Proms 2 & 3: Ten Pieces a hit with young audience

By Gavin Dixon, 20 July 2015

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“Many of the instruments were larger than the players, and the sound they made... was awesome”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 19 July 2015

Adams, Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Beethoven, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, Op.67 (First Movement excerpt)

Britten, Peter Grimes, Op.33: Storm interlude

Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite: In the Hall of the Mountain King

Handel, Coronation Anthem no. 1: Zadok the priest, HWV 258 (excerpt)

Holst, The Planets Op.32: no.1 "Mars" (excerpt)

Meredith, Connect It (BBC Commission )

Mozart, Horn Concerto no. 4 in E flat major, K495 (Third movement)

Mussorgsky, Night on the Bare Mountain (excerpt)

Stravinsky, The Firebird: Suite (Finale)

Barney Harwood, Presenter

Dick and Dom, Presenter

Tim Thorpe, French horn

Ten Pieces Children's Choir

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Thomas Søndergård, Conductor

Nail-biting Shostakovich from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Dominic Lowe, 15th August

Before a searing performance of Shostakovich's Thirteenth from Ryan Bancroft and his Welsh forces, Benjamin Grosvenor delivers a terrific performance of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major.

****1

Bancroft and BBCNOW at the Proms: a deeply satisfying Mahler 3

David Karlin, 11th August

Bancroft and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales provide a Mahler 3 of exceptional clarity and forward momentum, with terrific posthorn solos from Corey Morris and Beth Taylor an outstanding soloist.

****1

Exciting Bacewicz and Lutosławski from Tadaaki Otaka and the BBC NOW

Nick Boston, 30th July

Strong performances of Bacewicz and Lutosławski in Tadaaki Otaka's final outing with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at the Proms, with technically commanding and sincere Rachmaninov from Vadym Kholodenko.

***11

Nil Venditti impresses in BBC Proms debut

Christopher Woodley, 12th August

Beethoven and Sir Karl Jenkins receive top-notch performances from Nil Venditti and the BBC NOW.

****1

A choral treat to savour: Verdi’s Requiem at the BBC Proms

David Karlin, 23rd July

An outstanding choral performance by nearly 300 singers of the BBC National Chorus of Wales and the Crouch End Festival Chorus lights up Verdi’s hybrid of opera and devotional music.

*****

Music that eats into you: Schoenberg and Zemlinsky at the BBC Proms

Alexander Hall, 22nd July

The Proms are often very clever at recreating musical events from the past. Here, two works originally premiered in 1905 are given a fresh outing by Ryan Bancroft and BBC NOW.

****1

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Gavin Dixon

Gavin Dixon is a writer, journalist and editor specialising in classical music. He writes for publications such as Gramophone, Classical Music and BBC Music Magazine. Gavin has a PhD on the symphonies of Alfred Schnittke and is a member of the editorial team for the “Alfred Schnittke Collected Works” edition. His website is here.