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BBC Proms 2014


Omen II

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The 2014 season of the BBC Proms was announced today. Details of the concerts are here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms

There is arguably less for film music fans to get excited about than in some previous years, although John Williams's Summon the Heroes will be played in one of the early concerts devoted to sport. The excellent John Wilson Orchestra also returns with a concert performance of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate.

I wish the organisers would be a little more adventurous when considering film music selections. Yet again William Walton's Henry V will be played (by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, no less) and damn fine score though it is, it seems compulsory for either that or the main title from Star Wars to be included as a concession to film music fans.

Film music aside, there are plenty of other great concerts to look forward to, so browse away.

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One of these years I will be planning a trip to England/Ireland, based around Proms time, so I can catch some of these concerts. That's probably a couple of years away, though. I have some other travel plans in the works.

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Last year we got a fairly similar selection though the Independence Day end titles and the "Harrison Suite" from Into Darkness was surprisingly good. Found the rendition of the Battle of Britain March by Walton quite stirring, but then that's its point I suppose.

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Had an absolute blast at the 2012 Proms. I was there for the last week or so and essentially did nothing else but commute to and from the RAH. The rest of London could wait.

It really is one of the most stirring experiences out there, whether or not you're a Brit. There's an incredible feeling of community and energy at every single concert.

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Might go this year, which would be the first time in 4 years. Will avoid the Last Night as always, which is just tame patriotic bollox.

#Farewell to this land's cheerless marches
Hemmed in like a boar between arches #

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  • 4 weeks later...

What do the Proms add to that?

It costs just a fiver to stand in the arena-- cheaper than your average pack of fags. Incredible value for money.

I like the utter Englishness of this.

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  • 2 months later...

I feel a bit let down with the lack of representation of this year's Proms on YouTube.

Only two of the concerts have been broadcast on TV in the UK so far, although many more are planned. Someone usually uploads the more popular concerts to YouTube after a while, but I think the BBC is quite strict about having them removed. On the one hand it's a shame that more people overseas cannot experience great music making, but on the other hand I am conscious that we have to pay a TV licence fee in the UK to watch BBC programmes and having them on YouTube might be construed by some as being unfair.

I went to Prom 5 last Monday, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra conducted by David Zinman, and the whole concert was on TV on Friday. One of the highlights was Julia Fischer playing Dvorak's violin concerto; I am not sure if you are able to see this clip, Nightscape, but if not I hope others in the UK may enjoy the performance:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p022v655/bbc-proms-proms-extra-dvorak-concerto-for-violin-in-a-minor

If this ends up on YouTube I for one will not be complaining.

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I watched the excellent Chinese Phil perform Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet earlier. It was a stunning performance and sounded amazing on my system. Still one of my most favourite of finales. The harp, the strings and that baseline on the cellos - it reminds me of Horner, but then the trumpets blasts right at the end are unmistakable and quintessential Tchaikovsky.

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I am not sure if you are able to see this clip, Nightscape, but if not I hope others in the UK may enjoy the performance:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p022v655/bbc-proms-proms-extra-dvorak-concerto-for-violin-in-a-minor

UK only :heartbreak:

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I am not sure if you are able to see this clip, Nightscape, but if not I hope others in the UK may enjoy the performance:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p022v655/bbc-proms-proms-extra-dvorak-concerto-for-violin-in-a-minor

UK only :heartbreak:

What is this, the Dark Ages?! Fear not, however, for it seems as though the BBC Radio 3 YouTube channel has taken pity on those in the colonies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0nrPvbIVUc

:dance:

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A couple of videos of the China Philharmonic Orchestra's recent concert have been uploaded to YouTube on the BBC Radio 3 channel. Here the orchestra plays Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (the Ravel orchestrated version):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZe1j1ybGEg

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I recommend to anyone in the UK the TV broadcast of Prom 19, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, to be shown this evening at 19.00. It opens with Richard Strauss's rarely heard Festival Prelude, which reminds me in parts of Franz Waxman's music to Prince Valiant. There is also Strauss's beautiful Four Last Songs and Deutsche Motette.

The second half is Elgar's second symphony, the second movement of which is guaranteed to cause the stiff upper lip of any Englishman to start trembling. I was not too familiar with it, to my shame, but I have not been able to get that second movement out of my head since hearing it on Thursday.

EDIT: Now up on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGwsY0FlR2c

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  • 1 month later...

Always enjoy Last Night though seems some in the crowd were a bit OTT in their noise-making. Still, I guess being last night it shouldn't matter. Love the rendition of the National Anthem, the start when I first heard that version in 2012 was spinetingling.

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I got home late from work, on Saturday, so I listened to EW+F in Hyde park, and then switched to R3 for the "Mary Poppins" singalong. Several doses of insulin later, I caught all the "And Did Those Feet" stuff. Stirring!


Bloody thing caused me to have to stay up late to watch Match of the Day :stick:

Only joking, the bits I saw were great :mrgreen:

Watch "MOTD" at 7:30 on Sunday Morning.

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I got home late from work, on Saturday, so I listened to EW+F in Hyde park, and then switched to R3 for the "Mary Poppins" singalong. Several doses of insulin later, I caught all the "And Did Those Feet" stuff. Stirring!

Bloody thing caused me to have to stay up late to watch Match of the Day :stick:

Only joking, the bits I saw were great :mrgreen:

Watch "MOTD" at 7:30 on Sunday Morning.

There's a 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday?

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