Proms on TV, 2026
Beethoven and Mozart at the Proms
Royal Albert Hall
It's a drizzly Friday evening in late August, and I decide to knock off another two Proms broadcasts on iPlayer.
Beethoven and Mozart. B&M. The two titans - the Tate & Lyle, if you will - of classical music. They'll do. I am banding these together to avoid having to write two separate blogs, which I am finding are eating into my free time which is not in so much abundance as it was last summer.
Beethoven's Seventh Prom
The first one I watch is Beethoven's Seventh. It is the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra being conducted by the apparently revered Gustavo Dudamel. He is something of a 'rockstar' conductor, we learn, having appeared at this year's World Cup opening ceremony or something. I love the Pete Townshend-style windmills he performs with his arms from time to time, offering a novel exercise for his baton.
As I think I remarked last year: the music of Beethoven, to me, is at one with mother nature. Hence its brilliance. No other composer - not even Wagner - gets as close. Beethoven's Seventh is a peach; his ninth (which I also like) shares a couple of motifs with this, I reckon.
After Beethoven there is a performance of contemporary music by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. She's in the house, and the BBC show us a pre-recorded interview with her, explaining the origins of the music. Revolución diamantina starts with glockenspiel, and I’m a fan of that. As it progresses, there is an off-balance theme to the music: the type of thing that would be placed on a confusion/nightmare sequence of a Hitchcock thriller. Haunting vocal chirps by the (I think) the all-female vocal ensemble. In some ways it grates, and isn’t very pleasant to listen to - but I understand that that is by design. It is touching to see Gabriela Ortiz herself on stage after the performance, visibly grateful to the audience.
Mozart
This is a Prom with very unique soloists, not least of all because the instruments they play seldom get an outing as a solo instrument.
It is a shame the French Horn is not seen more regularly in the foreground. Aesthetically peculiar, it's tones are gorgeous. As a friend of mine put it, it tends to add 'the cream' to the overall sound of an orchestra. Felix Klieser plays the instrument, and in a very unique way. Born without arms, he plays the instrument with his feet. He plays Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3. He is genuinely awe inspiring to watch. He concludes the performance with a rendition of the exquisite Just One Cornetto, so what is there not to like?
After the interval, the Bassoon gets a spot in the limelight. Amy Harman takes to the stage, and allows the instrument to steal the show with Thea Musgrave's Bassoon Concerto, Out of the Darkness. It is a sexy piece, and I refer not only to the music. Following suit is Elgar's Romance for bassoon and orchestra, and I hereby grant him a redemption from the unkind words I said about his first concerto, earlier in the season.
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