This year, we will be doing three proms. Here is the third in the series.
The booking has just opened. To book your ticket, please click here. I expect this prom will be popular, so book early. Alternatively, you can also get a promming ticket on the day.
Please note: This concert starts at 6:30pm.
Pre-concert F&B: Meet at the steps of Albert Memorial from 5:30pm for picnic.
A WhatsApp group will be set up near the time. If you wish to be on it, please email your moble number to swcsocialATgmailDOTcom. The group will be deleted after the event.
Programme
Mozart Symphony No. 38 in D major, ‘Prague’ 29'
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B minor, ‘Pathétique’ 50'
Vienna Philharmonic
Franz Welser-Möst conductor
5 comments:
Several have booked Choir West row 3
Tickets are sold out at the moment, if you still wish to have a seated ticket, I recommend to check for returns as well as for tickets release from owners of seats - they tend to release unwanted tickets 2-4 weeks before the performance
You can book promming tickets online on the day at 9:30am, limited to 2 tickets per person. I would recommend to get in the queue at 9:30am or just before.
You may be able to find return ticket (recommended by RAH box office) at
http://www.twickets.live/
Who would have thought that our last prom of the season would end with defiance on a united front?
N=8 walkers (one picnic only) gathered at steps of Albert Memorial for picnic despite massive disruptions to London Transport from the tube strike. We met another inside the concert hall who joined us during the interval. We were not alone. As one walker put it ‘I expected to find many empty spaces in the auditorium but did not. We collectively possess overcoming adversity and finding solutions’. Another walker was “VERY impressed by solidarity of concertgoers that there was not an empty seat in the place”.
Tonight, two lovely pieces of music were played by Vienna Philharmonic, led by the conductor Franz Welser-Möst, a true class act in music but “low scores for ethnic and gender diversity,” one walker continued: “Vienna Phil were great. top of the class for crisp Teutonic precision. The conductor showed no more emotion than an engineer operating a ship’s turbine - but he certainly controlled the machine and produced lots of revs.” I was amazed how well he managed to also control the audience from clapping between movements.
Overall, Mozart was delightful but Tchaikovsky moved us emotionally. Here are some of the takeaways from us:
“The Tchaikovsky is one of those rare symphonies (the Sibelius 2 was another…) where each movement is a banger. I had forgotten how relatively upbeat the middle two movements are. The third with its raucous rousing ending sounds like it should be the end of the symphony. And then totally unexpectedly we are back to the most incredible angst, and surely one of the most downbeat endings ever. A real rollercoaster. A sucker punch of emotion.”
“I really liked the Tchaikovsky, thought it was more dynamic than Mozart”
“I too loved the Tchaikovsky and the way it sounded modern, compared with Mozart, though the latter is usually my favourite”.
“Another fabulous outing”.
“I enjoyed both compositions. Loved the seating in the Choir seats, which is the closest I will ever get to playing in an orchestra.”
It was interesting to hear the comparison of the two composers. “Only 70-80 years separate the Mozart from the Tchaikovsky, but how different they are. What would Mozart have made of the later piece?”, said one walker. My novice observation is that with Tchaikovsky, the orchestra is much bigger with lots of wind instruments whilst Mozart’s composition is mostly written for string instruments. I once asked the American composer John Adams for his thoughts on what would take to move the classical music to the next revolution, his answer was innovations in musical instrument!
Well, on that forward looking note, we say goodbye BBC Proms 2025.
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