91Èȱ¬ Proms 2005
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The world makes music at the
111th season of the 91Èȱ¬ Proms
91Èȱ¬ Proms 2005 at
a glance
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Friday 15 July – Saturday
10 September
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Orchestras and ensembles from around the world
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Royal Concertgebouw with Mariss Jansons
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach
and Zubin Mehta
World Orchestra for Peace with Valery Gergiev
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim
The Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with James Judd
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra with Esa-Pekka Salonen
The African Children's Choir
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Debut artists
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Plácido Domingo, Ravi Shankar and Baaba Maal make
their first Proms appearances
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Themes
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The Sea
Fairy Tales
The End of the Second World War
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Chamber Music at Cadogan Hall
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New Proms Chamber Music venue enlarges audience capacity
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More accessible than ever
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91Èȱ¬ ONE broadcasts first half of First Night of the
Proms
The Proms goes mobile with WAP listings and information
service
Full interactive TV service with digital programme
notes
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Reaching new audiences
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New ticket scheme: 91Èȱ¬ Music Intro sponsored by Lloyds
TSB
Half-price tickets for under-16s for every Prom
New Proms Films initiative
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Great orchestras, ensembles and artists from
around the world
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This year, orchestras, ensembles and artists arrive
at the Royal Albert Hall from all corners of the world.
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The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra makes its debut at
the Proms with James Judd; whilst from North America, The Cleveland
Orchestra returns with its new music director Franz Welser-Möst; and
the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Nicholas McGegan make their
European debut.
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The African Children's Choir performs at a Sunday afternoon
matinée alongside Bobby McFerrin and Impure Thoughts, and Senegalese
master musician Baaba Maal debuts with his band Daande Lenol.
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South America is represented by pianist Nelson Freire
and mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink.
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The Central European tradition is celebrated by the
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and two ensembles from Berlin – the period-instrument
Akademie für Alte Musik and the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin
in their Proms debuts.
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Scandinavia and the far North is represented by the
Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic
Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic
Chamber Choir.
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Collaborations
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Some of the major events in the festival are given by
the ensembles which bring together top musicians from different countries.
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Valery Gergiev's World Orchestra for Peace, and Daniel
Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, return to the Proms this year.
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Sir Colin Davis brings together two conservatoire orchestras
from both sides of the Atlantic – the Juilliard Orchestra and the Orchestra
of the Royal Academy of Music – and two outstanding youth orchestras
return to the Proms: the European Union Youth Orchestra and annual visitors,
the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
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UK ensembles
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Complementing orchestras from around the world, the
Proms is a showcase for our home-grown ensembles: the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic, the Hallé, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
Welsh National Opera and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra all appear.
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The Manchester Camerata debuts and the Scottish Ensemble
returns, whilst as ever the 91Èȱ¬'s own performing groups form the backbone
of the season.
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The newly-appointed team of conductors for the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony
Orchestra, Jirà Belohlávek and David Robertson, both conduct during
the season whilst waiting in the wings to take on their new roles.
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Two distinguished British conductors, Sir Roger Norrington
and Paul Daniel - both Proms regulars - conduct the First and Last Nights.
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The Sea
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With the 200th anniversary of Nelson's victory over
the French in the Battle of Trafalgar – a crucial moment in the history
of the nation – and one hundred years on from Debussy composing La Mer,
the Proms explores the inspiration the sea has afforded to composers
through the ages.
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Works range from Haydn's Nelson Mass to classics of
the British repertoire, including Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony,
Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, and Stanford's Songs
Of The Sea - whilst Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore and Pineapple
Poll (arr. Mackerras) provide a lighter side.
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And this year, to mark the centenary of Henry Wood's
Fantasia on British Sea-Songs on the Last Night, the Proms restores
his original introductory naval bugle-calls which will call from nation
to nation, linking the parks and the Royal Albert Hall.
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Fairy Tales
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The 200th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian
Andersen provides the focus for the Proms Fairy Tales theme this year.
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Purcell's epic semi-opera, The Fairy Queen, kicks off
the programming and other key events include Mendelssohn's incidental
music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Stravinsky's The Fairy's Kiss and
The Nightingale, Dukas's La Peri, Zemlinsky's The Little Mermaid and
a new commission of the same name by Danish composer Bent Sørensen.
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End of the Second World War
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The 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World
War is commemorated with a performance on the First Night of A Child
of Our Time, by anniversary composer Sir Michael Tippett, and a late-night
performance of Henryck Górecki's Symphony Number Three (Symphony of
Sorrowful Songs).
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Creating and championing the new
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The 91Èȱ¬ Proms is known worldwide for its commitment
to new music and for bringing works by lesser-known composers to a wider
audience, helping to fulfil the 91Èȱ¬'s remit to build creative value
by enriching the UK's cultural life.
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This year's major new commissions come from Marc-André
Dalbavie, Detlev Glanert, Michael Berkeley and Esa-Pekka Salonen, whilst
there are co-commissions for Bent Sørensen, James MacMillan and Mark-Anthony
Turnage.
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Premières of 18 works by living composers are heard
right across the season, and there are many works which have never been
heard at the Proms before.
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Anniversaries
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The 100th anniversary of the birth of Sir Michael Tippett
gives the 91Èȱ¬ Proms the opportunity to programme a wide range of the
still-controversial composer's works – from A Child of Our Time on the
opening night, to the rarely-heard The Vision of St Augustine and the
great life-cycle of Symphony Number Four.
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Seventy years after his death, the music of Alban Berg
- described as the human face of Viennese modernism - is celebrated.
The Lulu Suite and the Violin Concerto are among the works programmed.
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The centenaries of British composers are marked – Alan
Rawsthorne's, with the Piano Concerto Number Two; Constant Lambert's,
with his Merchant Seamen; and the popular Rio Grande programmed for
the Last Night.
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And at each end of the Western classical music canon,
the Proms celebrates the 500th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Tallis
and the 70th birthday of Arvo Pärt.
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Masses of Opera
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Opera and large-scale choral works form an important
part of the 2005 Proms season and the Royal Albert Hall, as ever, provides
a stunning setting for this year's raft of great works.
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Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time opens the Proms,
and on the three following nights there are three completely contrasting
operas – Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, Purcell's semi-opera The
Fairy Queen, and Wagner's Die Walküre - which introduces the great Plácido
Domingo to the Proms, performing alongside baritone Bryn Terfel.
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Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and Handel's Julius Caesar feature
in the middle of the season, and Brahms's German Requiem, Elgar's Dream
of Gerontius, Berlioz's Romeo and Juliette, Berio's Coro, Mahler's Das
Klagende Lied and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis all add to the roll-call
of large-scale masterpieces.
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Reaching even more people – phone, radio, television
and online
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The 2005 season sees new technological developments
and an extension of availability across all platforms.
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Following the huge take-up in 2004 of the audio-on-demand
service (where concerts can be heard online up to seven days after their
performance), nearly all Proms in 2005 will be available on this service,
giving audiences increased flexibility and access.
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A new WAP service has been developed which enables
people to access Proms online information via mobile phones, and the
Proms text club will run following a successful pilot in 2004.
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91Èȱ¬ ONE strengthens its commitment by broadcasting
the opening half of the First Night for the first time this year and,
once again, nearly half of the season will be broadcast on television
across 91Èȱ¬ ONE, 91Èȱ¬ TWO and 91Èȱ¬ FOUR.
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91Èȱ¬ Radio 3 will broadcast all Proms live.
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Audiences of the future
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This year the Proms increases its commitment to new
audiences, with four projects specifically designed to encourage and
enable greater access for young people and their families.
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Lloyds TSB are the sponsors of a new ticket scheme,
91Èȱ¬ Music Intro, that launches at the beginning of the season.
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Subsidised tickets for ten Proms across the season,
as well as the special Violins!! event and the two Blue Peter Proms,
will enable families to buy seats at selected concerts for just £4 per
person.
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Violins!! A
three-concert day brings youngsters from ensembles around the country
together with top violinist Viktoria Mullova, members of the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony
Orchestra and innovative ensemble Between The Notes to celebrate and
explore the role of the violin as a solo instrument and as the linchpin
of the modern orchestra.
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A matinee concert features Viktoria Mullova, Thomas
Zehetmair and 2002 Young Musician of the Year winner Jennifer Pike.
A performance of Respighi's The Pines of Rome in the second concert
of the day will be the first time that talented young players have performed
alongside a professional symphony orchestra in the Proms.
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The day is rounded off with a display of virtuoso folk
and gypsy fiddling with Blazin' Fiddles and the Roby Lakatos Ensemble.
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The seventh 91Èȱ¬ Proms/Guardian Young Composers
competition will once again seek out the nation's best composers
aged 12-18.
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Blue Peter - There are also major
concerts aimed at attracting the younger audience, a key aim of the
Proms. The popular Blue Peter Prom is now well-established as the only
Prom to be repeated during the season so as to enable more families
to enjoy the fun.
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On Sunday 7 August, the world-renowned African
Children's Choir make their debut appearance at the Proms.
The inspiring choir was formed in 1984 in the midst of Uganda's civil
war.
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Music for everyone
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This year, for the first time, there are half-price
tickets for under-16s for every Prom except the Last Night.
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Once again, there are no price increases this season
- and for every Prom, up to 1,400 standing places are available for
each concert for £4.
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As usual, there are more than 170,000 places, including
seats, available at £10 or under during the Proms season, a price level
made possible by the 91Èȱ¬'s continuing promotion of the festival.
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The Last Night: Renewing old traditions and
celebrating the new
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For the first time, the counter-tenor voice will be
heard as part of the Last Night celebrations, with Andreas Scholl singing
favourites by Handel and Purcell in the Royal Albert Hall, whilst John
Williams is soloist for the ever-popular Concierto de Aranjuez.
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As well as marking the centenary of Henry Wood's Fantasia
on British Sea-Songs with the reintroduction of his original bugle calls,
91Èȱ¬ Proms in the Park celebrates its own 10th anniversary with audiences
in nine locations for the biggest finale party ever.
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Across the Royal Albert Hall and the park events, all
the 91Èȱ¬ orchestras take part in the Last Night for the first time and
audiences also join from Liverpool, Hull, Birmingham and Manchester,
watching the celebrations on the 91Èȱ¬ Big Screens.
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The 91Èȱ¬ Proms Guide 2005 contains full
details of the complete programme of concerts, along with articles about
the music and artists and an advance booking form.
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Priced £5, it is available from all good bookshops
and can be ordered from the 91Èȱ¬ Shop, 50 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SF, or
by telephone on 0870 241 5490.
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Booking facilities are also available on bbc.co.uk/proms which provides a comprehensive source of information
and insight into the 2005 Proms.
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