Can you get to the Proms?

[BudgieJane]

Having read through this thread, it seems that some of you would not mind if the Proms were abandoned completely and replaced by live broadcats of concerts from the studios at Maida Vale.

[Al R Gando]

live broadcats.

All Your Proms Concerts Is Belong To Us

[BudgieJane]

LOL!

[amac4165]

Just back from the "Protest Prom" - how was the radio sound of the protesters !


Ps I was listening to the announcers on my mp3 - it seems they cut away and broadcast recordings instead

[Anna]

Just back from the "Protest Prom" - how was the radio sound of the protesters !

Ps I was listening to the announcers on my mp3 - it seems they cut away and broadcast recordings instead

As you're here perhaps you'd like to give us non-listeners an account of what happened in the Hall and how it was dealt with and how long the Prom over ran for?

[Serial_Apologist]

How can one get away from the Proms?

[amac4165]

All a bit pathetic really - during the Webern - a group in the upper choir stage right stood unfurled large handkerchiefs which read "free Palestine" and sang "free Palestine ... something la la something" to the Ode to joy. (someone said it was better performance than last night). They were bundled out but not before they had ruined the Webern. The last that was heard of them was thin spinsterish voice singing "free Palestine"

Thereafter there were protests at the start of each piece - mostly in the Circle - I was in the arena and we could see most of it. The first few had flags so were easy to spot - after the Bruch they appeared to have run out of flags - so were harder to spot.

At the start of the second half (which was the most sustained) some guy started in a box on the second tier - no sooner than he was removed other group started in the circle - they were removed and another group set off. By this time we were getting used to it ! It was quite fun watching the stewards and security running around ! A group started off at the start of the last piece - looked like a fight broke out.

Pleased to say nothing in the arena or gallery - well not that I saw (Mehta seemed to gesture thanks to the arena at the end) - although a man was lead away during the second half (security had been clearly looking for someone before hand).

Anyway I am no longer wondering why 66 mins of music was scheduled for 2 hours !

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Having read through this thread, it seems that some of you would not mind if the Proms were abandoned completely and replaced by live broadcats of concerts from the studios at Maida Vale.

What utter tosh. We have come to expect good quality of broadcast sound by the BBC from the Proms. We know they can do it - extremely well. But standards have become variable, and sometimes unacceptable.

[Nick Armstrong]

All a bit pathetic really - during the Webern - a group in the upper choir stage right stood unfurled large handkerchiefs which read "free Palestine" and sang "free Palestine ... something la la something" to the Ode to joy. (someone said it was better performance than last night). They were bundled out but not before they had ruined the Webern. The last that was heard of them was thin spinsterish voice singing "free Palestine"

Thereafter there were protests at the start of each piece - mostly in the Circle - I was in the arena and we could see most of it. The first few had flags so were easy to spot - after the Bruch they appeared to have run out of flags - so were harder to spot.

At the start of the second half (which was the most sustained) some guy started in a box on the second tier - no sooner than he was removed other group started in the circle - they were removed and another group set off. By this time we were getting used to it ! It was quite fun watching the stewards and security running around ! A group started off at the start of the last piece - looked like a fight broke out.

Pleased to say nothing in the arena or gallery - well not that I saw (Mehta seemed to gesture thanks to the arena at the end) - although a man was lead away during the second half (security had been clearly looking for someone before hand).

Anyway I am no longer wondering why 66 mins of music was scheduled for 2 hours !

Great account, amac4165

Thanks!

Very neat dig at last night's performance

[amac4165]

Musically - the concert was very good and the Orchestra under Mehta are clearly a very good band. A pity we didn't get a symphony in the second half - but in view of the disruption probably for the best ! They played the Bruch straight through and Shaham played an encore (Bach - sonata in C maj - preludio)

Second half went very well I particularly liked the Albeniz - and they played an encore Prokoviev Romeo and Julliet Death of Tybalt which was protest free !

[PhilipT]

Ah! And there was me a little surprised that the Webern has some pianissino singing. I didn't recognise it for what it was on the radio.

For those who attended in person, the BBC broadcast the Webern, complete with noticeable disruption towards the end, but switched to a recording (Shaham, but a different orchestra) before the Bruch was allowed to start. They tried again after the interval but again switched to recordings of the programmed works.

[Lee McLernon]

Would have been impressed with a shout of "Arena to audience: the audience participation is tomorrow night!"

[Ariosto]

Very true, but one man's "decent" is another man's "dire". Do you really think SIS would do a deliberately substandard job when, as a contractor, they risk losing the contract and being replaced? Surely they're trying the best they can with the resources and personnel they have; whether or not that's good enough to be renewed isn't for you or me to say.

Just because we've got a handful of people around here screaming bloody murder about how all the audio engineers deserve to be lined up and shot doesn't mean they're being in any way objective, or that their standards of quality are in any way representative.

cavatina - I would like to put you right on the sound quality, because clearly you have no idea.

Speaking as a musician who has played in a few Proms and many other times at RAH, I know that the sound quality has gone down the chute, and that the balance of the orchestra and soloists, choirs etc is dire.

I say this as someone who has been recording musicians for years including some orchestral concerts. Making, producing and editing CD's as well. (All for professional musicians).

You want details of what's wrong? (Radio broadcasts).

OK. (1) The sound is often distorted because they put mics too close to for example the timps, so the mic can't handle the decibels. This is due to plain ignorance (and they probably use the wrong mics anyway).

(2) They have no idea how the sound spectrum should be handled and balanced - many Proms have been ruined by excessively loud and distorted bass.

(3) They use upwards of 40 mics and someone on the balancing desk who obviously has no ears, experience or any idea of what an orchestral balance should sound like, pushes the sliders up and down like a yoyo.

(4) mics are often at the wrong distance so there are problems of matching, which they are not even aware of.

(5) This miking technique (long ago known to be useless by those in the know) means that there is a lot of bleed from one section/instrument to another.

How often have you seen on TV the camera do a close up of say the triangle player, or any player for that matter, only to not be able to hear it!!

I can only say that the BBC sound broadcasts these days, especially of the Proms, is dire.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes, and just think how annoying this must be for the conductor and players/singers, who work so hard to achieve an aural balance, just for this to be ruined by the equivalent of a spotty teenager doing the "sound" in an amateur musical show.

[Serial_Apologist]

cavatina - I would like to put you right on the sound quality, because clearly you have no idea.

Speaking as a musician who has played in a few Proms and many other times at RAH, I know that the sound quality has gone down the chute, and that the balance of the orchestra and soloists, choirs etc is dire.

I say this as someone who has been recording musicians for years including some orchestral concerts. Making, producing and editing CD's as well. (All for professional musicians).

You want details of what's wrong? (Radio broadcasts).

OK. (1) The sound is often distorted because they put mics too close to for example the timps, so the mic can't handle the decibels. This is due to plain ignorance (and they probably use the wrong mics anyway).

(2) They have no idea how the sound spectrum should be handled and balanced - many Proms have been ruined by excessively loud and distorted bass.

(3) They use upwards of 40 mics and someone on the balancing desk who obviously has no ears, experience or any idea of what an orchestral balance should sound like, pushes the sliders up and down like a yoyo.

(4) mics are often at the wrong distance so there are problems of matching, which they are not even aware of.

(5) This miking technique (long ago known to be useless by those in the know) means that there is a lot of bleed from one section/instrument to another.

How often have you seen on TV the camera do a close up of say the triangle player, or any player for that matter, only to not be able to hear it!!

I can only say that the BBC sound broadcasts these days, especially of the Proms, is dire.

Ariosto
From reading cavatina's message 43 on the Prom 65 thread you will note that she holds a very particular perspective on sound balances. That said, I feel you will be very lucky to receive a reply to your post, as she has been disregarding many comments from others disagreeing with her pov, and not just me, for quite some time now.