Photo © Neil Rickards
The First Night of the Proms is one of the most anticipated dates of the classical music season. This year, 76 concerts are taking place at the Royal Albert Hall, in addition to a series of Chamber Proms and matinee concerts at Cadogan Hall and a selection of special events before the season culminates in the famous Last Night and the Proms in the Park, in Hyde Park on September 11.
The Proms began in 1895 with the purpose of bringing classical music to the masses. Low ticket prices and a relaxed attitude to smoking, drinking and wandering around areas of the venues made the festival highly popular – and led to the ‘Prommers’ tag for those who bought standing tickets, freeing them to promenade at leisure.
Originally, the Proms were called ‘Mr. Robert Newman’s Promenade Concerts’, after the impresario who founded the festival. Robert Newman hired Henry Joseph Wood to conduct his Proms series and after Wood’s death in 1944, the Proms came to be known as ‘the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts’. The BBC first got involved in 1927.
The 116th Proms season kicked off with Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, the Symphony of a Thousand, to celebrate 150 years since Mahler’s birth, on July 7, 1860. The Symphony was performed by six eminent choruses, including those of St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, joined by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jiřà Bělohlávek.
The opening night was the first of ten concerts devoted to Mahler’s birthday. A celebration is also planned to commemorate the bicentennial of Schumann, born on June 8, 1810. Performances include Schumann’s four symphonies, as well as his symphony in G minor, known as Zwickau, which was left unfinished.
Opera is well represented on the schedule, with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, (the Mastersingers of Nuremberg), taking to the Royal Albert Hall stage and Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra transferring from a hugely successful run at The Royal Opera House to bring Plácido Domingo in the titular baritone role.
Family-friendly concerts at the Proms have become a tradition. In 2008, The Dr. Who Prom proved extremely popular, and is reappearing this year on Saturday July 24. Music from the television series, composed by Murray Gold, will feature alongside space-themed classics including Holst’s The Planets and Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. Matt Smith who plays the Doctor will appear alongside Karen Gillan who plays his companion, Amy Pond.
Contemporary jazz pianist and singer Jamie Cullum will be appearing on Thursday August 26 alongside the Heritage Orchestra, showcasing a programme specifically designed for the concert, featuring some brand new arrangements and some special guest appearances.
For the first time ever, the 2010 Proms will feature two Last Nights – the first of which, on September 5, will be a recreation of the Last Night from 1910, conducted by Sir Henry Wood.
The final Last Night takes place on September 11. Soprano Renée Fleming will make her Proms debut, singing songs by Richard Strauss alongside Dvořák’s evocative Song to the Moon, from Rusalka.
September 11 also oversees the festivities of Proms in the Park. Hyde Park will welcome Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras, while simultaneous events will take place at Caird Hall in Dundee, Hillsborough Castle, Buile Hill Park in Salford and Swansea’s Singleton Park.
The climax of the festival will see each of the Proms in the Park venues link by video screen to the Royal Albert Hall for the Last Night, to join in with the Bridal Chorus from Wagner’s Lohengrin, the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and the traditional rendition of Land of Hope and Glory.
*Neil Rickard's picture from the Proms in the Park is licensed for use under a Creative Commons licence, details of which can be found here