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.

Malgré le choix étonnant de l'amplification des voix qui restera une énigme pendant toute la soirée, le programme révèle les charmes d'une musique rarement donnée avenue Montaigne.

Une formidable équipe de jeunes musiciens a livré un passionnant concert russe (Rachmaninov-Schnittke-Tchaïkovski) dont le point d'orgue fut le lumineux Sextuor « Souvenir de Florence » de Tchaïkovski.

Pour ce troisième volet du Ring proposé en version de concert par Yannick Nézet-Séguin et l'Orchestre philharmonique de Rotterdam, c'est le plateau vocal qui brille avant tout, éclipsant l'orchestre et le chef.