Proms 2011 Announced Changes

[NickWraight]

The below list may be of interest, from http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_news.php?id=1773.

Proms Plus, Royal College of Music – Prom 1 (Friday 15 July)
The Proms Plus start time is 5:30pm.

Prom 3 (Sunday 17 July)
The concert end time is 5.05pm.

Prom 5 (Monday 18 July)
For health reasons Martha Argerich has had to reduce her playing commitments in the coming months and deeply regrets having to cancel her planned Proms appearance in July. We are grateful to Myung-Whun Chung for replacing her. He will be making his Proms performing debut as a pianist.

Prom 13 (Sunday 24 July)
Sonia Ganassi is no longer available to take part in the Verdi Requiem. We are pleased to announce that she is replaced by mezzo soprano Mariana Pentcheva.

Prom 14 (Monday 25 July)
The concert end time is 9.00pm.

Prom 15 (Tuesday 26 July)
Christopher Ventris is no longer available to take part in this concert. We are pleased to announce he is replaced by tenor Marco Jentzsch.

Prom 22 (Sunday 31 July)
Please note the correct spelling is Alexei Tanovitski and he is a bass not a baritone.

Prom 25 (Tuesday 2 August)
The orchestration for Shepherd’s Hey-medley will be performed by the Northern Sinfonia and Kathryn Tickell band not tutti.

Prom 35 (Wednesday 10 August)
The concert end time is 9.10pm.

Prom 41 (Sunday 14 August)
Christopher Maltman is no longer available to take part in this concert. We are pleased to announce that he is replaced by Leigh Melrose.

Prom 42 (Monday 15 August)
The concert end time is 9.55pm

Prom 43 (Tuesday 16 August)
The concert end time is 10.10pm.

Prom 48 (Friday 19 August)
The concert end time is 11.20pm.

Prom 51 (Monday 22 August)
Kevin Volans’ Piano Concerto No.3 is a BBC commission only, and not a co-commission with the RTÉ.

Proms Plus, Royal College of Music – Prom 51 (Monday 22 August)
Martin Handley replaces Tom Service as the presenter of the Proms Plus Portrait.

Prom 55 (Thursday 25 August)
Owing to a knee injury, Sandrine Piau is unable to take the role of Almirena in Glynebourne’s new production of Rinaldo. The role will be performed by Anett Fritsch.

Prom 58 (Sunday 28 August)
The correct billing is North East Youth Chorale.

Prom 61 (Wednesday 31 August)
The Philharmonic Chorus will join the BBC Symphony Chorus for Beethoven 9.

Prom 67 (Sunday 4 September)
The London Philharmonic Choir will join the London Symphony Chorus for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

Prom 68 (Monday 5 September)
The revised running time of Braunfels Fantastic Appearances of a Theme of Hector Berlioz is 20 minutes. As a result the concert end time will be 9.55pm. [NW: a 45 minute work cut to 20 minutes: why?!]

Prom 70 (Wednesday 7 September)
The revised running time of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is 31 minutes. As a result the concert end time will be 9.10pm.

Proms in the Park in Hyde Park (10 September)
Sir Terry Wogan is announced as the host of BBC Proms in the Park in Hyde Park. Westlife are announced as special guests.

[NickWraight]

It is a tad concerning that the 45 minute piece by Braunfels in Prom 68 (a Proms Premiere to boot) has been apparently cut to 20 minutes. Yes, this was to have been a very long evening but replace the work with another rather then reduce it to a "bleedin' chunk" and thus ruin the musical structure. I would rather have lost 2 movements of the Tchaikovsky...!!

[MrGongGong]

Westlife ?
Can't wait

[Ravensbourne]

Prom 61 (Wednesday 31 August)
The Philharmonic Chorus will join the BBC Symphony Chorus for Beethoven 9.


The Philharmonic Chorus?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

The Philharmonic Chorus?

That's Westlife again.

[RobertLeDiable]

It is a tad concerning that the 45 minute piece by Braunfels in Prom 68 (a Proms Premiere to boot) has been apparently cut to 20 minutes. Yes, this was to have been a very long evening but replace the work with another rather then reduce it to a "bleedin' chunk" and thus ruin the musical structure. I would rather have lost 2 movements of the Tchaikovsky...!!

More likely the original timing they had came from a catalogue which turned out to be wrong. Maybe it hadn't been performed before, or at least in recent years and the timing had been a (bad) guess. Doesn't seem likely that a conductor like Manfred Honeck would cut a piece by more than half its length, however bad he found it to be when he started learning it! Whatever, the concert is long enough without 45 minutes of Braunfels.

[NickWraight]

It might be the case that the Braunfels work exists in more than one version but the recording I have lasts 50 minutes. Whether it was the BBC or the Pittsburgh orchestra's administration that made the "error" in programming such a long concert we do not know but it would make more sense to cut the piece entirely and then decide whether or not to replace it with another. The act of cultural vandalism that has resulted is in nobody's interest!

[french frank]

It might be the case that the Braunfels work exists in more than one version but the recording I have lasts 50 minutes. Whether it was the BBC or the Pittsburgh orchestra's administration that made the "error" in programming such a long concert we do not know but it would make more sense to cut the piece entirely and then decide whether or not to replace it with another. The act of cultural vandalism that has resulted is in nobody's interest!Well, Honeck does seem to be the 'villain' here. Re the Pittsburgh season (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/music/s_741150.html):

' "Fantastic Appearances of a theme by Berlioz" lasts 55 minutes, but will be performed in a shortened version made by Honeck, which will last about 23 minutes. The theme is "The Song of the Flea" from "The Damnation of Faust," which Braunfels introduces with a cornet solo.

"I believe it's a great piece but I wanted to have it as a concert opener. Uncut it can only be done on the second half of a concert," Honeck says.'

Presumably the BBC thought it would be the whole work since it was originally listed as lasting 47 minutes.

[RobertLeDiable]

Nobody ever seems to remember that it's the conductor who makes the artistic decision about cutting a piece or not. It's highly unlikely that the Music Director of the Pittsburgh orchestra would accept someone else's decision about cutting a piece. Either it must be a different, shorter version that they've got, or Honeck has decided to cut it. As I said, I find it hard to think he'd cut it quite so short since, as has already been said, he could easily replace it with something else. I also think it's more than likely that he chose the piece in the first place. If there's a recording he would surely know how long it was, so maybe this is indeed a short version sanctioned by the composer. Maybe we'll find out come the concert!

[RobertLeDiable]

Ah - our posts crossed. So it was Honeck who cut it! Interesting. There is, I think, a Braunfels estate, so you would think (hope?) that he has got their permission.

[NickWraight]

To say that a piece is great and then only perform a severly cut version rather compromises Honeck's position I would have thought. Yes, it makes the Prom of reasonable length but compromises the piece.

[Colonel Danby]

That's the problem with new commissions at the Proms, especially if they are a world premiere, nobody really knows just how long they are going to take to finish: I remember one year I was at a performance of a Symphony by Robin Holloway to celebrate the Minnennium, which probably dates it about 2000. It was listed at c35 minutes but it was still going on for nearly an hour: now I'm a great fan of this composer's work (I have both the 2nd and 3rd Concertos on NMC and was present at the world premiere of 'Seascape and Harvest' with Rattle and the CBSO) but people were beginning to get a bit restless: especially when in the second half, Runnilcles and the BBCSSO were doing the whole of the 3rd Act of Richard Wagner's 'Walküre'. It was a great concert, but seemed to go on all night.

[Colonel Danby]

Sorry, that should read "Millennium"

[Serial_Apologist]

Sorry, that should read "Millennium"

As names go, I've always preferred Minnie to Millie :winkeye:

[Petrushka]

That's the problem with new commissions at the Proms, especially if they are a world premiere, nobody really knows just how long they are going to take to finish: I remember one year I was at a performance of a Symphony by Robin Holloway to celebrate the Minnennium, which probably dates it about 2000. It was listed at c35 minutes but it was still going on for nearly an hour: now I'm a great fan of this composer's work (I have both the 2nd and 3rd Concertos on NMC and was present at the world premiere of 'Seascape and Harvest' with Rattle and the CBSO) but people were beginning to get a bit restless: especially when in the second half, Runnilcles and the BBCSSO were doing the whole of the 3rd Act of Richard Wagner's 'Walküre'. It was a great concert, but seemed to go on all night.

I remember listening to that one on the radio. I would have thought that a Proms commission would have an approximate time length attached to it as part of the commission ie 'an orchestral work lasting x minutes'. I realize that the Proms programmes are finalised round about February and that pieces may not be ready in time but surely any work that exceeds its brief as clearly as the Holloway piece did, should be held over until the following season or fitted in elsewhere perhaps in the BBCSO season. I think this has happened on the odd occasion but this from memory only.

[Ravensbourne]

"Fantastic Appearances of a theme by Berlioz" lasts 55 minutes, but will be performed in a shortened version made by Honeck, which will last about 23 minutes. The theme is "The Song of the Flea" from "The Damnation of Faust," which Braunfels introduces with a cornet solo.

There's far more information on the piece here than BBC Radio 3 thought to give the listener. Do they assume we were all so familiar with the piece that no explanation was needed?

On the other hand, we did learn lots about the composer's grandson.

[Roehre]

' "Fantastic Appearances of a theme by Berlioz" lasts 55 minutes, but will be performed in a shortened version made by Honeck, which will last about 23 minutes. The theme is "The Song of the Flea" from "The Damnation of Faust," which Braunfels introduces with a cornet solo.

A "shortened version": of the introduction plus 12 Appearances lasting (according to the score) some 47 minutes, we only got less than 15 minutes consisting of the introduction + appearance 1 + appearance 4. :grr: Is Honeck listening to Breakfast, I am wondering :devil:
Considered the frequency with which Beethoven PC4 and Tchaikovsky 5 are performed, this is IMO an unacceptable form of artistic vandalism.

[Ruth Elleson]

That's the problem with new commissions at the Proms, especially if they are a world premiere, nobody really knows just how long they are going to take to finish: I remember one year I was at a performance of a Symphony by Robin Holloway to celebrate the Minnennium, which probably dates it about 2000. It was listed at c35 minutes but it was still going on for nearly an hour: now I'm a great fan of this composer's work (I have both the 2nd and 3rd Concertos on NMC and was present at the world premiere of 'Seascape and Harvest' with Rattle and the CBSO) but people were beginning to get a bit restless: especially when in the second half, Runnilcles and the BBCSSO were doing the whole of the 3rd Act of Richard Wagner's 'Walküre'. It was a great concert, but seemed to go on all night.
It was indeed 2000 - my second-ever Prom. I had set a recording device up at home to capture the radio broadcast of the Wagner - needless to say that because the Holloway symphony overran so drastically, I got barely half of it before the recording cut out :sadface: