Conductor Elim Chan conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a programme of Bruckner, Handel and Beethoven, plus a commission from Ben Nobuto
Last night’s First Night of the BBC Proms was a polished affair attended by a capacity audience. The programme was carefully curated – nothing to scare the horses by any means – to draw newcomers in with recognisable favourites, immediately accessible romanticism, and rousing music to fill the space and stir the heart. The strategy seemed to be: do the stuff that will please most and do it well.
The performance wasn’t spot on. Pleasing but not what I would have hoped for from ‘the world’s greatest classical music festival’. The Handel Fireworks got off to an uncertain start with a sense that not everyone was poised for things to get underway. The moments when the same rhythmic material in timpani and strings weren’t quite together jarred a little, suggesting a lack of demonstrative direction.
There were similar examples in the Clara Schumann Piano Concerto where pizzicato chords were consistently misplaced creating an odd ricochet effect during the slow movement. The concerto is a compact entertaining work, though there were times where it felt as though the orchestra lacked direction (those moments where there was a distinct lack of clarity or focus in the strings as though multiple lines were playing when perhaps they shouldn’t have been, for example in the last movement). There were slips, spills and splashes in the solo line too that also jarred, especially in the last movement. It is the jeopardy inherent in live performance which for some of us is what can make concert going so enthralling. Yet there were in the concerto too many distractions for the bombastic coda to stand a chance of delivering the pay off.
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony – arguably the big draw for the night – did the job though didn’t sparkle on radio or television as perhaps it did in the Royal Albert Hall. There weren’t the ensemble snarks evident in some of the first half, but it felt like we were hearing something familiar rather than hearing a distinct take on a well-known work. A work like Beethoven 5 demands distinct storytelling or a fresh perspective simply because the work is so familiar. It felt like the goal was simply to play the work, and whilst many will have been wowed by the speed of the final movement, the performance lacked the sparkle the hype might have promised.
Every BBC Proms concert reviewed
The BBC Proms TV coverage continues to improve year on year. Lead presenter Clive Myrie brought his trademark rakishness last seen in the BBC’s election night coverage to the Proms First Night for another year. It just about works (he’s saying a lot less that is awkward, though it does still sometimes feel buttock-clenching). Sandi Toskvig’s heartfelt words were light on knowledge and did little to compensate for the apparent lack of rapport between the two. Violinist and Edinburgh International Festival director Nicola Benedetti spoke with ever-reliable sincerity, knowledge and passion batting for the classical music listener with her characteristic poise and self-assurance.
The largely tepid performances prompted lots of warm words from commentators keen to reassert the BBC’s commitment to classical music after a year shooting itself in the foot. Lots of marketing messages abounded. Though it perplexes why in previewing the ‘worlds greatest classical music festival’ the preview package used a pop-driven music track. There’s still a sense that the BBC feels oddly uncomfortable about classical music, keen to reassure a new crowd of its shiny new persona even if that means actively avoiding it in some parts of its presentation.
The First Night like the Last is a big moment for the BBC. That’s one of the reasons it’s televised. It’s one of the few large-scale ticket events the BBC mounts every year so the way it looks to the onlooker offers a potent message about the Corporation’s prowess, especially now after fourteen years of being beleaguered by Conservatives set on its destruction. Sell-out crowds for the opening night of a concert season look good, projecting an air of success and establish an appetite for a broadcast audience (in addition to driving more ticket sales). In this way, the Proms First Night (and every night) is a marketing opportunity for what feels like a now rebooted Radio 3, building on the network’s new love of promoting itself whenever there’s a hint of dead air to fill. The aim is encourage newcomers to stay with them. The Proms is a rich self-promotion opportunity, and the First Night the best night of the season.
Even if its presentation on radio and TV can sometimes fall victim to superficiality and hyperbole, the BBC’s bold statement about its commitment to classical music is this year a relief.
But for those attuned for performance detail, the core content of the event – the performance – didn’t live up to the hype. Good tunes roughly played is good, but when those performances were reflected upon by commentators drawing on a limited vocabulary, there was a sense that detail, knowledge and experience were something to be masked.
Sandwiched in the middle of the TV broadcast a provocative short film on when to clap during a concert spotlighting Tom Service tried and tested clowning around in a bid to pitch classical music as inclusive, relevant and appealing. A far cry from what he was vehemently saying on camera fourteen years ago about how we shouldn’t be apologising for classical music. Nicola Benedetti provided a musicians rebuttal. Good sense prevailed.
The opening weekend sees a splash of musical genres, one of which – disco – stretches the concert series tagline of the ‘world’s greatest classical music festival’. But this strategic move helps drive really valuable coverage that raises awareness. All eyes will be on the next classical orchestral event – Sir Mark Elder’s final appearance as Music Director with the Halle Orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s 5th. A much-anticipated farewell which promises to be electric.
