[From the BBC]
On Saturday the 73-concert season of BBC Proms ends with the Last
Night of the Proms, mounted in London's Royal Albert Hall and broadcast
on TV and radio around the world, alongside BBC Proms in the Park
events in Hyde Park, Gateshead, Liverpool and Cornwall.
In light of the week's devastating events in the United States, the
BBC has decided to change the programme of the concert. This has
been done in consultation with the Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony
Orchestra, the American, Leonard Slatkin.
Of the traditional final sequence in the second half, Elgar's Pomp
and Circumstance March No. 1, Henry Wood's Fantasia on British
Sea-Songs, and Rule, Britannia! will not be performed. In recognition
of the events of recent days the second half of the concert now
includes John Adams's fanfare Tromba Lontana, Samuel Barber's Adagio
for Strings, Spirituals from Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Time
and the Choral Finale from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Nicholas Kenyon, Director of the BBC Proms, commented:
"The Last Night of the Proms is a musical occasion of great
significance both in this country and around the world. We feel
it is vital to respond to people's mood at this sombre and difficult
time, and at the same time to show that music can affirm our shared
humanity. We will mark the tragedy in America with Barber's Adagio
and Tippett's arrangements of classic spirituals, and then show
that there is no more universal expression of the power of music
to draw people together than the great Choral Finale of Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony."
The BBC Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by its Chief Conductor,
Leonard Slatkin, the first American to conduct the Last Night of the
Proms. He commented:
"As much as I had looked forward to observing the traditions of
this most special of occasions, circumstances have dictated otherwise.
What we are doing is in the spirit of this tragic time. Unity
through music is now the message and we can use our sounds to help
underscore the long healing process that must take place. I am
honoured to be doing the Last Night. Maybe more than ever."
A minute of silence will be observed during the second half of the
concert when the Royal Albert Hall links with the BBC Proms in the
Park in London, Gateshead, Cornwall and Liverpool. The first half
of the concert is performed mainly as planned.
The Last Night of the Proms is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and
on-line, with the first half broadcast on BBC Two and the second
on BBC One. BBC Proms in the Park in Hyde Park is broadcast on BBC
Radio 2. The other events are broadcast on their local BBC stations.
Over forty other countries also broadcast the Last Night of the Proms.
Janos Gereben/SF
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