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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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