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2016 BBC Proms
#419786 07/16/16 02:00 AM
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Earlier this evening in London the First Night of the 122nd annual BBC Proms took place. This is the world's greatest classical music festival and over an 8 week period many of the world's greatest orchestras and performers come to London to take part in the daily schedule of concerts. The concerts can be heard live on the BBC iPlayer and also on demand for 30 days following on the iPlayer site. As in previous years, I'll probably occasionally bring to your attention a concert that I thought was quite enjoyable.

The First Night started things off strongly. The BBC Symphony Orchestra performed Tchaikovsky's Overture to Romeo and Juliet and there followed the Elgar Cello Concerto. After intermission the orchestra was joined by its chorus and the National Chorus of Wales for a performance of Prokofiev's gigantic Cantata Alexander Nevsky .


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #419793 07/19/16 05:52 AM
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Prom 4 held earlier Monday evening, had a very enjoyable first half, with performances by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra of Ravel's Bolero and an excellent rendition of the magnificent Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto. After intermission I found the music of much less interest.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #419874 07/28/16 02:11 AM
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For Prom 16 the BBC National Orchestra of Wales began the concert with the quietly beautiful(after its energetic opening fanfare)poem La Peri by Paul Dukas. There followed a first performance of a new violin concerto which I thought was of little musical interest and could be fast-forwarded through with little loss. After the intermission the orchestra performed a suite of the colorful and dramatic music Prokofiev composed for the ballet Romeo and Juliet.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #419908 07/30/16 04:35 AM
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well spoken description of a concert as usual. Glad to see you are still enjoying classical music as much as the last time I hopped on these boards!


-David
Re: 2016 BBC Proms
terzaghi #419977 08/04/16 03:18 AM
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Prom 25 featured a performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto in the first half. Many(including me)consider this to be the greatest cello concerto ever written, with its combination of beauty and energy never failing to satisfy when given a fine performance such as this, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with cellist Alban Gerhardt.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #419999 08/08/16 07:44 AM
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Prom 30 displayed the talents of the young players of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. After opening with a piece of new music which had little of musical interest in its 12 minutes, the first half concluded with an excellent performance of the Tchaikovsky 2nd Piano Concerto with pianist Pavel Kolesnikov. Following intermission they proved to be fully capable of bringing to life the myriad of colors in Stravinsky's Firebird.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #420081 08/18/16 03:26 AM
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Prom 31 had an excellent overall program played by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, starting with the savage rhythms of Prokofiev's Scythian Suite and ending on a similar note with the Stravinsky Rite of Spring. In between, the beauty and majesty of the Tchaikovsky 1st Piano Concerto, with pianist Kiril Gerstein, produced a rather more relaxed mood.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #420155 08/24/16 02:11 AM
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For Prom 50 the BBC Symphony Orchestra started with a performance of Tchaikovsky's energetic Fantasy Overture to Hamlet and followed with Rachmaninoff's popular Fantasy on a Theme of Paganini, featuring an excellent performance by pianist Stephen Hough.

After intermission, Prokofiev's rarely heard Symphony No. 3, rather mechanistic in nature and less "tuneful" than most of his compositions, was played and was worth the listen.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #420169 08/26/16 02:24 AM
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The Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra journeyed from Brazil to London for Prom 51 . After opening with a short piece by Brazilian composer Marlos Nobre, the popular Grieg Piano Concerto was played with pianist Gabriela Montero giving a fine performance.

After intermission a very brief Villa-Lobos piece opened and was followed(almost without pause)by the the elegant and beautiful Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances. Two encores closed the concert.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.


Re: 2016 BBC Proms
JohnK #420244 09/05/16 04:14 AM
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The great Berlin Philharmonic visited London and for Proms 66 presented a concert which began a bit slowly with a 12 minute piece of "new music", which as is all too typical these days, had little of musical interest. This was quickly remedied with the tuneful set of the first eight Slavonic Dances of Dvorak. Following intermission, the majestic Brahms 2nd Symphony concluded the concert.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.



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