Alphabetical list of Composers

[Suffolkcoastal]

I think Uncle Monty the Proms seems to mirror to a reasonable extent some of the 'trends' on R3 in the last few years. The decline in broadcasts of large scale Vaughan Williams works since 2008, a decline in Shostakovich symphony broadcasts and in broadcasts of his music generally, keeping works by Scandinavian composers outside of the 'big three' to a minimum virtually ignoring all American composers apart from a select few and presenting British music in a rather piecemeal fashion. There has been a tendency to offer carrots to British music fans in the last 3 years, just to keep them interested and keeping them eagerly anticipating each season but without really making much more than a basic acknowledgement of British composers. In 2009 we had the Moeran Symphony and the Holst Choral Symphony last year some Parry and this year the Brian & Bax symphonies plus some Bridge. The Planets could do with a rest as could the Enigma Variations for a couple of years ( I love both works btw). Britten has remained just about in favour at the moment and with his centenary coming up in 2013 will probably remain so. It is good though that the Spring Symphony is featuring in the proms, though it isn't amongst my favorite Britten works, I may still listen in as concert performances of the work are fairly infrequent.

[Boilk]

There have been ample Shostakovich symphonies in the past, what I want to know is why has Rioger Wright programmed so much bloody Brahms (12 works)? It's not an anniversary year of any sort, though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a bicentennial of some sort.

It is however the Liszt bicentennial, but I think a few less than the 14 works of his appearing might have made room for completely missing composers - too many to single out.

Nice to see Niccolò Castiglioni getting a look in, an important and original Italian

As usual, Bernstein, Barber, Copland, Carter and Reich seems to be the mainstay of American music, which is the usual BBC slap-in-the-face gesture to several hundred younger American composers that the BBC seems never to have heard of. If they did the same with British music we would never hear music by anyone younger than Birtwistle or Maxwell Davies !!! The BBC badly needs to educate itself about American music. And, come to think of it, Eastern European composers.

[MrGongGong]

No Alphabet of composers is complete without Xenakis !

[Uncle Monty]

There has been a tendency to offer carrots to British music fans in the last 3 years, just to keep them interested and keeping them eagerly anticipating each season but without really making much more than a basic acknowledgement of British composers.

Yes, that all sounds right. I hope it's not chauvinist to expect Britain's greatest festival, run by the BBC, and apparently followed all over the world as a showcase for the country's musical culture, to programme our greatest music as well as interesting byways and new works. However, even without playing the national card, what is the carrot-offering designed to achieve? I can just about see programming driven by the likelihood of putting bums on seats ("= success" to the marketing and PR brigade?) but even at that level there's a lot of interesting and/or much-loved work that could do that, but is being ignored -- and seemingly in a way that conceals some attitude that I'm not seeing or understanding.

I'm far less expert on American music than you are, but the dearth of eastern European music is as puzzling as it is disappointing.

These anniversary-driven programmings are pernicious, aren't they? I will admit I enjoyed all the RVW activity in 2008, as I'm sure you did, but there is a price to pay, seemingly. Post anniversarium omne animal triste est, or something like that. Is it just laziness and a tabloid mentality, flitting from headline to headline, always with some angle, when programmers say, "Right, we've done Vaughan Williams, Shostakovich, etc., (with a worrying implication of Thank God that's over), now we needn't do any more for years."?

[Suffolkcoastal]

Carter has actually been marginalised (as has Ives) by the current R3 regime since 2008, the new work in the proms is therefore welcome. Barber, Bernstein & Copland seem only to be represented by a handful of 'popular' works on R3 these days and there inclusion in the proms isn't that common, Barber was treated shamefully in last years proms. Yes some of the younger American composers would be welcome, they are a bit hit and miss, but I'm sure the proms audience would appreciate Hersch and Danielpour for example though the latter isn't that young these days. I would of course rather see Harris, Diamond, Schuman, Piston et al included occasionally.

Your point on the anniversaries and the proms is very true uncle monty, I expect Liszt will all but vanish next year. Having said that even anniversary composers haven't necessarily been well treated by the Proms in recent years, it depends if they are in favour with the controller or not. Holmboe in 2009 nothing, Martinu in 2009 very little, W Schuman in 2010 nothing, Barber in 2010 very little Cherubini in 2010, one tiny overture (there has been more Cherubini broadcast this year already than the whole of last year on R3, methinks someone in R3 may have got their anniversary years mixed up). This year no Hovhaness, one of his works would be ideal Proms material one would have thought.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This year no Hovhaness, one of his works would be ideal Proms material one would have thought.

I had forgotten this was his anniversary year. He really should have been repesented.

[Boilk]

This year no Hovhaness, one of his works would be ideal Proms material one would have thought.

You're right Suffolkcoastal... I'd forgotten about the Hovhaness centenary. There is much top drawer Hovhaness from the 1950s and 60s (concerto for orchestra no.7, symphonies 2, 6, 11, etc). If I recall correctly, when he was Composer of the Week it wasn't the expected CDs, but BBC orchestras no less! He can be ideal Prommers material - unknown, accessible and stylistically a breath of fresh air.

But then if William Schuman was ignored last year, what hope for Hovhaness?

[ucanseetheend]

Not one Shostakovich symphony and of course the representation of great British Composers is lamentable, Think about it , the So called "greatest Music Festival in the world" what garbage

[MrGongGong]

Is Elliot Carters flute concerto really 13 minutes long ?

[Roehre]

Is Elliot Carters flute concerto really 13 minutes long ?

As it dates from 2008 I do think this might be the approximate length of the piece, given Carter's tendency from the last couple of years to create shorter pieces (and who can blame him for that, being 100 and then still composing)