Last Night of the Proms

Now we have Clive Myrie, who had clearly mugged up on some stuff beforehand but had nothing of real depth to say - he was there as a "celeb"

And Sheila Hancock who admitted she had only just discovered Mozart. Eh??
Why on earth was she on there then?.

I haven't watched The Proms for years but last night I put it on. It was nothing but various personalities droning on and on which was getting on my nerves, so I turned back to my computer and became thoroughly engrossed in something else.

By and by I realised that music had started in the form of Destiny's Child. I turned back to the TV and watched their fantastic performance of "Survivor". I knew there'd been a lot of controversy about the Proms and I assumed this was part of a shake up to modernise it.

Next up was another pop group who were equally compelling and I was really enjoying it but in between I was returning to read the article on my computer.

Then Lulu came on, but she looked so young (maybe in her 40's). A caption popped up at the bottom of the TV screen saying something to the effect of "Lulu live at BBC studios in 1995". I couldn't fathom it. Why would the Proms show an old recording of Lulu?

When Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush appeared I began to smell a rat. I realised that The Proms had finished and I was in fact watching a Top of the Pops compilation with artists from the 70's to the 90's. It was great.

Thankfully I was on my own and didn't try to discuss the "new look" Proms with anyone.

Just to be clear about the EU flags: nothing to do with the BBC: checked all the sources: its about the decline in work for British musicians post Brexit

"The flag distribution is organised by the pro-EU group Thank EU for the Music, which was founded in 2016 in response to the Brexit vote.

The group, composed of musicians and music lovers, campaigns for a borderless music industry.
The impact Brexit has had on musicians touring in Europe has been devastating.

Research by the Musicians’ Union found that almost half of musicians say touring in the EU is no longer financially viable. A survey of 200 musicians in July found that 75 percent of respondents said their bookings in the EU had declined post-Brexit"
leftfootforward.org/2024/09/thousands-of-eu-flags-to-be-distributed-at-bbcs-last-night-of-the-proms/

In fact security had collected a number of flags at the door
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/14/eu-flags-confiscated-concert-goers-last-night-of-the-proms/

I agree about the commentators and keeping it mainly classical.

merlotgran

^Now we have Clive Myrie, who had clearly mugged up on some stuff beforehand but had nothing of real depth to say - he was there as a "celeb"^

And Sheila Hancock who admitted she had only just discovered Mozart. Eh??
Why on earth was she on there then?.

Where's she been until the age of 91 that she's only just discovered Mozart?

I saw that about confiscating EU flags at the door and was somewhat puzzled. I mean a nazi flag, yes, but EU flags are innocuous.

It's actually been happening every year - see press coverage from last year.

I gave up after 15 mins whatever to play during the season I look forward the “Celebration of Britain” on the last night.
If that is spoiled, forget it, it was awful.

David49

I gave up after 15 mins whatever to play during the season I look forward the “Celebration of Britain” on the last night.
If that is spoiled, forget it, it was awful.

They play

flappergirl

I haven't watched The Proms for years but last night I put it on. It was nothing but various personalities droning on and on which was getting on my nerves, so I turned back to my computer and became thoroughly engrossed in something else.

By and by I realised that music had started in the form of Destiny's Child. I turned back to the TV and watched their fantastic performance of "Survivor". I knew there'd been a lot of controversy about the Proms and I assumed this was part of a shake up to modernise it.

Next up was another pop group who were equally compelling and I was really enjoying it but in between I was returning to read the article on my computer.

Then Lulu came on, but she looked so young (maybe in her 40's). A caption popped up at the bottom of the TV screen saying something to the effect of "Lulu live at BBC studios in 1995". I couldn't fathom it. Why would the Proms show an old recording of Lulu?

When Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush appeared I began to smell a rat. I realised that The Proms had finished and I was in fact watching a Top of the Pops compilation with artists from the 70's to the 90's. It was great.

Thankfully I was on my own and didn't try to discuss the "new look" Proms with anyone.

I don’t know what you were watching but it certainly wasn’t The Last Night of the Proms!
American soprano Angel Blue gave us stunning and tender renditions of Puccini’s O mio babbino caro and Vissi d’arte, and gave a sexy sultriness to a Spanish song. I had never heard of but was wickedly suggestive.
Pianist Sir Stephen Hough made Saint-Saëns’ so-called “Egyptian” piano concerto seem swooningly exotic, and accompanied Angel Blue in his own harmonically rich arrangements of two spirituals. The BBC Chorus and Singers shone in Fauré’s gravely beautiful Pavane, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra was wonderful as always.
The most beautiful moment of the evening came from the BBC Singers, reprieved for now at any rate, in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s achingly sad Summer is Gone.
The wittiest came in Stephen Hough’s encore, a brilliant clever arrangement of tunes from The Sound of Music mingled with bits of Beethoven and Ravel which was huge fun as well as fiendishly clever..
What was not to like?

What was not to like?

All the yabbering by the commentators for the BBC!
Did we miss some of the music while that was going on or does the audience have to sit and fidget?

There's always catch up and the fast forward button!

Wyllow3

Just to be clear about the EU flags: nothing to do with the BBC: checked all the sources: its about the decline in work for British musicians post Brexit

"The flag distribution is organised by the pro-EU group Thank EU for the Music, which was founded in 2016 in response to the Brexit vote.

The group, composed of musicians and music lovers, campaigns for a borderless music industry.
The impact Brexit has had on musicians touring in Europe has been devastating.

Research by the Musicians’ Union found that almost half of musicians say touring in the EU is no longer financially viable. A survey of 200 musicians in July found that 75 percent of respondents said their bookings in the EU had declined post-Brexit"
leftfootforward.org/2024/09/thousands-of-eu-flags-to-be-distributed-at-bbcs-last-night-of-the-proms/

In fact security had collected a number of flags at the door
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/14/eu-flags-confiscated-concert-goers-last-night-of-the-proms/

I agree about the commentators and keeping it mainly classical.

This is so so sad. I have spent my life in music here and abroad.
I’m deeply upset to think of all the soloists, choir exchanges etc now affected by Brexit.
If you are a music lover who voted Brexit, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Most of it was awful, we had it on as background while having a glass of plonk and doing crosswords.Too much jabbering by presenters and thought Angel Blue wasn’t great at all, sorry, sounded like caterwauling to me.
Oh give up all the Brexit moaning hollysteers there’s been enough of that for the last eight years to last a lifetime.

I completely agree with RosiesMaw2. The music was, on the whole, sublime and the chat didn’t replace any performance. Stageing rearrangements used to be accompanied by off screen commentators trying to fill the air with often inane comments. Studio chats with, generally, knowledgeable guests are fun and informative. Last night Anna Lapwood was wonderful. Gary Linekar and his MOD team filled our screen for all of 2minutes.
As for Sheila Hancock just discovering Mozart. So what? What joy she’s going to experience.

Good job we’re all different innit?😄

Flappergirl

We had a version of it here last month and all the audience were given British flags to wave. They played the British national anthem first ( no one joined in ) and then the Australian one ( everyone joined in) We looked across at each other and laughed. The music was good, especially the Welsh Male Voice choir. Lots of lovely Welsh songs.

The music and playing in the last night was excellent of course. Some quality performers. Stephen Hough is always wonderful.

And now we've got footballers ... at least I think that's what they are! Is this really necessary? What does it add? Burble, burble ....

Allira

Witzend

I had to escape to the kitchen when Gary Lineker appeared! WTF?? But thank goodness he was only on for a minute or two.
Very enjoyable, as always, though.

Well, I thought I'd wandered over to Match of the Day instead.

There just seemed to be something lacking this year, not the fault of the performers (excellent as usual) or the audience but the BBC presentation in general.

The BBC seems to be getting rather a lot wrong these days.

They do don't they?

nanna8

We had a version of it here last month and all the audience were given British flags to wave. They played the British national anthem first ( no one joined in ) and then the Australian one ( everyone joined in) We looked across at each other and laughed. The music was good, especially the Welsh Male Voice choir. Lots of lovely Welsh songs.

Didn't they sing the Welsh National Anthem, nanna8?

I couldn’t understand the constant references to, ‘a summer of sport’ and Glastonbury. The Proms was intended to be an affordable celebration of classical music. Bad enough it now has to include other genres to attract an audience who are not interested anyway but sport???

What next….Food and Drink? Vets?

I agree there was something lacking, but some of it was very good. I thought the best bit by far was Stephen Hough’s witty piano fantasia on Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (sp? I’ve never written that before). What a clever man he is. I remember him when he was a young boy.

"Oh give up all the Brexit moaning hollysteers there’s been enough of that for the last eight years to last a lifetime."

That's very rude Oreo. There are plenty of us who are still deeply unhappy that the idiocy of Brexit ever happened and hoping that the time soon comes when we are at least back in the single market and customs union. I don't imagine that the musicians whose professional lives have been so badly affected by it are very happy either.

You may have voted for it, but I and (presumably) hollysteers didn't. If it's all right for the country to change its mind and vote out a government whose time has come, why is there this idea that Brexit is for ever and unchangeable?

I think times have changed and a totally classical music season would simply not attract live audience numbers or watching numbers.

This article gives stats for last year and audience attendance was high

"With sold out concerts and average attendance at 93%, the 2023 Proms has surpassed pre-pandemic audience numbers"

www.classical-music.uk/news/article/bbc-reveals-promising-proms-stats#:~:text=Culminating%20in%20a%20Last%20Night,Hall%20home%20completely%20sold%20out.

I'm not saying they've got it right on all counts by any means, but I've googled several references that show classical music concerts don't anymore attract the numbers they used to. Other genres are thriving.