Prom 21: Gaming Prom – From 8-Bit to Infinity (1.08.22)

[Master Jacques]

Why do the Proms ignore the more experimental end of music in general? Look at the concert music composers commissioned every year.

I couldn't agree more. There's a huge raft of underground art music which gets completely ignored in BBC's idea of "classical" mainstream, despite its embrace of vox pop bells and whistles. This has been a trend for many years now, accelerated by the double-whammy of Brexit and Covid; and I can't remember a Proms season which seems to have caused so few ripples in the musical pond - whatever the undoubted quality of some concerts. The same process has afflicted the once-glorious Edinburgh Festival (as opposed to the all-consuming Fringe). Perhaps its time to give both these "national treasures" a time out?