Classical Reviews

Prom 21: Hope, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Søndergård

Edward Seckerson Tuesday, 30 July 2013

The “Turning Point” in Colin Matthews’ so-named orchestral piece is a change of attitude, a sudden seriousness of purpose, a great effort of will to stop moving and take stock of where it - whatever it is - is going. That Matthews did actually stop mid-composition because, precisely as the piece tells us, he wasn’t sure he was enjoying the ride anymore is one of those extra-musical bits of information that perhaps holds the key to understanding the motivation behind it.

Prom 20: Götterdämmerung, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim

Edward Seckerson Monday, 29 July 2013

And so Wotan’s ravens flew home and at the twilight’s last gleaming the immortals were consumed by fire and water. All was finally and irrevocably redeemed by the power of love, and the most beautiful of all the leitmotifs in Wagner’s Ring rolled out across the Albert Hall like a benediction. It was a defining moment in Proms history, no doubt, and was greeted with a few moments of perfect - and I mean perfect - silence.

Prom 19: Tristan und Isolde, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bychkov

Sebastian Scotney Sunday, 28 July 2013

Such has been the justifiable flow of superlatives this week about the Berlin Staatskapelle's Ring conducted by Barenboim, the centrepiece of the BBC Proms' Wagner bicentenary celebration, it would have been easy to forget that the 2013 Proms season contains not just those four, but seven complete Wagner operas.

Comment

Prom 18: Siegfried, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim

Ismene Brown Saturday, 27 July 2013

The transformative power of the Royal Albert Hall at Proms-time never ceases to amaze me.

Prom 17: Antonio Márquez Company, BBC Philharmonic, Mena

Jasper Rees Friday, 26 July 2013

JThis year’s Proms have been accompanied by an unusual choral drone, a monotony of voices whinging about the prodigious heat at the Albert Hall. For one night only no one was complaining as the temperature gauge went up to something like 111. You’ve heard of the Hollywood Prom and Comedy Prom, the Gospel Prom and the Dalek Prom.

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Notes from the Inside with James Rhodes, Channel 4

graham Rickson Thursday, 25 July 2013

Most of us could compile soundtracks to our lives. We’d probably save our favourite songs and pieces for the worst bits. Pianist James Rhodes was sectioned in his twenties and maintains that a visitor who smuggled in an iPod stuffed with classical music helped to save his life. He’s refreshingly candid though, admitting slyly that “listening to a piece of Bach isn’t going to fix everything".

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Prom 15: Die Walküre, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim

David Nice Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Things may be falling apart, a storm now rages but new broods of humans and demigoddesses have been fathered by chief god Wotan, who has undergone a Doctor Who like transformation from Iain Paterson into Bryn Terfel.

Prom 14: Das Rheingold, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim

David Nice Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Swimming around in the Rhine is what most of us wanted to be doing on the hottest day of the year. A cooling, riverbed low E flat from Daniel Barenboim’s Berlin double basses, and then the staggered horn entries announced we were going to be in the finest sonic hands for two and a half hours – or nearly 15, if the colossal Proms Ring is to be accounted in its full, four-night glory.

Proms Saturday Matinee 1/Proms Chamber Music 2

alexandra Coghlan Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Yes it’s Wagner Week at the Proms, and just up the road in the Royal Albert Hall there are dwarves and giants enough to rival Comic Con, and enough noise to silence any objection and obliterate all competition. Even the greatest of musical excess needs a counterbalance, however, and it comes in the form of the Proms’ chamber music events.

Prom 13: National Youth Orchestra of America, Gergiev

alexandra Coghlan Monday, 22 July 2013

Youth orchestras do well at the Proms. Built to the same sprawling scale as the Royal Albert Hall, their energy is also a natural fit for the relentlessly enthusiastic Proms audience. The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, the Aldeburgh World Youth Orchestra, our own National Youth Orchestra – year after year we marvel at the skills of these young musicians and come away with new demands to make of our professional ensembles.