The anniversary of the famous Proms was slightly spoiled by the unsuccessful
The 100th anniversary cycle of the Proms concerts, the largest annual event in Britain, has ended in London. musical summer. This year, the BBC Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, or simply Proms, achieved a hundred-year record in audience popularity. The average attendance was 86.4%, and 96% of tickets were sold for a good half of the concerts.
The first Promenade concerts were held in 1895 at London's Queen's Hall by the young bandmaster Henry Wood. The main secret of their appeal was accessibility: tickets were cheaper because they were not sold in seats. Although there was no literal “hanging out” even then, people liked to listen to music in an informal setting - just as in our time someone likes to sit on the floor rather than in chairs. At first, the programs were divided into a serious and an entertaining part; Over the years, Proms began to play the role of a respectable educational event, and the term promenade became more and more conventional. It was there that the premieres of many works by Schoenberg, Mahler, Sibelius, Busoni, young British composers, as well as Tchaikovsky, Myaskovsky, Prokofiev, Khachaturian and many others took place.
Almost unbelievably, Sir Henry Wood stood at the conductor's stand at the Proms for half a century. The concerts were only interrupted by the bombing of the Second World War, after which the permanent venue of the Proms became the magnificent Albert Hall, with acoustics allowing for the performance of everything from chamber music to Mahler's Eighth Symphony, known as the "symphony of a thousand players".
Since 1930, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and other groups of the corporation have become an indispensable participant in the cycle. Sir Henry was succeeded as leader by no less famous Englishmen: Adrien Boult, Malcolm Sargent, William Glock.
The current series, which included 68 concerts, featured world-famous soloists and musical groups. The completion of the cycle was marked by the participation of the most prominent luminaries of the world conducting art. These include, without a doubt, Christoph von Dohnanyi and Claudio Abbado, both of whom included works by Gustav Mahler in their programs. Interest in the unspoken competition between the two luminaries was fueled by a not very correct interview that Christoph von Dohnanyi gave to The Times newspaper on the day of Claudio Abbado's performance with Berlinsky Philharmonic Orchestra. According to Dohnanyi, Abbado is a “good” conductor, but the orchestra members have a hard time with him. Abbado strives to conduct by heart, although his memory is not as impeccable as, for example, Lorin Maazel. Knowing this, musicians are forced to insure themselves by listening to each other more attentively than usual - which sometimes leads to very good results. When two outstanding interpreters of Mahler's music try to outdo each other, only the listener benefits. The performances of both masters were described by critics in the most best colors. Abbado conducted Mahler's Ninth, the last of his completed symphonies, with rare sonic perfection, and the final Adagio, written by the composer shortly before his death, forced listeners to listen to the tragic but peaceful music without taking a breath. Dohnanyi, who, on the contrary, chose the First Symphony, rich in bright, characteristic colors, managed, together with the Cleveland Orchestra, which he led, to interpret it as the purest and absolute music of the world.
Not everything at the Promenade concerts works out as the organizers want. And it was precisely the Beethoven program of the brilliant Lorin Maazel, cited by Dohnanyi as a model, that received a devastating defeat from the London music critics. True, the fine work in detail and the successes that not the most famous of the American orchestras, the Pittsburgh one, made under Maazel’s direction were noted. For this, Richard Fairman, a critic from the Financial Times, called Maazel a surgeon, not a conductor. The cold and calculating manner of his performance was caused only by the desire to be different from others. The conductor managed the tempo, dynamics and orchestral balance as he wished, which resulted in bad taste in the 1st movement, aimlessness of movement in the 2nd, toothlessness in the scherzo and chaos in the finale. Nina Rautio, who took part in the performance, could not save Lorina Maazel. Moreover, she was especially unlucky. As any schoolchild today knows, in the finale of the Ninth, written to the text of Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” just before the conclusion, Beethoven placed a short, quiet and soulful episode of Poco adagio, where the soprano leading the quartet of solo singers must take the upper B. To the chagrin of us compatriots famous singer, this B turned out to be somewhat more sonorous than it should have been - which could not but outrage such a strict and encyclopedically educated critic as The Times columnist Stephen Pettit.
But the last night left no chance for skeptics. The listeners, many of whom preferred to spend time on their feet as of old, sang and celebrated with the musicians, and central event night was the performance of the anthem “Rule, Britannia!” England's favorite baritone, Bryn Terfel, dressed in a rugby fan's uniform. The current head of the Proms, Sir Andrew Davies, was delighted to encourage the battery of clappers, and the ladies of the BBC Choir and Orchestra tried to outdo the flags and Balloons. Surprisingly, music was playing all this time - even if it wasn’t Mahler. Londoners paid tribute to the great Henry Wood by performing his arrangement of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor; works by 20th-century British classics William Walton and Ralph Vaughan Williams were played, a marimba concertino by Paul Creston, with the soloist percussionist Evelyn Glennie, Berlioz's Hungarian March and Meditation from Massenet's opera "Thais", which was inspired by violinist Michael Davis and an unknown master of ball-throwing. The latter's work (in the shape of a heart) landed on the dome of the Royal Albert Hall rotunda at the same time as the last sounds of the violin and marked parting with the Proms concerts until the next, 101st summer.
The idea of approaching classical music to the general public low prices came from the "promenade" concerts that took place in London parks, where people could stroll and simultaneously listen to orchestras and musical ensembles. This idea was invented by Robert Newman. Robert Newman ), head of Queens Hall (eng. Queens Hall ) - concert hall with 2,500 seats in central London. He hired a young conductor, Henry Wood, who shared his vision of shaping the public's musical taste by offering them popular plays to begin with and gradually raising their standards. Wood conducted almost every "proms" concert for 50 years, until his death in 1944. Only in last years Throughout his life, he began to share his responsibilities with other conductors.
Henry Wood's influence on British musical life cannot be underestimated. Many doubted that the Englishman would be capable of such a task, especially that he would conduct the works of Richard Wagner.
In 1941, Queens Hall was completely destroyed by bombs. During the war, "promenade" concerts took place at the Albert Hall, then in Bristol and Bedford. After the war, the Albert Hall became a permanent festival venue.
In 1927, the BBC Corporation became involved in organizing “promenade” concerts. Every single concert is now broadcast on BBC radio, and some are shown on television. You can also listen to concerts via the Internet. The BBC Symphony Orchestra is a resident orchestra. In total, 80 groups (orchestras, choirs, etc.) take part in the performances. Special “promenade” concerts for children and “promenade” concerts with national music (Chinese, Hindu, and so on) are organized.
Last concert each season is called "the last night of the 'promenade' concerts." It is broadcast on television all over the world.
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Or the Henry Joseph Wood Proms, a series of annual Proms concerts presented by the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall in London in July and September. This... ... Wikipedia
- BBC Proms, also known as the BBC Proms, is a London-based international annual music festival (mainly classical music), the largest in the UK. Founded in 1895.
Until 1941 it was held in the Queens Hall concert hall, from 1941 - in Royal Albert Hall. Since 1927 - under the auspices of the BBC radio corporation.
Since the 1960s, it has been held primarily in the summer.
The idea of bringing classical music closer to the general public at low prices came from the "promenade" concerts that were held in London parks, where people could stroll and listen to music at the same time. The idea of the festival was invented by R. Newman, director of Queens Hall, a 2,500-seat concert hall.
In 1941 the Queen's Hall was completely destroyed by bombs and during the war "promenade" concerts were held at the Royal Albert Hall, then in Bristol and Bedford.
After the war, the Albert Hall became a permanent festival venue. In addition to the usual seating, hundreds of cheap standing seats (costing £5) are sold - so the public can freely “stroll” during the concert, hence the common name of the festival (English promenade promenade, from the French promener - to walk ).
From the very beginning the festival was different high level professional skills of the participants. Festival sponsor Newman hired the young conductor Henry Wood, who shared his vision of shaping the public's musical taste. Initially, Wood presented only popular pieces to the public, but gradually increased the level of complexity of festival music. Wood conducted nearly every Proms concert for 50 years until his death in 1944. Subsequently, concerts were conducted under the direction of M. Sargent, G. Solti, K. Davis, L. Slatkin and other famous conductors.
In 1927, the BBC Corporation became involved in organizing “promenade” concerts, and since then Symphony Orchestra The BBC is the festival's permanent orchestra. Since the 1960s The BBC Proms operates as a summer festival and hosts about 70 concerts annually. Special “promenade” concerts for children are organized. Nowadays, in addition to classical music, the festival programs include traditional and folk music(Chinese, Indian and so on).
Every single concert is now broadcast on BBC radio. You can also listen to concerts on the Internet. The last concert of each season is called "the last evening of the 'promenade' concerts." It is broadcast on television all over the world.
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The Proms are celebrating their centenary this year. In this, and not in the past, when the hundredth festival took place - such is the mathematics of dates. The young conductor Henry Wood - today one of the most famous conducting names in history - conducted the first Proms concerts at London's Queen's Hall in 1895. At first, the secret to their success was accessibility. Tickets were cheaper because they didn't include seating -- but there was never a literal "party" involved. Sir Henry stood at the conductor's stand at the Proms concerts for half a century: during this time, his festival acquired a reputation as a solid educational event. Many works by Mahler, Schoenberg, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Busoni, and British composers were performed here for the first time. The concerts were only interrupted by the bombings of the Second World War. After its completion, the royal Albert Hall became a permanent venue for concerts - a hall with acoustics that allows the performance of any work - from chamber music to Mahler's Eighth Symphony, known as the "Symphony of a Thousand Participants".
This symphony opened the anniversary Proms-95 - everyone agreed that such a scale corresponded to the significance of the moment. The Albert Hall stage resembled a mountainside, on which the reinforced composition of the BBC orchestra, the joint choir of the London and Birmingham Philharmonic, boys from the cathedral choirs of St. Paul and Westminster, and eight solo singers were located in terraces. Additional groups copper ones were located in the galleries in order to enhance the impression of the climaxes with their introductions. At the very top of the structure was Amanda Roocroft, dressed in white, singing in her delightful soprano voice on behalf of Mater Gloriosa. And the entire performance was passionately led by BBC Symphony chief Andrew Davies, who made picky listeners forget that he was in charge of not a thousand participants, but only about seven hundred.
Mahler's Eighth Symphony belongs to works that claim to be all-encompassing - in the Russian tradition, only Scriabin's Prometheus is similar to it. The hour and a half opus contains only two parts: this is the Catholic hymn Veni, creator spiritus, solemn, overwhelming and, to tell the truth, very laboriously written - and a huge scene based on the text from Part II of Faust, in which the voices of the holy fathers, babies and angels are heard , poems about “eternal femininity” and quite a few indeed brilliant music. The opening of the Proms was traditionally covered by all leading British newspapers. common feature reviews - polite indifference to the universal human essence of Gustav Mahler's plan. Not without some arrogance, The Times reviewer noted that his fellow citizens are not particularly attracted to the depths of German philosophy - but they know how to appreciate the perfection of execution and the festive atmosphere.
The performance of the Eighth opened the full cycle of Mahler's symphonies, which will run like a red thread through the entire magnificent variety of Proms-95 programs. A total of 70 concerts will take place, and the 900-seat Albert Hall will host guests until September 16. The popularity of the Proms is enormous, and last year it reached a record: the average attendance was 86.4%, and the hall was almost full for a good half of the concerts. However, if the 1994 festival was essentially retrospective, then the current one, which last time led by Sir John Drummond, is going to look into the future. The BBC did not skimp on commissioning new works; In addition, a number of works will be performed in public for the first time. A total of 28 premieres are expected.
The concept contains both considerable risk and insurance in the form of strong and varied traditional programs. It is known that young people and neophytes attend the Proms as a kind of summer course in the standard classical repertoire. With modern music, gripped by a protracted crisis of ideas, subsidies and listener love, it is always more difficult - here it is appropriate to say that the last festival modern music Almeida, which has long been a pleasant exception to the conservative rules of London musical life, was rated by critics as poor and unsuccessful. During the concert season, the attendance of modern programs is not going well, but, on the other hand, if anything can attract the attention of the public to them, it is “Promy”.
Therefore, it is better not to rush to conclusions until the fall, when the anniversary Proms concerts will sum up their results, and Sir John Drummond will appear in the world either in rays of glory, or covered in streaks of rotten eggs. It would be worth making a bet now, but it may turn out that the head of the largest summer festival it will be an honor to earn both.