The BBC Proms, a two-month takeover of the Royal Albert Hall, is not simply a festival but an annual reflection of the health and confidence of classical music in the country. This year, the Proms finds itself in a moment of insecurity. With arts cuts badly affecting major London ensembles and organisations, a lack of musicians coming from Europe, and a failure to achieve gender balance, there are questions over the sustainability of its future; but also defiance.
“To close an ensemble is without doubt the hardest thing I have had to do in my career,” said Simon Webb, head of BBC Orchestras and Choirs on March 7 as it was announced that the BBC Singers, the only full-time chamber choir in the UK, was no longer in line with the BBC’s future plan for classical music.
Less than two months later — following petitions, high-profile support and accusations of “cultural vandalism” — the decision to close the group was suspended. The choir won back its viability, and was instead invited to sing at no less than five BBC Proms concerts at this year’s festival. Shot into stardom, the potential closure of the BBC Singers now means holding onto them ever-more tightly.
It gives a glimpse into arts cuts land. Beg for the arts — convince us that you actually want to see people perform, and, who knows, we might listen. Otherwise, risk their closure. Conductor Sir Simon Rattle made it clear in an interview with a newspaper that he is less sure that the BBC mean what they say about saving the BBC Singers, saying: “It’s obvious that the cuts will all be back on the table as soon as the Proms are over. They were just worried about protests and demonstrations.”
The imminent BBC Proms has the impact of recent cuts hanging over it. From a year in which Arts Council England has made clear its intentions to redistribute funding away from larger, southern-based ensembles and organisations, the mood is decidedly tentative. The question of how many ensembles performing at this year’s Proms might live to tell the tale in five or 10 years is a stark one.
There’s no question that a loyal audience still want a continuation and support of high-calibre groups playing traditional repertoire. But there’s also promises from the BBC about inclusion and diversity. An initial aim in 2018 for a 50/50 balance of commissioned works by male and female composers at the Proms by 2022 has been achieved, and even exceeded this year with two-thirds of new works written by women. Still, this year’s proms sees the majority of performed works — more than 93 per cent — written by men.
For many, this is a depressing number and indicative of the desperation to lure back audiences with familiar masterpieces. The Proms has decided to take risks in different ways. Instead of addressing the imbalance of works by women, we see a celebration of avant-garde composer Ligeti’s centenary, a UK premiere of a Kurtág opera, folk reimaginings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, a late-night organ recital from the ever-popular Anna Lapwood and a return of the Horrible Histories Prom, looking at the history of opera. It could be said that an obsession with gender-balance taking away from the recognition of the Proms’ forward-thinking programming.
But it comes in the context of more cuts, this time to the BBC orchestras in England. Alongside the attempted closure of the BBC Singers, the broadcaster said it wanted to “increase flexibility” in its three English orchestras by offering a voluntary redundancy programme, reducing salaried posts by 20 per cent. Protection, security and support was afforded employed musicians in the BBC, but now many will have no choice but to face the ongoing difficulties of a freelance career.
Also in the BBC’s future plan for classical music is to increase the focus on music education. It forgets that defunding the larger ensembles that the Proms relies on means that young musicians enter an increasingly unsustainable industry. An undeniable inspiration for many young artists, the dreams of kids watching the BBC Proms may well be swept from under their feet as the orchestras they dream of joining have no space for them, or cease to exist.
Trumpeter Aaron Akugbo, 25, is performing the Haydn trumpet concerto at the BBC Proms with the Chineke! Orchestra — Europe’s first professional orchestra to be made up of majority black and ethnically diverse musicians. For him, his debut at the Proms is about representation: “Performing at the Proms means that young black people can see someone who looks like them playing this music. I hope it’ll have a mark of interest for young people — still, I do worry that there’s not going to be any jobs for them to enter into.
“The first Chineke prom was a massive deal,” says Akugbo to explain the importance of the orchestra’s first appearance in 2017: “This time around it’s important that they’re giving the composers of colour a platform, but we’re also showing that Black performers can perform the classics — we can do both.”
Away from symphony orchestras, musicians are asking whether they want to continue performing the traditional repertoire. The Proms are supporting groups like the Manchester Collective and the vocal group Voces 8, who this year are taking on the stillness of the late-night Proms, where experimental programming is encouraged, arguably more so than the “standard” 7.30pm concerts. The 10pm concerts bring a spiritual and universal dimension to the festival and diversify programming authentically. Rakhi Singh, co-founder of the Manchester Collective said of their involvement: “We want to entice a different audience. The Last Night of the Proms isn’t British musical identity anymore. The cuts haven’t been positive but the threat asks us why is the Proms here and who is it for? In recent years, it has included a vast array of jazz performers, folk, electronic and musical theatre.”
Themed proms also arrived. The Comedy Prom from 2011 went down in history, as did last year’s Gaming Prom and the Folk Music prom in 2018. This year sees a celebration of British club culture with the Northern Soul Prom and a concert dedicated to the Portuguese musical genre “fado”. There might be Mozart, but it’s performed by the jaw-dropping Felix Klieser — a horn player born without arms who has learned to play the instrument using his feet.
This year’s Proms is a clever balance of familiar and experimental, though they are clearly hoping audiences might not notice the gender gap or absence of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from its programme. It is trying to cut costs and encourage audiences, but the impact of Brexit on touring musicians is one it continues to grapple with as costs soar.
For the most part, the Proms knows it has to overcome the limits of Brexit and the increasing squeeze on the arts. It gives a platform to experimental voices, while also maintaining a through-line of masterpieces that transcend gender and continue to change the audiences that experience them. It gives a platform to lesser-known but vitally important orchestras and ensembles from around the world and, this year at least, continues to put London on the map as the “place to be” for varied, experimental and life-altering musical experience.
What to watch at The BBC Proms:
BIG NAMES
Prom 27: Yuja Wang plays Rachmaninov
Pianist Yuja Wang performs Rachmaninov’s sparkling Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini alongside Klaus Mäkelä and the BBC Symphony Orchestra before Walton’s great choral work, Belshazzar’s Feast.
Prom 51: Weir, Schumann and Elgar with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Master of the King’s Music Judith Weir presents a new commission, followed by the masterpieces of Schumann’s First Symphony and Elgar’s Violin Concerto.
Prom 56: Rattle conducts Mahler’s Ninth
In his final UK performance as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle conducts Mahler’s epic symphony.
Rising STARS
Prom 8: Impressions of Spain
Violinist Maria Duenas, 20, performs Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole for violin and orchestra in this Spanish-themed concert, conducted by Josep Pons.
Prom 22: Isata Kanneh-Mason plays Prokofiev
Making her solo debut at the Proms, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason performs Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with Ryan Bancroft and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Prom 61: Chineke! performs Beethoven and Haydn
Aaron Akugbo performs Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with the Chineke! Orchestra — Europe’s first professional orchestra to be made up of a majority of black and ethnically diverse musicians.
ONE OF A KIND
Prom 38: Audience Choice
The audience rules in this concert with the Gramophone Orchestra of the Year — the Budapest Festival Orchestra, whose music is chosen on the night by the Proms audience.
Prom 46: Manchester Collective: Neon
A late-night Prom of eclectic contemporary sounds and experiences from the forward-thinking chamber ensemble.
Prom 63: The Rite by Heart
The Aurora Orchestra performs Stravinsky’s orchestral work, the Rite of Spring, without the music, completely from memory.
