Proms
Prom 41: Ghindin, LPO, Jurowski review - perfect sound in a Russian spectacularMonday, 19 August 2019
It was a Disney theme-park of Russian music, and in an entirely good way: none of the usual rides, but plenty of heroes and villains, sad spirits and whistling witches, orientalia from the fringes of empire, pagan processionals and apocalyptic... Read more... |
Prom 40: Hough, OAE, Fischer review - pretty royal thingsSaturday, 17 August 2019
There it gleamed, the pearl in the massive oyster of Albert's colosseum: the gilded, decorated piano supplied to his Queen by Érard in 1856. Pearly in sound it was not, though often harp-like; the programme was of mostly silver works, with a gold... Read more... |
Prom 37: The Childhood of Christ, Hallé, Pascal/ Prom 38: Bach Cantatas, Solomon's Knot reviews - holy radiance great and smallThursday, 15 August 2019
Berlioz's most intimate oratorio certainly isn't just for Christmas – but, given its scale, is it right for the Proms? Certainly in anniversary year we'd hoped for something bigger: the Requiem, turned to mush earlier this year in St Paul's... Read more... |
Prom 34: Argerich, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Barenboim review - erratic star, sleek ensembleTuesday, 13 August 2019
Perhaps those who came for the Argerich touch and left at the interval of this instant-sellout Prom were satisfied. After all, the legendary Argentinian pianist gave us some vintage minutes of her silk-spinning mercurialism. Yet it was in the midst... Read more... |
Prom 28: BBCNOW, Otaka review - fantastical choral expeditionFriday, 09 August 2019
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ second consecutive night at the Proms, accompanied by their associated National Chorus, ventured further out of the classical mainstream than the first. Where Wednesday night had seen a solid Germanic programme... Read more... |
Prom 26: BBCNOW, Stutzmann review – a banquet of fervent favouritesThursday, 08 August 2019
Not every Prom has to push musical boundaries or bust concert conventions. On the face of it, last night’s programme from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (and National Chorus of Wales) stuck to a thoroughly traditional recipe. Two familiar 19th-... Read more... |
Prom 18: Andsnes, Mahnke, Skelton, BBCSO, Gardner review – all passion spentFriday, 02 August 2019
It’s a curiosity of music that a performance can occasionally be better – more persuasive and impressive – than the work itself. Even Britten’s most devoted advocates would find it hard to rank the Piano Concerto among his masterpieces. In his... Read more... |
Prom 17: Shaham, Bavarian RSO, Nézet-Séguin review – a Montrealer brings “l’fun”Thursday, 01 August 2019
Montrealers exude a particular kind of happiness and have wonderfully snappy expressions to convey it: “Chu correc”, means ‘I’m fine’, and “C’est l’fun” means...exactly what it looks like. Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a distinctly proud Montrealer (“It’s... Read more... |
Prom 13: Des canyons aux étoiles..., BBCSO, Oramo review – cursory contemplations of earth and skyMonday, 29 July 2019
Messiaen’s language of juxtaposition over development was always susceptible to the “greatest hits” phenomenon that began to suffuse his music with contented wonder during the 1970s. While younger colleagues were throwing toys out of the pram and... Read more... |
Prom 8, Faust, BBCSO, Eötvös review - terrific orchestral showcaseThursday, 25 July 2019
By happenstance, this Prom was fully topical, with Debussy’s languorous Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune fitting for one of the hottest days in London’s history, and the “Infernal Dance” from Stravinsky’s Firebird mirroring the infernal political... Read more... |
Prom 3, CBeebies: A Musical Trip to the Moon review - a celebration of the Apollo 11 landingMonday, 22 July 2019
This year’s Proms for children were entitled “Off to the Moon”, and audiences were invited on a musical space voyage to mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. The format was a mix of orchestral music, kids’ programmes on big screens and CBeebies... Read more... |
Prom 2, Bell, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Hrůša review – Bohemian rhapsody, and refinementSunday, 21 July 2019
Eighty years ago this summer, Neville Chamberlain’s indifference to the peoples of Czechoslovakia – “a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing” – reaped its harvest of total war. These days, we have no excuses for not... Read more... |
