Latest news with #BBCProms
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Berlioz and Ravel album review – his orchestra is responsive to Mäkelä's every move
Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris gave an unforgettable performance of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique at the BBC Proms last September, the electric atmosphere of which is not quite replicated on this recording, made in Paris a few months later. It's all played with consummate skill by an orchestra who are clearly responsive to their conductor's every move, as they were in Royal Albert Hall, and Mäkelä's shaping of Berlioz's music, from the gentle, vibratoless violins at the beginning to the careering witches' dance of the finale, remains highly coloured and full of impact. Yet it all feels a little clinical; the edge-of-the-seat excitement is missing. Perhaps it has been engineered out: the sound feels over-tweaked, and although the spatial effects at the beginning of the third movement – with the cor anglais duetting with a faraway oboe – come over beautifully, elsewhere it sometimes feels as though we're being shown exactly what to listen to. The symphony is paired with Ravel's La Valse, which fares better: the orchestra are again on sparkling form but here the energy keeps on fizzing. Mäkelä keeps the tempo whirling and the momentum rising; by the end the whole thing feels held together by centrifugal force alone. This article includes content hosted on We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Listen on Apple Music (above) or Spotify
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Wong Kah Chun is first Singaporean to conduct at BBC proms
Singaporean conductor Wong Kah Chun will be the first Singaporean to conduct at the BBC Proms, London's annual eight-week classical music festival. PHOTO: ANGIE KREMER Wong Kah Chun is first Singaporean to conduct at BBC proms SINGAPORE – Conductor Wong Kah Chun will be the first Singaporean to conduct at the BBC Proms, London's annual eight-week classical music festival. As part of the season running from July 18 to Sept 13, Wong is taking up the baton for a rendition of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler's 'Resurrection' Symphony, or Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, at the Royal Albert Hall on Aug 2. The 38-year-old interprets the choral symphony for 167-year-old, Manchester-based symphony orchestra The Halle. Norwegian Mari Eriksmoen will sing soprano, and Canadian Emily D'Angelo the mezzo-soprano; The Halle Choir and the Halle Youth Choir also supply voices for the mixed chorus. Wong, who has been The Halle's principal conductor and artistic adviser since September 2024, says he is honoured and 'absolutely thrilled' to partake in one of the world's great celebrations of classical music. The performance marks the finale of his first full season. He is officially appointed for five. 'To walk in the footsteps of my predecessors like Sir Mark Elder and Sir John Barbirolli – who also frequently conducted The Halle at the Proms in the same role – is both humbling and inspiring,' he tells The Straits Times. '(The symphony) is a deeply moving work, and even more special to bring it to the Proms with the full Halle family – our orchestra, choir and youth choir.' The five movements of Mahler's work, running up to 80 minutes, explore the afterlife with a view to transcendence, and are among the most popular pieces in orchestras' repertoire, with Wong expected to plug into their sombre tragedy. In 2014, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra became the first Singaporean group to perform at the BBC Proms, showcasing a programme comprising a piano concerto by Chinese composer Zhou Long, a short overture by Russian composer Mikhail Glinka and Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff's hour-long Symphony No. 2 in E Minor. Some members of the 5,500-strong audience flew a Singapore flag. Chinese-American Lan Shui, a Singapore permanent resident who was then the orchestra's music director, conducted despite feeling under the weather. When he gave up the post to spend more time in Denmark with his wife and two sons in 2019, Lan, too, conducted the SSO in a performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, choosing it for its message of farewell and new beginnings. Wong's career took off after he won the first prize at the Gustav Mahler Conducting competition in 2016. Since then, he has been appointed chief conductor to various high-profile orchestras including Germany's Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a National Arts Council (NAC) scholar, receiving a Master of Music in Orchestral/Opera Conducting from the Hanns-Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, and was a recipient of NAC's Young Artist Award in 2017. Tickets range from £15 (S$26) to £66. For more information, go to Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jade to headline BBC Proms' return to Gateshead at Glasshouse
Pop star Jade has been announced as one of the headline acts when the BBC Proms returns to Gateshead this South Shields-born singer, who found fame as part of Little Mix, will be at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music on Friday 25 been named Best Pop Act at this year's Brit Awards, the 32-year-old will be performing songs from her upcoming solo album alongside the Royal Northern Sinfonia with the concert broadcast live on BBC costing between £8 and £62.50 will go on sale at midday with organisers describing it as "a proper homecoming moment". The Proms event will run until Sunday 27 July with the Glasshouse line-up also featuring singer-songwriter Angeline Morrison, guitarist Sean Shibe and a CBeebies Wildlife Jamboree. The Glasshouse said the Proms would be "a weekend of world-class music" featuring "classical heavyweights to joyful family concerts, late-night jazz to inspiring folk and ground-breaking collaborations".Jazz saxophonist, hip-hop artist, curator and presenter Soweto Kinch will get the Proms under way as it visits Sunderland for the first will be performing at the city's Fire Station arts venue on Thursday 24 July. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Express Tribune
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Grammy winner Arooj Aftab is set to take over BBC Proms
Grammy-winning Pakistani-American singer Arooj Aftab is set to make her BBC Proms debut this summer in a performance at London's Royal Albert Hall. The concert, scheduled for July 29, will feature orchestral arrangements of music from across Aftab's discography, including selections from her albums Bird Under Water (2015), Vulture Prince (2021), and Night Reign (2024). Aftab announced the concert on Instagram on Tuesday, inviting fans to join her for the event: "Listen, you have to come to BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall with me. Get tickets without thinking. We will present selected tunes, the good sh*t from Bird, Vulture Prince and Night. The great Ibrahim Maalouf will be there with his own full set the same day. I am beyond crazed for this one, and so proud and ecstatic to share this iconic experience with you." The performance will be conducted by Jules Buckley, known for his work bridging contemporary music and classical performance. The BBC Symphony Orchestra will provide the symphonic foundation for Aftab's genre-defying sound, which blends jazz, folk, blues, and South Asian classical influences. Aftab will be joined on stage by her longtime collaborators: Greek bassist Petros Klampanis and American guitarist Gyan Riley. Also appearing is celebrated French-Lebanese trumpeter Maalouf, who will perform his own solo set before joining Aftab's ensemble. Known for his eclectic sound combining Latin American, Middle Eastern, and electronic influences, Maalouf describes music as "limitless", a sentiment echoed in the cross-genre spirit of the evening's lineup. The Royal Albert Hall's official programme describes Aftab as "breaking new ground with her captivating, eclectic melting-pot of influences." Her Proms debut promises a new dimension to her work, reinterpreted through full symphonic arrangements. The July 29 performance is part of the wider 2025 Proms season, which includes 86 concerts across venues in London, Gateshead, Bristol, Bradford, Belfast, and Sunderland. Also confirmed for this year's edition are performances by St Vincent, Angelique Kidjo, and one-handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy. Aftab's appearance at the Proms marks a significant milestone in her expanding international career, offering audiences a rare opportunity to hear her signature sound on an orchestral scale. Tickets are currently available via the Royal Albert Hall website.
Evening Standard
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
The Best of the 2025 BBC Proms: 20 picks, from Chineke! to Mozart
Every year, the BBC Proms runs the risk of trying so hard to please everybody that they end up pleasing nobody. The complaints are many and varied: too much (or not enough) non-classical music; too many TV tie-ins (do we really need a Prom built around The Traitors – July 26 – even if Claudia Winkelman is the presenter?); not enough UK-based ensembles from outside London; not enough (or too many) orchestras from around the world; and so it goes on.
