Rach 1st concerto Proms 2005

[gruffalo]

Missed it. can anyone fill me in?  wish i recorded it. stephen hough wasnt it? just want to know what the performance was like.

[Jacey1973]

It was perfect, i really enjoyed it. It was a while ago now i think.  liked the way Stephen Hough didn't dominate - as the Rach 1 is really a concerto for the pianist to dominate and show off, but he was really with the orchestra. They interviewed him after, he seems a really sweet guy.

[Jacey1973]

Oh i think you can listen to past proms concerts at : https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/listen/

But i think thats only up to a week after the performance. But you can still hear Sunday night's Schumann concerto played by Llyr Williams and Monday night's Ravel's Piano Concerto in G played by Helene Grimaud if you hurry!

Anyone hear the Beethoven 4th piano concerto a couple weeks back? That was fantastic too. I will be tuning in to hear Berg's Violin concerto on tonight, that will be an interesting listen.

[gruffalo]

argh im so annoyed i missed it. i had a lot on my mind while i was trying to remember to watch that particular prom 

[lisztwasgod]

stephen hough offered perhaps the best rendition of the first rach concerto ive heard to date...and ive heard a LOT of recordings of it...sometimes he doesnt accent the right notes in his playing or he does some wqierd stuff with the counting...but his rach one was perfect...i actually had the privilege of sitting in the choir seats behind the DSO and watching him perform

[gruffalo]

wow that must have been amazing. i need to get a recording of that. im sure someone i know has it.

[pianohopper]

what is this proms?  could someone fil me in on details?  I would like to listen in next time also. 

[Etude]

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

[Jacey1973]

what is this proms?  could someone fil me in on details?  I would like to listen in next time also. 

Yes i'm quite surprised as to how many people on piano forum haven't heard of the Proms - it's usually the Amercians i find. I always thought the Proms was such a world wide famous classical music festival? I've grown up watching them - especially the famous "Last Night of the Proms" perhaps it is just a British thing?

But you really must check them out if you're ever in London between late July-early Sept - they are well worth going to. They have the best mix of international orchestras/soloists/conductors, and there has always been a tradition of making sure new works (often commissioned by the BBC for the Proms) are performed regulary along side the old favourites and perhaps more obscure old pieces.

The best thing is if you're in London on the day - queue up about an hour before the concert starts (they're on everyday!) and you pay only £4 to stand in the arena or stand up in the gallery! I can't believe how cheap these standing tickets are - it's how it should be, making classical music available to everybody. Of course you can pay a fortune, get dressed up and sit in one of the boxes with a glass of champagne - but i think i prefer standing it is such a great atmosphere and the audience is so diverse.

There are also many lunchtime/afternoon/late night recitals going on as well as the main 7/7.30 pm concerts.

Tonight's main concert - for example, featured Rossini's William Tell Overture, Debussy's
Prélude à L'après-midi d'un faune (my favourite piece of all time i think...), a premiere of a new work commissioned for this year's Proms by the Finnish composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen called "Helix", Wagner's Prelude Act I, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the 2nd half featured Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade. The Saturday night concerts tend to be aimed at the general public - the more unusual programmes tend to feature during the week. Last Saturday's concert featured Beethoven's 9th for example (i missed it  )

[dlu]

On what channel does the Proms air??? I only have BBCA. I'm really upset I missed some of those performances...pooey...can you buy the festival on DVD or something like that??

DLu

[gruffalo]

its sometimes on four. but not all the time.