Afternoon:
10°c
As ever, there is a real excitement around the start of the BBC Proms festival, which begins today.
The star conductors and soloists on display, the glittering procession of orchestras, the unique atmosphere: it's a reminder that summer really is here - whatever the weather.
No doubt the Proms will inspire, as ever, a debate about their programming, audience reactions and the general state of the classical music world.
For despite the Proms buzz, we still see hand-wringing about modestly sized audiences for other classical music concerts; questions are asked about the costs of putting on concerts in small venues.
There will be opinions expressed that will surprise and enrage: last year the then culture minister Margaret Hodge upset what seemed like the whole of middle England with her comments about audiences at the Proms, when she criticised the festival for failing to promote a sense of belonging for people of different cultural backgrounds.
Yet the aim of the Proms has always been to bring classical music to as wide an audience as possible - and introduce a few novelties along the way.
The novelties have changed with the changing tastes of audiences and the broadening of our musical cultures. But the core values of the Proms remain in this 115th season: quality and accessibility go hand in hand.
It is true that many concert programmes have become restrictive and limited. Perhaps too often classical music promoters put the issue of audiences into the "too difficult" box and simply trust that "if we play it they will come".
I think we need to be more confident about the joys on offer and the possibility that this music affords to enrich our lives.
As the largest classical music festival in the world, the Proms remains at the forefront of this debate.
As such, the festival has an ongoing responsibility to deliver a positive message about the unique strengths of classical music.
So what is the best way to attract new audiences for classical music?
Often you can attract new devotees with the novelties, just as it was in the days of Proms founder Henry Wood.
But nowadays we can look further afield for such complementary programming. Since non-Western music (an Indian classical concert) and rock music (Soft Machine) were introduced at the Proms around 40 years ago, there has regularly been music featured other than the Western classical canon.
This year we will be including the first ever Bollywood Prom as part of our Indian Voices Day, an evening in celebration of MGM film musicals, the Proms debut of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and a short new choral and orchestral commission from Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie, the DJ and drum 'n' bass artist.
We know that these will be attractive concerts for our core audiences but there is no doubt that they will bring in people new to the Proms who may then go on to explore other music within the festival.
I think the non-core elements of the Proms reflect a broader sense of the taste of audiences today, and will potentially attract a more diverse audience.
Finding new ways of presenting music can also help break down some of the traditional barriers - some Proms will be introduced from the stage by Radio 3 presenters, with interviews with the performers, a move welcomed by our audiences last year.
Other performances will have an unusual shape - three-part concerts, interesting juxtapositions of repertoire, and lunchtime, matinee and late-night concerts meeting the needs of our increasingly time-poor lives and giving more options for those for whom a 7pm or 7.30pm concert is inconvenient.
But despite all these initiatives, low ticket prices (thanks to the BBC's subsidy of around £6 million) and the informal atmosphere are the key part of our drive to find and build on new audiences.
Keeping the events cheap helps. Meanwhile, there is no doubt that our free matinee Family Prom will bring in a completely new audience, as the first-ever free Prom did last year. Babes in arms enjoying Berio and Bartók!
When Margaret Hodge made her comments last year about audiences, I agreed that this was an important debate. But as one of this year's Proms featured artists, the cellist Steven Isserlis, noted at the time, the Proms is the wrong target.
He said: "The Proms are celebrated worldwide for their appeal to all possible audiences, from the most dedicated classical music anorak to the first-time concert-goer of any age or background."
Then, the Prime Minister and the Conservative leader David Cameron also leapt into the debate, publicly supporting the Proms. Gordon Brown described them as "a great British institution that does a fantastic job in broadening culture".
The debate about what constitutes Britishness rumbles on but I am proud that the BBC Proms is world-renowned for the way it combines excellence in classical music with an ongoing commitment to bringing it to the widest possible audience, just as it has done since it started in 1895.
Last year we attracted record-breaking audiences. Who knows what this summer will bring but I'm confident that the hunger of the Proms audiences to be taken further, not given solely what they already know, will give a strong message to us all.
They will remind us that, with effort and creativity and the strong investment in our cultural infrastructure of the sort that the BBC continues to provide, the Proms can continue to be a beacon of hope about the power of classical music and its ability to touch and inspire audiences, whatever type of Britishness they represent.
Roger Wright is controller of BBC Radio 3 and director of the BBC Proms.
Reader views (1)
Bearing in mind that pop is blared at us from every corner, why do we need it at the Proms? Do we classical music lovers insist on having Shostakovich played in shops, Liszt in the loos, Purcell in pubs? Mahler and Mozart in malls? No we do not, alas. Vivaldi used to be the music of choice whilst waiting on the phone, but now it seems mostly to be electronic plonking and howling. And the waiting times are longer. We should petition the Culture Minister about this. On reflection, perhaps not. We'd end up with football chants.
- John Problem, Hackney UK, 17/07/2009 16:26
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