Iiiit’s Proms time! For the definitive list of new music in this year’s festival see below, or follow #promsnewmusic on Twitter.
A few quick observations: women composers: 11 (down from 12 in 2015 (did I not do this list last year?)) 12 (edit: I’d missed Andrea Tarrodi in Prom 61). Non-white composers: 2. Birtwistle, Hillborg, Larcher, Adès, MacMillan and Dusapin: all present and correct. Nothing against any of them especially (and I’ve written the BBC’s Larcher bio, so it will be nice for that to have another outing), but it seems at least at three of those six are in every Proms series these days. The Proms are capable of looking further afield – witness the inclusion of new pieces by Tom Coult, Laurent Durupt, Lotta Wennäkoski and others – but it does feel like the core is hardening at the same time. A John Adams focus in his 70th birthday year is probably inevitable, but again here’s a composer amply represented in previous seasons. Probably the most attractive Adams event will be Harmonielehre at Peckham Car Park, a piece I can imagine really working well in that tricky space.
Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to pieces by Gerald Barry (Prom 50), Durupt (PCM 2), Mark Simpson (Prom 17) and Christina Lamb (Proms at Tanks Tate Modern). What I know of Julian Anderson’s Piano Concerto (Prom 16) intrigues me too, and the concerts at Wilton’s Music Hall and Tanks Tate Modern, staged by BCMG and London Contemporary Orchestra, respectively, can’t be overlooked. Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar’s performance of 1964’s Passages (Prom 41) could also be quite something.
For those who can’t be in London, every Prom will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and online in HD sound. Proms marked ** in the list below will also be broadcast on TV, either live or at a later date. (As past experience has shown, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the new music component will be broadcast.)
Here’s the full list (click the bold to go to the BBC’s listing page). As usual, I may have missed something; please let me know in the comments if I have. And here’s Simon’s alternative take.
Prom 1 **
Tom Coult: new work
John Adams: Harmonium
Prom 4 **
Harrison Birtwistle: Deep Time
Roderick Williams: Là ci darem la mano
Pascal Dusapin: Outscape
Prom 8 **
John Williams celebration
Laurent Durupt: Grids for Greed
Julian Anderson: Piano Concerto
Mark Simpson: The Immortal
Anders Hillborg: Sirens
David Sawer: The Greatest Happiness Principle
Prom 21 **
James MacMillan: A European Requiem
John Adams: Naive and Sentimental Music
Prom 28 **
Francisco Coll: Mural
Thomas Adès: Polaris
Brian Elias: Cello Concerto
Proms at … Southwark Cathedral
Judith Weir: In the Land of Uz
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Hibiki
Thomas Larcher: Nocturne – Insomnia
Prom 41 **
Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar: Passages
Michael Gordon: Big Space
David Lang: Sunray
Julia Wolfe: Big Beautiful Dark and Scary
Philip Glass: Glassworks (closing)
Louis Andriessen: Worker’s Union
Cheryl Frances-Hoad: Chorale Prelude ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’
Jonathan Dove: Chorale Prelude ‘Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam’
Daniel Saleeb: Chorale Prelude ‘Erhalt uns, Herr bei deinem Wort’
Two Three chorale preludes based on unrealised plans in Bach’s Orgelbüchlein. (edit: I’d somehow missed Saleeb’s piece first time around; sorry)
Includes excerpts from Passion settings by Gubaidulina and MacMillan.
Prom 50 **
Gerald Barry: Canada
Edward Elgar/Anthony Payne: Symphony No 3
Proms at … Multi-Story Car Park, Peckham
Kate Whitley: I am I say
John Adams: Harmonielehre
Two shows for this one: see also here.
Andrea Tarrodi: Liguria
Prom 62 **
Hannah Kendall: The Spark Catchers
Wolfgang Rihm: In-Schrift
Proms at … Wilton’s Music Hall
John Luther Adams: songbirdsongs (excerpts)
Olivier Messiaen: Le merle noir
Rebecca Saunders: Molly’s Song
Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King
Two shows for this one too: see also here.
John Adams: Lollapalooza
Prom 70 **
Missy Mazzoli: Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Catherine Lamb: new work
Cassandra Miller: Guide
Rodrigo Constanzo: light and sound performance
London Contemporary Orchestra and Actress: collaboration
Lotta Wennäkoski: Flounce
John Adams: Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance