A Perfect Contradiction of Styles in Paloma Faith’s Proms Debut

Friday's Late Night Prom was a bold venture into crossover. On the left and centre of the stage was a fully loaded symphony orchestra (the Britten Sinfonia); on the right, a jazz big band (the Guy Barker Jazz Orchestra); in front of them, virtuoso jazz guitarist Martin Taylor and his Spirit of Django ensemble; on the podium, conducting the whole lot, was Barker himself.

An informative evening on the history of Swing Music celebrating the 80th anniversary of Swing. British presenter and vocalist Clare Teal led the evening opened by the Guy Barker Big Band and the Winston Rollins Big Band mirroring each other's set up on stage complete with two pianos and two drum kits. 

Friday's Late Night Prom was a bold venture into crossover. On the left and centre of the stage was a fully loaded symphony orchestra (the Britten Sinfonia); on the right, a jazz big band (the Guy Barker Jazz Orchestra); in front of them, virtuoso jazz guitarist Martin Taylor and his Spirit of Django ensemble; on the podium, conducting the whole lot, was Barker himself.

Au cours d'un programme éclectique mêlant Jolas, Mozart et Stravinsky, l'orchestre sert avec un engagement total les visions musicales affutées du chef néerlandais. 

Tout récemment nommé « Chef émérite » du National, Riccardo Muti continue de tisser une relation privilégiée avec la formation et démontre une nouvelle fois un art consommé de la direction d'orchestre.

À la tête des formations de Radio France (orchestre philharmonique, chœur et maîtrise), la cheffe lituanienne ne livre pas une interprétation très inspirée du chef-d'œuvre de Britten.