The London Proms (classical music)

[LONDONER]

Programme for Sunday 11th August:

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, youth choirs and soloists Lisa Milne, Jennifer Johnston, Toby Spence and Gerald Finley live at the BBC Proms. Plus music by Vaughan Williams and a world premiere by Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Petroc Trelawny

Vaughan Williams: Toward The Unknown Region
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Frieze (BBC Co-Commission With The Royal Philharmonic Society And The New York Philharmonic: World Premiere)

20.00 Interval

20.25
Beethoven: Symphony No 9 In D Minor, 'Choral'

Lisa Milne (soprano)
Jennifer Johnston (mezzo-sporano)
Toby Spence (tenor)
Gerald Finley (bass)

Codetta
Irish Youth Chamber Choir
National Youth Choir of Great Britain
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Vasily Petrenko (conductor)

The first ever major free Prom with a host of youthful performers celebrates the bicentenary this year of the Royal Philharmonic Society with the most famous piece the Society ever played a role in commissioning - and a brand new one too. The 'most famous' is surely Beethoven's last completed Symphony, the groundbreaking Choral Symphony - for which the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain are joined by four soloists and three youthful choirs from the UK and Ireland, including from Derry-Londonderry, the UK City of Culture 2013. The 'brand new' is by British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, who's been 'obsessed with Beethoven from the age of 8 - what a joy, therefore, to be asked by the RPS to write a piece inspired by Beethoven's great Symphony. Beethoven is a towering figure, but I find him more inspiring than intimidating.' Turnage's title refers to the famous Beethoven Frieze created in 1902 by the Viennese artist Gustav Klimt.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Programme for Monday the 12th August:

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Suzy Klein

Holst: Indra
Nishat Khan: The Gate Of The Moon (Sitar Concerto No. 1) (BBC Commission: World Premiere)

19.45 Interval

20.10
Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2)

Nishat Khan (sitar)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
David Atherton (conductor)

Gustav Holst's fascination with Sanskrit literature found early expression in the 1903 tone-poem Indra, composed before the first set of his Hymns from the Rig Veda (heard on Radio 3 in Proms Chamber Music No 5, Monday 12 August 13:00). Sitar virtuoso Nishat Khan is a proms verteran, having first played as a soloist in 1989. This is the first time one of his own compositions has appeard at the Proms. Writing his concerto is a dream come true: "I have a huge love and respect for the Western classical tradition, and it's a daunting challenge to find a way of combining the sitar with this beautiful, gigantic orchestral sound". He's taken a minimalist approach, with the soloist partly playing composed lines and partly improvising; somtimes the forces meet in dialogue, sometimes embarking upon rhythmic exploration together, with a lot of interaction. He won't be using other indian instruments, though, rather exploiting the sounds of the orchestra. "I think of Western classical music as a huge ocean with so many different fish, plants and temperatures. Among the elements, he particularly loves the sound of the cello and the oboe, which he says combines beautifully with the sitar, bringing a "piercing nostalgia".

First performed in 1914, Vaughan Williams's A London Symphony evokes the chimes of Westminster, a chill November in Bloomsbury and the bright lights of the Strand in a city that would soon be scarred by war.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Programme for Tuesday the 13th August:

I'm personally not fond of Musorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" but it does show of Ravel's fantastic orchestration. I will give the Gubaidulina piece a listen to, likewise the Glazunov piano concerto, neither of which I know.


Live from the Royal Albert Hall

Presented by Martin Handley

Borodin: Symphony No 2 in B minor
Glazunov: Piano Concerto No 2 in B major

8.20pm

8.45pm
Sofia Gubaidulina: The Rider on the White Horse (UK premiere)
Musorgsky, orch Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Oleg Kinyaev (organ)
London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev conducts the LSO in a feast of Russian music, in which the UK premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's The Rider on the White Horse is juxtaposed with Ravel's celebrated orchestration of Musorgsky's great Pictures at an Exhibition. Daniil Trifonov, who hit the headlines when he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011, makes his Proms debut with Glazunov's rarely heard Piano Concerto No 2, premiered in the first concert in Petrograd (St Petersburg) after the 1917 Revolution.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Programme for Wednesday the 14th nof August:

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch

Janacek: Sinfonietta
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor

8:05pm Interval

8.30pm
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 3 in D major, 'Polish'

Sunwook Kim (piano)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Kirill Karabits (conductor)

This summer's Tchaikovsky symphony cycle continues as Kirill Karabits conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in the dance-infused Third Symphony, written in the summer of 1875 and dubbed the 'Polish' following its 1899 London premiere in the Crystal Palace.
Leeds International Piano Competition-winner Sunwook Kim makes his Proms debut in Beethoven's dramatic Piano Concerto No 3 in a concert that begins with the dazzling brass fanfares and bustling street-life of Brno as translated into music in Janacek's 1926 Sinfonietta.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Programme for Thursday the 15th of August:

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Petroc Trelawny

Stravinsky: Fireworks
Krzysztof Penderecki: Concerto grosso

8:15pm Interval

8:40pm
Debussy: La mer
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe - Suite No. 2

Leonard Elschenbroich (cello)
Daniel Müller-Schott (cello)
Arto Noras (cello)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Dutoit (conductor)

Tonight's Prom opens with Stravinsky's short but brilliant Fireworks, and is followed by the Concerto Grosso by Krzyzstof Penderecki, who is 80 this year, featuring a trio of cellists Leonard Elschenbroich, Daniel Müller-Schott and Arto Noras. The concerto plays with Baroque forms, the cellists playing against choirs of woodwind. The work was written in 2000 and has been championed by Dutoit in Japan, Philadelphia and Chicago. The second half of the concert features 2 French scores: Debussy's sensuous orchestrations in La Mer, and concludes with the second suite from Ravel's stunningly beautiful Daphnis and Chloe.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Programme for Friday the 16th August:

When I opened a classical music thread some weeks ago there was a post by somone who, speaking about Tchaikovsky, mentuioned that he was one of the few gay composers. Well, not that it make the slightest difference, but Sir Michael Tippet is also, as was Benjamin Britten. Other gay composers who have featured in this years Proms have been Karol Szymanowski and François Poulenc.

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Andrew McGregor

Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage: Act 1

19.35 Interval

20:00
Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage: Act 2

20.35 Interval

21:00
Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage: Act 3

Mark ..... Paul Groves (tenor)
Jenifer ..... Erin Wall (soprano)
King Fisher ..... David Wilson-Johnson (baritone)
Bella ..... Ailish Tynan (soprano)
Jack ..... Allan Clayton (tenor)
Sosotris ..... Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo)
He-Ancient ..... David Soar (bass)
She-Ancient ..... Madeleine Shaw (mezzo)

BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis (conductor)

Stage Director, Kenneth Richardson

Last heard at the Proms in 1977, The Midsummer Marriage is Tippett's answer to Mozart's The Magic Flute, an opera rich in symbolism and psychology, trials and transformations. Paul Groves and Erin Wall are Mark and Jenifer, Ailish Tynan and Allan Clayton, Bella and Jack, two couples tested by a series of supernatural interventions on the shortest night of the year.

One of today's leading Tippett exponents, Sir Andrew Davis conducts the centrepiece of this summer's Proms focus on Tippett's music alongside Britten's centenary.

[LONDONER]

Programme for Saturday the 17th August:

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Clemency Burton-Hill

Brahms: Tragic Overture (op. 81)
Schumann: Symphony No. 4 in D minor

8.15pm Interval

8.35pm
Brahms: A German Requiem

Rachel Harnisch (soprano)
Henk Neven (baritone)
Choir of the Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Marin Alsop (conductor)

Inspired by the death of his own mother, the German Requiem of Johannes Brahms is famously a piece which sets out to console the living, rather than commending to eternity the souls of the dead. With texts assembled by Brahms himself from the Lutheran Bible, its deliberate avoidance of Christian theology was a source of concern at early performances, but the premiere of the complete work in 1868 was a triumphant turning-point in Brahms's career. Tonight's performance, using period instrument and choral forces of the sort and size Brahms himself would have known, places his masterwork in the context of his relationship with friends and fellow-composers Robert and Clara Schumann - including performances of Schumann's masterly Fourth Symphony and Brahms's own Tragic Overture.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Programme for Sunday the 18th of August:

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Penny Gore

Ravel: Rapsodie espagnole
Matthias Pintscher: Chute d'étoiles (London premiere)

8.15pm Interval

8.35pm
Stravinsky: The Firebird

Tine Thing Helseth (trumpet)
Marco Blaauw (trumpet)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Matthias Pintscher (conductor)

Composer-conductor Matthias Pintscher combines his twin roles this evening, as he joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to perform his own music alongside that of composers who have inspired him.

Proms featured artist Tine Thing Helseth joins Marco Blaauw as the pair of virtuoso soloists in the London premiere of Matthias Pintscher's Double Trumpet Concerto, Chute d'etoiles. A dramatic and multi-layered work, it takes inspiration from the sculptures of Anselm Kiefer and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. The piece is painted in vivid colours, richly textured, and pushes the techniques of soloists and orchestra to shattering effect.

The concerto is sandwiched between two works which also combine a sense of drama with exquisite and masterfully orchestrated surfaces. Ravel's turn-of-the-century exploration of Spanish dance forms, Rapsodie espagnole and Stravinsky's ballet based on Russian folktales, The Firebird.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Just bumping this up because Stravinsky's "The Firebird" will start in a few minutes. If you already know this work you won't need any persuading, if you don't then do listen to what the remarkable 27 year old composer achieved; one of the really great ballet scores of the 20th century.

The Proms can be heard by anyone online at this site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/on-air

[LONDONER]

Progr amme for Monday the 19th August:

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Martin Handley

Berlioz: Overture - King Lear
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No 1 in G minor

7.50pm Interval

8.10pm
J. S. Bach, orch. George Benjamin: The Art of Fugue - Canon and Fugue
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, 'Eroica'

Stephen Hough (piano)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Robin Ticciati (conductor)

Stephen Hough makes his second Proms appearance this summer with Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No 1, famously sight-read by Liszt in the Erard piano showroom in Paris in 1831. Under its Principal Conductor Robin Ticciati, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performs another work of the same year: Berlioz's King Lear, alongside Beethoven's mighty "Eroica" symphony, described by Berlioz as 'a funeral oration for a great hero'. George Benjamin pays tribute to Bach with orchestrated excerpts from The Art of Fugue.