In the debate on new music, as Ian said:

>all music was once new music...

The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall are an institution, and attract an
audience that goes for "tradition", but one of its most deeply held
traditions is that of introducing new music.  Every Proms season since
decades ago has included new commissions, premieres, works by unknown
composers.  Many pieces in the standard repertoire were first brought
to public notice with what might seem an uncongenial mass audience.

On Monday, at Prom 40 we heard two "premieres", the original Sibelius
Oceanides, the Aallottaret or "Yale" version.  It's very different to
the one we're familiar with!

The discovery of the evening was, to me, Kalevi Aho's Ninth Symphony.
Aho's music can be uneven, but at its best, it's powerful, exhiliarting
stuff.  The Ninth sounds on the surface, more conventonal than Aho's
other works, but characteristicly it bursts past any kind of pigeonhoile.
Suddenly the trumpet solo turns into a sackbut solo, with echoes of the
Renaissance, old and new mixed beautifully.  Do try and listen to this,
as it will be online on BBC radio player til Monday.

   http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/music/aho_sym9.shtml?focuswin

Anne
[log in to unmask]