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5 Culture Bonanza to mark 30th anniversaery Welsh Proms


THE Welsh Proms is set to take St David’s Hall by storm again this summer, but this year’s series marks the 30th anniversary of the classical extravaganza. Opening this incredible season is the awe-inspiring Philharmonia Orchestra (Saturday 18 July, 7.30pm) conducted by the acclaimed Owain Arwel Hughes CBE. The repertoire includes some of the most dramatic music ever composed from Star Wars to Swan Lake and Sibe- lius to Strauss, before culmi- nating in Tchaikovsky’s epic 1812 Overture. There’s something special


FULL PROGRAMME: Welsh Proms 2015


to keep the kids entertained too. Also starting on Satur- day 18 July and taking place at 10.30am every day for a week (excluding Sunday 19 July) is the Tiddly Proms. This brand new show enti- tled Cherry Pie’s Holiday Ad- venture, features the lovable Bert and Cherry and all their friends. This magical musical journey of seasides and safa- ris is guaranteed to delight tiny tots. Likewise, the Family Prom (Sunday 19 July, 7.30pm) is the perfect way to spend qual- ity time with your loved ones. And for this special occasion, St David’s Hall will transform into a ‘Night at the Oscars’ with Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra. Conducted by Mi-


In The Spotlight By GERAINT DAVIES Brass is moving up a level


ALL artistic genres bring with them a certain set of preconcep- tions and stereotypes that, no matter what evidence there is to the contrary, tend to prevail in the public consciousness. Folk musi- cians all possess unkempt beards and sit around with their fingers in their ears singing in nasal close harmony while supping on their pints of real ale and scrumpy; jazz musicians prefer different sub- stances and like to argue about ob- scure recordings of little known performances – who was playing that “cool” drum solo on Miles’ live 1954 quartet recording of So What? And why did they alter that chord in the third chorus? You knowthe sort of thing. Two worlds that suffer from similar stereotyping are the two B’s – brass bands and ballet. The juxtaposition between the two could hardly be more marked. The collaboration of one of the world’s great dance companies, Ballet Rambert, and Gwent’s Tre- degar Town Band in a new work by young composer Gavin Higgins being performed this week at Sad-


ler’s wells, is therefore a signifi- cant event. To many people the thought of brass bands conjures up a world of downtrodden industrial com- munities, The Floral Dance, John Smithsinworkingmen’s clubsand nostalgia for a bygone era. Part of the reason for these assumptions is probably due to films such as the popular Brassed Off which featured one of the best known bands, Grimethorpe Colliery, and was a great success – though it did little to alter the traditional image of bands. However musically, if not in


terms of presentation, there has been a greatmovement away from the traditional fayre in recent years. Since the seventies many chal- lenging works, some of them by key composers such as Harrison Birtwhistle and Hans Werner Henze, and from brass band spe- cialists such as Gilbert Vinter and Wilfred Heaton have moved the brass band movement forward ex- ponentially. It has grown in many countries around the world, par-


ticularly in northern Europe, and the levels of virtuosity and musi- cianship heard in the top bands is often stunning. One of the world’s premier bands is the Tredegar TownBand. Once a strictly local affair, it now draws top players from a wide ra- dius and, as well as being competi- tively successful under the baton of Ian Porthouse, it has ventured forward in many new directions. Composer Gavin Higgins has


previously had his work per- formed by many professional or- chestras and at last year’s Prom concerts. In many ways he ex- tends the bounds of a brass bands further than ever before in his search for ever more unusual tex- tures and colours – a difficult task bearing in mind that there are only brass and percussion to work with. The work’s title, Dark Arter- ies, refers to the mines and it cel- ebrates the communities affected by the miners’ strike 30 years ago. Here is a piece that pays homage to the past though in a musical language that clearly looks to the future.


arrangements of classics by Mozart and Holst as well as sci-fi themes! One of Britain’s best-


GREAT MUSIC: The Proms


chael Bell and compered by BBC Radio Wales pre- senter Wynne Evans, this rollercoaster ride along the red carpet features the world’s most memorable movie themes. Make sure to dress up as your favour- ite film stars! The music adopts a more


experimental approach the following day with the Organ Prom (Monday 20 July, 1pm). Dynamic duo Robert Court and Jeffrey Howard will play every- thing from organs to iP- ads in the fabulous Four Hands Four Feet In Space concert. Expect original


loved pianists, John Lill CBE accompanies the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra the next night (Tuesday 21 July, 7.30pm). This spellbinding show celebrates masterpieces by Wagner, Mendelssohn, Ra- chmaninov and Elgar. Three decades of mag- nificent music is celebrated with the incomparable Last Night of the Proms (Satur- day 25 July, 7.30pm). Bring your flags and streamers as the curtain is brought down on one of the greatest dates in Cardiff’s concert diary. Joining the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the international brass soloist David Childs on eu- phonium.


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