Londoners were treated to two musical extravaganzas and farewells at the weekend.
Sunday’s closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games saw the likes of Coldplay and Rihanna delivering rousing, stadiumfriendly rock anthems as a farewell to what have been widely lauded as some of the best games ever.
For those with more traditional leanings, Saturday’s Last Night of the Proms was delivered with the mix of pomp and circumstance, humility, and audience participation that has becomes its hallmark.
The Last Night of the Proms is a staple fixture on the British musical calendar and is embraced by people the world over. It is a spectacular bow out to the Proms season which has been held yearly since 1895. The first concerts being held in the Queens Hall in Langham Palace before moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 1942.
This year, proceedings included Suk, Delius, Verdi, Massenet, and an excellent rendition of Bruch’s violin concerto in G minor No. 1 by Nicola Benedetti, the rising Scottish musician who played a wonderful sounding 300-year-old Stradivarius.
Puccini’s certified crowd pleasers with “E Lucevan le stelle” from Tosca and “Nessum Dorma” from Turandot were both performed superbly by the Maltese Tenor Jospeh Calleja, who graced us with a high B for the latter.
The patriotic “spirit” of the proms really started to come alive, however, when the audience participation began with Rodgers “You'll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel. This saw different parts of Britannia united through the miracle of television, and for the first time this year through the 3-D screening of the event live in cinemas across the UK.
From then on, all the firm favourites were performed including Henry Wood’s “Fantasia On British Sea Songs”, which saw Joseph Calleja bounding on for “Rule Britannia” while sporting a Team GB tracksuit, before being joined by a clutch of Olympic medallists from this year’s games.
Jiri Belohlavek’s speech formed a touching conclusion, telling of his retirement from his post as conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. This resulted in the audience delivering a very British “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” before cracking on for the final push through Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance”, “Land of Hope and Glory”, Parry’s rousing “Jerusalem” and the National Anthem.
