Prom 60: BBC Open Music Prom (1.09.22)

**oddoneout** · 01-09-22, 15:11

I see this Prom now has a name: The Dream Prom

Merged into a seamless whole by specially created sound design, this is a journey through songs heard in the womb, music that brings us together, the sounds that keep us true to our beliefs and the ones that join us along the path of discovering who we truly are.

On which basis I suspect I am "them" rather than "us". I'll give it a go though. Debussy, Ravel and Ginastera are not high on my composer likes list but as the rest is unknown country it could go either way - the presentation could be the deciding factor sadly.

**Master Jacques** · 01-09-22, 18:29

Merged into a seamless whole by specially created sound design, this is a journey through songs heard in the womb, music that brings us together, the sounds that keep us true to our beliefs and the ones that join us along the path of discovering who we truly are.

As I know perfectly well who I am (it's written on my passport), am a convinced pragmatist with no beliefs worth speaking of, and know all about journeys begun in the womb - having started there myself, I'm told - I guess this "Dream Prom" is not aimed at the likes of me. I think I'll listen to some music instead.

**bluestateprommer** · 01-09-22, 19:44

This is definitely more in the line of a Family Prom that happens to be in the middle of the week rather than on a weekend, instead of a Prom for the old hands. The intended audience is also definitely younger people, perhaps to state the incredibly obvious, as evidenced by the one Arena audience member during the interval just now for whom this is her first Prom.

**Master Jacques** · 01-09-22, 19:58

Originally posted by bluestateprommer View Post

This is definitely more in the line of a Family Prom that happens to be in the middle of the week rather than on a weekend, instead of a Prom for the old hands. The intended audience is also definitely younger people, perhaps to state the incredibly obvious, as evidenced by the one Arena audience member during the interval just now for whom this is her first Prom.

You're doubtless right. Although quite why the Proms programmers believe that mushing down good music, cutting it into bite-sized chunks and adding nebulous clouds of multimedia woo-woo will appeal to musical people in their teens and twenties I do not know. Most of the "young people" in those categories that I know would send it up mercilessly. This "Dream Prom" looks like one of those mild (mostly harmless) sedatives dreamed up by desperate white, male programmers in their fifties, but who knows?

(I'm listening to some fascinating music for piano left hand instead, beautifully played by Stefan Warzycki, courtesy of Bach, Saint-Saens, Bridge, Schmidt, Lipatti, Scriabin and T K Murray. Lovely stuff for pre-bedtime, sure to bring on sweet dreams.)

**Rcartes** · 01-09-22, 22:17

Christ on a bike, this was a truly dreadful affair. Some (but not much!) music you could listen to without hurling the radio at the wall, but the spoken stuff between the music was dire. There was only so much (for me, about 4 seconds) of hearing some ?teenager? wittering on about how he felt about breakfast or whatever. This was simply awful and we lasted about half an hour before bailing. What on earth were those people responsible for this farrago, thinking? Or were they thinking at all? I suspect not.

**oddoneout** · 02-09-22, 08:10

Originally posted by Rcartes View Post

Christ on a bike, this was a truly dreadful affair. Some (but not much!) music you could listen to without hurling the radio at the wall, but the spoken stuff between the music was dire. There was only so much (for me, about 4 seconds) of hearing some ?teenager? wittering on about how he felt about breakfast or whatever. This was simply awful and we lasted about half an hour before bailing. What on earth were those people responsible for this farrago, thinking? Or were they thinking at all? I suspect not.

I stopped actively listening to the spoken bit pretty quickly too, just left it on for the musical bits as background to eating supper and other activities. Radio went off a few seconds into the interval as Georgia's interviewee dissolved into tearful incoherence. I realise that I don't have the full picture from that brief encounter (and haven't investigated further) but one thing that struck me was that whatever diversity boxes were ticked I'm not sure that all of them were - what I heard were nicely spoken individuals who gave the impression of pleasant middle class backgrounds - unless the scheme had included ellerkewshun lessons during its months of existence.

Probably would have switched off sooner except for the excellent as always BBCCO.

**french frank** · 02-09-22, 08:15

I would suggest that anyone here, who heard the Prom and found anything positive to say about it, should say it - for the benefit of those who, for whatever reason, didn't hear it.

I remember at the time of the "Radio 1 Ibiza Prom" some years ago, Suzy Klein wrote an article in Radio Times praising it as being just what the founders of the Proms had in mind: reaching a broad audience. But that was NOT what the founders aimed at. They aimed at "creating a new audience" for classical music. And they did that by mixing more popular items in some concerts with standard classical repertoire - hoping prsumably that new concert-goers would be lured in by the popular items and develop an interest in the classical music which they heard. What the Proms were NOT about was introducing Proms made up entirely or - as here - predominantly of non classical music, and aiming to entice the audience that really wanted the main fodder, but was willing to put up with the odd classical piece.

The Proms management, like Radio 3's management, have the aim of attracting a new audience, regardless of what they choose to listen to: if they just want the non-classical, that's fine, as long as they listen to it at the Proms or on Radio 3. Nothing could be less like what the founders of the Proms/R3 aimed at.

**DracoM** · 02-09-22, 08:46

Well, if ever I was looking for a justification to give up on R3 altogether, this was it.

Over the last three or so years, I find R3 ever more compromised, and drifting ever closer to a mash of CFM / R2.
Deo Gratias for the online classical music stations that do not see the need to undermine their 'mission' so shamelessly.
Drama - yes - R3 VG
Proms - deffo on the steep side of deep slide. For me this is pretty nearly its least satisfactory year in a decade plus. Are you listening John Wilson, Mark Kermode etc etc etc.?
Night Tracks - yes R3 VG
Choral Evensong - yes, R3 VG - but 'repertoire' not in R3's control, one likes to suspect.
Regular R3 Presenters - NO, no and no again.
R3: making music feel like a tired, repetitious 1750-1850 nostalgia trip. 'Will we ever get over the death of Beethoven?'

**Globaltruth** · 04-09-22, 08:38

I was actually looking forward to this having heard an interview with Indian violinist & vocalist Kala Ramnath.

I cannot find anything positive to say about this - very disappointing, uninspired and self-indulgent. We also gave up after about 30 mins. Life’s too short …
I don’t know what to suggest to improve other than someone should have had the courage to bin it and start again.

Prom 60: BBC Open Music Prom (1.09.22)

Prom 60: BBC Open Music Prom (1.09.22)

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