be possible to just straightforwardly search "BBC Prom 16" or whatever and have it pop up under any number of guises, the way Jazz Record Requests for instance does, is a total mystery, and an annoying one. Anyway, end of rant - here's the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b007v097

And now, you can "listen again".

[kernelbogey]

Well done & thanks, Serial!

[alywin]

Can anyone tell me anything about the Promming situation up in the Gallery, please? Given that a large chunk of it (where, opposite the stage?) appears to have been converted into a living-room for the presenter and guests, and I understand that a number of bays have been allocated to various members of BBC staff, is there actually much room left for the Prommers? I can't really tell from the RAH website.

[Bryn]

Does anyone here have experience of booking an Arena ticket on the day? How straightforward is the booking system? I'd rather like to attend tomorrow's BBCSSO concert.

[Hilaryjane]

Does anyone here have experience of booking an Arena ticket on the day? How straightforward is the booking system? I'd rather like to attend tomorrow's BBCSSO concert.

Go to the RAH website st 9.00am tomorrow. Scroll down to "BBC Proms 2021". You will see options to book either seats or promming tickets for the Prom. In promming tickets you will see options for arena, gallery or choir. Click on arena, buy your ticket and wait until you get confirmation of booking. You will get an email confirmation, followed by an eticket. You will need to show the latter at door 1.

[PhilipT]

Go to the RAH website st 9.00am tomorrow. Scroll down to "BBC Proms 2021". You will see options to book either seats or promming tickets for the Prom. In promming tickets you will see options for arena, gallery or choir. Click on arena, buy your ticket and wait until you get confirmation of booking. You will get an email confirmation, followed by an eticket. You will need to show the latter at door 1.

All I can add to that is: On the one occasion I did it there was some other thing (seats for the Last Night?) that went on sale at the same time, so it was some time after 9:00am before I got to the front of the queue; you will need to show your Covid status documentation at the same time as you show the QR code that is your ticket, so have both ready. Note that, because all Arena tickets are pre-paid, there's only one Arena queue, not two. Social distancing for the orchestra means the platform has been extended far forward and the 'rail' is a temporary structure with no convenient programme shelf.

I hope to get to that Prom, but I have to work in the morning so I have a ticket for a seat.

[Bryn]

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I find I am now unable to attend due to a flare-up in my right ankle which was recently operated on. Standing in the Arena for a couple of hours is not on at the moment. I will just have to imagine being surrounded by the electronic component of the George Lewis.

[bluestateprommer]

More in the belated musical sociology category, but for those who want to read into the tastes of American classical music public radio programmers (such as they are), the list of Proms that the SymphonyCast programmers chose for American audiences were:

1. Week of 9 August: The First Night
2. Week of 16 August: 'Prom 5' (BBC NOW, Guy Johnston / Ryan Bancroft)
3. Week of 23 August: 'Prom 8' (CBSO, MG-T)
4. Week of 30 August: 'Prom 11' (BBC NOW, Ryan Bancroft)
5. Week of 6 September: 'Prom 17' (Philharmonia, Vikingur Olafsson / Paavo Jarvi)
6. Week of 13 September: 'Prom 30' (BBC SO, Timothy Ridout / Sakari Oramo)
7. Week of 20 September: 'Prom 42' (Halle, Benjamin Grosvenor / SME)
8. Week of 27 September: The Last Night

It's always standard practice for SymphonyCast to choose the First Night and the Last Night for a summer's selections, so that the wild cards are always the choices in between. I didn't re-listen to these "reissues", but from a quick check a while back, VO's encores were snipped from after the Mozart, and the Last Night omitted several selections to keep the total running time to 2 hours. Rather surprisingly in the latter, the Jonathan Manners arrangement of the Barber Adagio for Strings was left on the cutting room floor for the US public radio audience, the one work from this Last Night that I thought would have been kept in.

I suspect that most people here would heartily approve of the SymphonyCast organizers' choices of the all-British BBC SO and the Halle Proms for the US audience. Other interesting, and perhaps unwitting, threads in the choices are the choice of 7 Proms with works by living composers (even if short works), and 5 of those by female composers. The choice of the CBSO / MG-T Prom seems also a no-brainer. It's also a curiosity that both of the BBC NOW Proms with Bancroft were chosen, since it's standard not to feature the same conductor twice in a given series, but admittedly RB was a late substitute, and of course, Oramo as BBC SO Chief Conductor was on for The Last Night, so that he was also a "duplicate" with his all-British Prom.

(PS: Now that I think about it regarding the two BBC NOW Proms, had Elim Chan been able to fulfill her engagement with the BBC NOW, that would have made for 3 female conductors out of 7, in the overall roster.)