Mon, 30 May 2005
Proms
various, The Last Night of the Proms 2004
Sir Thomas Allen, Simon Preston
David Pyatt
BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin
recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall
2 CD's, Warner Classics
The Proms are adored by some and loathed by others. The latter
group see it as an example of dumbing down and the former see it
as approachable and fun. Indeed, there's a special feel to the
Prom series and to the last night in particular that makes it
an endearing event.
And there is quite a lot of music too. On these two disks we
have Dvorak, Straus, Vaughan Williams, Rodgers, Porter (Cole),
Sousa, Edgar (of course!), and Puccini and Parry, amongst others. The diversity
in this context is a must. What would the Proms last night be
without a contrasting collection of pieces with very tenuous, if any,
ties?
(Count K)
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