USA listers,
The Last Night At Proms was aired, it seems on NPR. Perhaps you can still
trace it from there. Below is copy of an article from today's Times.
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
Click on Britain, scroll to Proms.
Brian Kelly.
THE Last Night of the Proms, for so long an outpost of British jingoism, last
night became a solemn symbol of the special relationship with America and
produced one of the most dignified and musically intense evenings of its
kind.The dropping of anthems such as Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and
Glory and Henry Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs in favour of
American-inspired spirituals and more reflective pieces helped to open it to
an American audience. The presence, for the first time, of an American
conductor, Leonard Slatkin, on the dais at the Albert Hall had long been
planned before last week's terrorist attacks. But the change in the programme
led the US National Public Radio to arrange for the proms to be networked for
the first time on 300 stations across America.Fans queued for hours to get
their tickets, buying American flags by the dozen. Slatkin began the
performance by telling the audience: "Every note, every bar, every phrase
comes from our hearts and souls to all of you."A minute's silence for the
dead was observed before the American Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings b
what Slatkin called "our music of grief". Some members of the audience sobbed
during its performance, while others quietly dabbed away a tear.There were no
waving flags, and only muffled applause at the end; just a solitary helium
balloon decorated with the Stars and Strips hovered above the promenaders in
the arena.Given the Anglo-American theme of the programme, it was judged a
brilliant stroke to plump for four of the five Negro spirituals from
Tippett's A Child Of Our Time, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and
Chorus. The effect of the piece, written in response to a pre-second world
war act of terrorism, was more moving than ever.Only Parry's Jerusalem,
accompanied by flag-waving from the audience, survived in the traditional
second-half festivities. It followed the greatest choral finale, from
Beethoven's Ninth, whose grandeur gave an extraordinary edge of desperate
exultation.With that, thousands of voices joined in the traditional hymn,
only to go on and link arms for Auld Lang Syne, remembering those who have
died. As everyone left the hall in South Kensington, they expressed pride at
having been part of a memorable occasion.Jeremy McFarland, a 31- year-old
mature student, said: "The atmosphere may not have been what we usually
expect, but I will remember it for the rest of my life, and feel proud to
have shown my respect at this terrible time." Nicholas Kenyon, the Proms
director, said he was "incredibly impressed by the way the audience entered
into the spirit of the occasion b an inevitably different kind of Last
Night,
but equally powerful".
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