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Prom 30: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
- Date Friday 8 August 2008
- Time 10.00pm - c11.20pm
- Venue Royal Albert Hall
Tonight's Late Night Prom under the direction of the charismatic Kristjan Järvi celebrates 20th-century Americana.
The Olympic theme takes to the sky with Michael Torke's most popular work, Javelin, a 1994 Olympics commission. John Adams's toe-tapping evocation of an earlier visit to Beijing and Duke Ellington's evocative Harlem offer two contrasting strands of 20th-century American music.
And, in a more serene mood, cellist Han-Na Chang joins the orchestra for 'Three Meditations' from Leonard Bernstein's theatrical Mass.
- Michael Torke Javelin (8 mins)
- John Adams The Chairman Dances (13 mins)
- Bernstein Mass - Three Meditations (17 mins)
- Ellington Harlem (16 mins)
Han-Na Chang cello
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Kristjan Järvi conductor
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Judith Harvey
What a great concert - an unexpected treat. It got better and better. A shame that so many missed being there. Those of us who were thoroughly enjoyed it.
Paul Randall
So, what do the musicians really think of their conductor - not easy to tell but the results here indicated a high degree of respect. What a marvellous Prom. Spot the big tune in the Michael Torke piece - the theme from Bonanza, thought my neighbour. The conventional wisdom is that if Bernstein had spent less time conducting etc., he could have been the second Mahler. I think it's the other way round - he found reasons to avoid composing because he knew deep-down that he wouldn't be. Personally, I'm very content with his output as the first Bernstein - rather special these Meditations.
Stephen Howse
A small but very enthusiastic audience attended this Prom. Torke's 'Javelin' was rather like film music, perhaps an American remake of 'Chariots of Fire'? Adams's piece was more imaginative in the orchestration and had more contrasts of tempo and dynamics than 'Javelin'. I'm sorry to say I found Bernstein's 'Three Meditations' a bit of a mess - bits of 12-tone music, show tunes, middle-eastern melodies all lumped together - but I liked the cellist! The highlight of the concert was 'Harlem' in which the BBC NOW showed they could really swing and the soloists, especially the clarinettist, were totally idiomatic. The percussion section were simply awesome!