:00:26. > :00:29.International superstars, inspirational performances
:00:30. > :00:32.and mind-blowing music: we've got it all this summer in the world's
:00:33. > :00:38.Welcome to the First Night of the BBC Proms 2017, from me,
:00:39. > :00:41.Katie Derham and the whole team here at the Royal Albert Hall.
:00:42. > :00:44.And welcome back if you've been with us for the first half
:00:45. > :00:46.on BBC Four - very nice to see you again!
:00:47. > :00:49.We're in the interval of tonight's concert and I must say
:00:50. > :00:53.There's a real sense of excitement about the music coming up.
:00:54. > :00:56.American composer John Adams' spectacular Harmonium begins
:00:57. > :01:02.Trust me, you're going to get goose bumps.
:01:03. > :01:05.But there's also been a huge sense of excitement about the performances
:01:06. > :02:09.And if you've only just joined us, here's a taste of what you missed...
:02:10. > :02:12.Igor Levit's stunning performance of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto
:02:13. > :02:15.with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor, Edward Gardner,
:02:16. > :02:18.which you can see in full on BBC iPlayer.
:02:19. > :02:21.And there's plenty more where that came from throughout the season.
:02:22. > :02:24.In fact there's going to be all sorts of music -
:02:25. > :02:26.from Stax to Schumann, Big Band to Beethoven,
:02:27. > :02:29.with 75 concerts in the Albert Hall alone.
:02:30. > :02:32.You can hear every concert live on BBC Radio 3
:02:33. > :02:36.throughout the summer, and we'll be here on TV
:02:37. > :02:38.on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, so you have
:02:39. > :02:44.And now is as good a time as any to talk about the upcoming season,
:02:45. > :02:48.Welcome singer and vocal coach Mary King and double bassist,
:02:49. > :02:50.Founder and Artistic Director of the orchestra Chineke!
:02:51. > :03:02.Thank you very much for joining us. What a great night it has been so
:03:03. > :03:07.far. Mary, what is it about the Proms which gets everybody so
:03:08. > :03:11.excited? I think the fact that it is two months long, and it is the
:03:12. > :03:16.diversity and depth and brilliance of all the performances. You think
:03:17. > :03:20.about the range of material. You can come with your children to an
:03:21. > :03:24.early-morning prom and here ten short pieces or come to a late-night
:03:25. > :03:30.prom and get in touch with your soul. And here Tom Jones. Or you can
:03:31. > :03:35.hear Beethoven's only opera Fidelio, or the Aurora orchestra
:03:36. > :03:44.deconstructing a Beethoven symphony and putting it back together again.
:03:45. > :03:52.It is fantastic. You have performed here many times, as a performer,
:03:53. > :03:59.what is the atmosphere like, Chi-Chi? There is no other festival
:04:00. > :04:04.like it. And you are bringing the Chineke orchestra here for the first
:04:05. > :04:08.time. When you think our first concert was two years ago, now we
:04:09. > :04:15.are at the Proms. We have gone from zero to 100 mph in no time at all.
:04:16. > :04:20.It is an orchestra which has black and minority ethnic musicians. There
:04:21. > :04:25.are over 40 nationalities now. It is the majority BAME. It is so
:04:26. > :04:30.significant because it really signals the fact that there are
:04:31. > :04:34.musicians and performers of all nationalities and where everybody
:04:35. > :04:38.can feel that they belong. A question I get asked all the time is
:04:39. > :04:43.I have not been to the Proms before, where would I start? Mary, what is
:04:44. > :04:47.your recommendation? In a way you could turn up and whatever is here
:04:48. > :04:52.would be interesting. But I am terribly fond of John Wilson and his
:04:53. > :04:59.Orchestra and his extraordinary reconstruction of the MGM sound from
:05:00. > :05:01.the Hollywood movies. He is doing Oklahoma this year and it is a
:05:02. > :05:09.matinee and an evening performance and he is also doing a more regular
:05:10. > :05:13.repertoire with the Planets. He is doing a mainstream repertoire which
:05:14. > :05:20.he also does either of those. I am a big fan of the John Wilson Orchestra
:05:21. > :05:24.as well. They always put on a great show. We can take a peek back at the
:05:25. > :05:26.Gershwin prom from last year to give you a flavour of what to expect this
:05:27. > :05:58.time around. I love that! The John Wilson
:05:59. > :06:03.Orchestra performing Gershwin last year. Do check out the Proms website
:06:04. > :06:11.for this season's performance of Oklahoma. Chi-Chi, what is your top
:06:12. > :06:15.recommendation? If there is any festival with Simon Rattle in it,
:06:16. > :06:20.that would be my top recommendation. He is here with the London Symphony
:06:21. > :06:25.Orchestra. It is his first time with his new Orchestra at the Proms. My
:06:26. > :06:29.experience of working with Simon, which I have done over the last 30
:06:30. > :06:33.years or so, everything he touches turns to gold really. He is one of
:06:34. > :06:39.these consummate artists that whatever gesture he gives to, you
:06:40. > :06:43.not only know exactly when to start playing, you know exactly the kind
:06:44. > :06:48.of articulation, the sound, the colours he wants to bring. It is as
:06:49. > :06:55.though he is holding the bow with you. You never get a routine
:06:56. > :06:59.performance with Simon. Every time something fresh comes. I have never
:07:00. > :07:07.seen him with a score. He totally embodies the piece of music and then
:07:08. > :07:39.shares it. Let's have a little look at him in action last year.
:07:40. > :07:47.Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin fell on it at the 2016 Proms.
:07:48. > :07:52.Details of his performance this year with the London Symphony Orchestra
:07:53. > :07:56.is on the BBC Proms website. I know Chi-Chi, you are going to detect
:07:57. > :08:04.your feet and enjoy the rest of the concert. Mary, you will stick around
:08:05. > :08:17.to talk about Harmonium. And we will see the Chineke prom in August.
:08:18. > :08:20.It's Adams' 70th birthday year, but we've also we've got another
:08:21. > :08:24.It's 90 years since the BBC took over running the Proms!
:08:25. > :08:27.So what would be more appropriate than a dip in to the archives,
:08:28. > :08:30.as Zeb Soanes presents us with a crash course through the decades.
:08:31. > :08:35.The BBC took over the running of the Proms in 1927. A few yards from
:08:36. > :08:41.Broadcasting House stood the Queens Hall and that is where our concerts
:08:42. > :08:44.began. Concerts were broadcast on the newfangled wireless signal
:08:45. > :08:48.reaching 90% of the country. The first televised prom was in 1938,
:08:49. > :08:56.broadcast from Alexandra Palace, and looked a bit like this. It was a
:08:57. > :09:00.sound only transmission. This was cutting edge broadcasting. It meant
:09:01. > :09:03.ultra short wave television sound, all very high quality in those days,
:09:04. > :09:11.could reach up to 40,000 homes in the UK. In 1941, the Queen's Hall,
:09:12. > :09:17.the original home of the Proms was gutted by fire in an aerator. All
:09:18. > :09:26.that was left are these two columns by some bins. Glamorous. Then the
:09:27. > :09:30.iconic setting is the Royal Albert Hall. The last night of the Proms
:09:31. > :09:34.was televised for the first time in 1947, only this time with the
:09:35. > :09:39.addition of pictures. Broadcasting was in its infancy, barely out of
:09:40. > :09:42.nappies, and the BBC only had two outside broadcast cameras. One of
:09:43. > :09:46.them had to be rushed to the Albert Hall from the Oval where it had
:09:47. > :09:56.spent the afternoon televising the cricket. The Proms began to take a
:09:57. > :09:58.front row seat in every living room. From 1948, all concerts were
:09:59. > :10:04.broadcast on radio, and that continues to this day. In the 1950s,
:10:05. > :10:07.there was a huge appetite for fun and frivolity, following the
:10:08. > :10:13.austerity of the Second World War, and viewers absolutely loved it. But
:10:14. > :10:19.BBC executives felt the audience were becoming far too rowdy, fading
:10:20. > :10:24.out the traditional sea songs deeming it a frightening emotional
:10:25. > :10:29.orgies. The switchboards were jammed with protests from angry viewers.
:10:30. > :10:34.They got back what they wanted. The 1960s was a time of modernity and
:10:35. > :10:39.mushrooms, and not just the magic kind. Stereo sound was introduced to
:10:40. > :10:44.radio, enhanced by the mushrooms or flying saucers which were installed
:10:45. > :10:49.in the Albert Hall in 1968 to improve the acoustics. The BBC music
:10:50. > :11:00.department's Brave New World was striding forward in the hands of
:11:01. > :11:02.controller William Glock. They champion Bob music encouraging
:11:03. > :11:07.challenging new works and performances in new locations. The
:11:08. > :11:11.Proms included special performances throughout the 70s, taking new music
:11:12. > :11:22.to the gritty industrial space of London's roundhouse. The 70s and 80s
:11:23. > :11:27.saw the BBC bring nearly every superstar from the classical world
:11:28. > :11:35.to the Proms, making it a truly international festival. Innovative
:11:36. > :11:41.technical advances allowed the BBC to endlessly reinvent the live Proms
:11:42. > :11:47.experience. In 1996, Proms in the park was launched in Hyde Park and
:11:48. > :11:51.thanks to big screen technology, the thousands of picnickers Inbee Park
:11:52. > :11:58.could link live to the Albert Hall in the second half and join in the
:11:59. > :12:01.singalong at the end. Digital broadcasting allowed further
:12:02. > :12:05.advances such as the iPlayer and the Proms in your pocket. You could
:12:06. > :12:09.download and watch or listen to the Proms at a time which suited you.
:12:10. > :12:15.There was even a camera where you could stare at the conductor's
:12:16. > :12:22.knows. But not all innovations stood the test of time. 3-D Proms, anyone?
:12:23. > :12:27.Over the last 90 years, the BBC has consistently pioneered the latest
:12:28. > :12:31.technology, to bring classical music to younger, bigger audiences far
:12:32. > :12:36.greater than the number of seats in the Royal Albert Hall. To make the
:12:37. > :12:37.Proms truly the most accessible and largest classical musical festival
:12:38. > :12:45.in the world. And long may it continue. The
:12:46. > :12:51.perfectly cast Zeb Soanes there. We'll be hearing his thrilling
:12:52. > :12:54.composition, Harmonium, shortly. And joining Mary King
:12:55. > :13:07.for a chinwag about it is Hello. I know John Adams is a
:13:08. > :13:13.favourite of yours. Tell me why you love it so much. This piece, because
:13:14. > :13:18.it is ravishing. It is absolutely ravishing. It starts with what the
:13:19. > :13:23.composer called a single tone emerging out of a vast empty space,
:13:24. > :13:27.which given there are 470 people on stage tonight, will be incredibly
:13:28. > :13:35.dramatic. It evolves into this beautiful patchwork landscape. It is
:13:36. > :13:42.very tonal and approachable. It is in three movements called love,
:13:43. > :13:52.death and sex. It is a truly romantic piece and it nods back to
:13:53. > :14:08.Wagner. It builds into an enormous bang link or Duterte thing with the
:14:09. > :14:12.percussion section and 40 word Emily Dickinson poem. Ace Angling or Geac
:14:13. > :14:25.the Proms, who could ask for anything more that? What is this
:14:26. > :14:31.piece like? It is very, very loud, very fast and very high. When it is
:14:32. > :14:36.not all those things it is slow and is sustained and very exposed. In
:14:37. > :14:39.this space which is so resonant and the chorus is split with the organ
:14:40. > :14:44.in the middle, it is very hard to keep together so it is a big
:14:45. > :14:49.challenge. It is fantastic but a big challenge. Lots of young singers on
:14:50. > :15:00.the stage as welcome as Mac nearly 300 which is fantastic.
:15:01. > :15:04.Some of them have been learning the piece since January and they are not
:15:05. > :15:16.necessarily note readers so this is very new to them.
:15:17. > :15:22.We caught up with you squire Academy to talk about this evening's
:15:23. > :15:28.performance. I'm 18 years old and I'm from Surrey. This is the first
:15:29. > :15:35.time I've sung classical music. I'm usually a beatboxer, but I was here
:15:36. > :15:39.to sing Harmonium. I'm Connor Randall is, heavy metal vocalist and
:15:40. > :15:47.I'm here doing classical music, something I wouldn't expect to do.
:15:48. > :15:55.I never listen to classical music before. It's interesting to see how
:15:56. > :16:01.it's all set up, with the voices and different parts.
:16:02. > :16:06.Heavy metal and classical music, there's quite a lot of similarities
:16:07. > :16:09.there, because you've got to read your music. You can't just listen to
:16:10. > :16:15.it and try and repeat it because it's very hard to do that with
:16:16. > :16:21.metal. It's not the easiest of scores to read, but it's also a very
:16:22. > :16:24.beautiful piece. I'm completely moved by the commitment of people
:16:25. > :16:27.who've been learning this piece for six months and perhaps you haven't
:16:28. > :16:31.sung in any kind of organised choir before. I think Coral music
:16:32. > :16:35.especially is all about community. With younger voices there is a much
:16:36. > :16:38.pure sound and actually, it suits the sound world of the piece
:16:39. > :16:41.beautifully. There's a naivete as well in the sound, which I think
:16:42. > :16:44.it's beautiful for these texts, which are so presenting of love and
:16:45. > :16:55.life. The all toes and sopranos do a lot
:16:56. > :16:58.of the work in the piece and there are some hard bits in there. We
:16:59. > :17:07.don't have a break anywhere in the piece.
:17:08. > :17:15.That's a mega phrase at the end of the mega phrase.
:17:16. > :17:22.I'd say this piece has a credible economy and an incredible pulse to
:17:23. > :17:30.it, but actually, it's so emotionally connected. For me it's
:17:31. > :17:34.one of John Adams's great pieces. When we speak about minimalism, we
:17:35. > :17:37.think about something quite clinical, quite mathematical. And
:17:38. > :17:40.although this piece has some of those elements, it has a very strong
:17:41. > :17:45.pulse, sometimes it has a chorus singing just individual notes with
:17:46. > :17:51.one syllable, this piece rides emotionally way above anything I
:17:52. > :17:54.consider to be minimalist. It's much more romantic piece, a piece about
:17:55. > :18:01.everything that we deal with through life and towards death.
:18:02. > :18:05.There are some moments where it's like you sit there and you're
:18:06. > :18:12.listening to everyone in that room putting in the effort and it's a
:18:13. > :18:14.beautiful sound. It's great I'm at the Royal Albert Hall performing
:18:15. > :18:22.there is going to be good. It will be a lot of fun. I'm excited and
:18:23. > :18:28.nervous at the same time. I'm definitely going to go away and do
:18:29. > :18:31.more classical after this. Classical has this feel that I don't really
:18:32. > :18:34.know how to explain, but it's like when it comes together and it just
:18:35. > :18:37.joins into one piece, it's one of the most beautiful sound you can
:18:38. > :18:39.imagine to hear, this amazing huge group of people singing it with all
:18:40. > :18:50.their passion. Well done, everybody, good,
:18:51. > :18:55.fabulous! Fantastic stories. That really is what it's all about, isn't
:18:56. > :18:59.it? I cannot wait to see how they get on. In fact, there they are,
:19:00. > :19:09.just waiting for the lights to come up properly. We can see the metal
:19:10. > :19:13.head. They must be feeling so excited. I should tell you of course
:19:14. > :19:19.that they are part of this big group of quires joining the BBC Symphony
:19:20. > :19:23.Chorus. We've got the CBSO Youth Chorus, the University of Birmingham
:19:24. > :19:26.Voices, Cornwall County Youth Choir, black county music education hub
:19:27. > :19:32.squire and the you squire Academy making the most tremendous sound and
:19:33. > :19:35.Mary, you were listening in rehearsal. Have you got any tips of
:19:36. > :19:39.things we should look out for from a focal point of view? I think they
:19:40. > :19:43.need to take a very deep breath before they start, that's my best
:19:44. > :19:47.advice! Then, because once you are on, it's like a vast machine, it
:19:48. > :19:58.just goes to the end. Jason, a favourite moment you are holding on
:19:59. > :20:01.for. Listen for the sea, Emily Dickinson, you can hear the rowing,
:20:02. > :20:07.and the singers sing rowing, rolling, rolling. We will, we will
:20:08. > :20:11.be doing that. Any minute now, if the voices in my ear are correct,
:20:12. > :20:15.whereabouts of the Edward Gardner come out on the stage to conduct
:20:16. > :20:22.this epic work. There he is, about to come onto the stage. What a job
:20:23. > :20:25.he has got for the next half hour or so, 470 people on stage to conduct
:20:26. > :20:26.and he's going to relish every moment. This is John Adams,
:20:27. > :20:51.Harmonium. MUSIC: Harmonium
:20:52. > :54:51.by John Adams And you can all breathe again, after
:54:52. > :55:00.that mesmerising performance of John Adams' Harmonium. Setting the poems
:55:01. > :55:06.of John Donne and Emily Dickinson. Edward Gardner there, a huge smile
:55:07. > :55:09.on his face. Having conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC
:55:10. > :55:15.Symphony Chorus, and the BBC Proms you squire, which comprises -- BBC
:55:16. > :55:19.Proms Youth Choir which comprises the CBSO Youth Chorus, University of
:55:20. > :55:27.Birmingham Voices, Cornwall County Youth Choir, black -- Black Country
:55:28. > :55:39.is it to great and and the BBC Proms Youth Choir Academy. And what of the
:55:40. > :55:42.-- phenomenal sound they made! I promised you goose bumps. I hope you
:55:43. > :55:49.got some at home. We certainly got them in the hall. The chorus
:55:50. > :55:58.directors deserve particular congratulations. Neil Ferris and
:55:59. > :56:03.Simon Halsey, coming to the stage now stop and you can hear over 400
:56:04. > :56:10.young choristers them there. They are being brought to their feet
:56:11. > :56:16.again. It's an experience that nobody here will forget.
:56:17. > :56:24.Well, as I already mentioned, John Adams' music will feature throughout
:56:25. > :56:26.the season to celebrate his 70th birthday year, including the Last
:56:27. > :56:30.Night of the Proms, when we will have an extract from his new opera,
:56:31. > :56:32.The Girl From The Golden West. It opens in San Francisco in the
:56:33. > :56:38.autumn. But what a way to finish this First
:56:39. > :56:49.Night of the Proms. Thank you Mary King
:56:50. > :56:55.and Jason Hazeley. And thank you all of you at
:56:56. > :56:58.home for joining us. We'll be bringing you concerts
:56:59. > :57:00.on television every Friday and Sunday evening on BBC Four
:57:01. > :57:03.throughout the summer. And join me every Saturday evening
:57:04. > :57:06.on BBC Two for Proms Extra. This Sunday, on BBC Four perhaps
:57:07. > :57:08.the most famous figure in classical music today,
:57:09. > :57:11.Daniel Barenboim, and the Staatskapelle Berlin perform
:57:12. > :57:14.Elgar's second symphony, and a UK premiere of a new piece
:57:15. > :57:18.by Sir Harrison Birtwistle. Meanwhile, I'm going to leave
:57:19. > :57:21.you with a taste of what you can expect from the rest
:57:22. > :57:24.of the season... orchestras and soloists who'll be
:57:25. > :57:42.inspiring the proms this summer As alter my's musicians are cheered
:57:43. > :57:45.once again, it's time for me to wish you were very good night.