Arts
& Entertainment |
Royal
Albert Hall |
|
Contacts
What's
On: December 2001/ January & February 2002
News - Sombre Last Night of
the Proms - 17/09/01
History of Royal Albert Hall
Hire the Hall -
(for that special birthday party, Barmitzvah ... solo concert?)
The Proms
|
Contacts |
|
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore
London SW7 2AP
box office: The Box Office at Door 7, on the West side of the main
entrance opposite Kensington Gardens, is open 9.00am to 9.00pm seven
days a week. Bookings may be made in person or by telephoning 020
7589 8212. Mastercard, American Express, Switch and Visa are welcomed.
On postal and telephone orders an administration charge of £2.75
per booking is made (irrespective of the number of tickets purchased).
for more information visit the Royal
Albert Hall website
|
Proms
Season 2001 |
|
BBC Proms
20 July - 15 September 2020
Proms 2001 continues to explore the highest quality
of music and music-making both new and old, looking particularly
to innovate and challenge, while adhering to the ideal of the Proms:
to bring musical excellence to as wide an audience as possible.
Visits by great orchestras from abroad are especially
plentiful in 2001, offering performances by the Boston Symphony
Orchestra with Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Daniel Barenboim, who also appears as pianist. Other distinguished
visitors include the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra with Vladimir
Ashkenazy, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with Herbert Blomstedt,
the Orchestre de Paris with Christoph Eschenbach, the St Petersburg
Philharmonic Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov, and the Kirov Orchestra
with Valery Gergiev. Günter Wand, one of the world's most respected
interpreters of Bruckner and the Austro-German Romantic repertoire,
makes a welcome return to the Proms at the head of Hamburg's NDR
Symphony Orchestra.
Acclaimed for its dedicated patronage of new music,
the Proms presents 10 BBC commissions this season, with 11 other
world, UK or London premieres. The range of new works extends from
the world premieres of large scale compositions by James MacMillan,
Alexander Goehr and Sir John Tavener to Sir Harrison Birtwistle's
latest composition for brass ensemble. Young composers Julian Philips
and Ian Wilson make their Proms debuts with new works for orchestra,
while New Yorker Tobias Picker's Cello Concerto receives its first
performance with Paul Watkins as soloist.
Every Prom is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, with
regular weekday afternoon repeats. All concerts will also be streamed
online via the Radio 3 website (www.bbc.co.uk/radio3).
Proms in the Park, which takes the Last Night party
atmosphere beyond the Royal Albert Hall, is being held in more venues
around the UK than ever before. As well as London's Hyde Park, concerts
take place in Liverpool and Gateshead, and at the newly opened Eden
Project in Cornwall, all with the Last Night big-screen link-up.
Booking for the 107th season opens on Monday
21 May for postal and fax booking. Telephone booking opens on Friday
15 June.
Postal Booking
BBC Proms
Box Office
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore
London SW7 2AP
Fax Booking
020 7581 9311
Telephone Booking (opens 15 June)
020 7589 8212
In Person Booking (opens 15 June)
from Door 9, Royal Albert Hall
9.00am-9.00pm Daily
for
full programme visit the BBC Website
|
News:
Sombre Last Night of the Proms - 17/09/01
|
|
The promenaders experienced a sombre Last Night
on Saturday, after the events in the US put everyone in a more contemplative
mood. For once the Union Jack was joined by the Stars and Stripes,
both inside the Royal Albert Hall and at open air events around
the country.
The usually buoyant celebration was toned down in
the wake of Tuesday's terror attacks on the US. Patriotic anthems
such as Rule, Britannia! and Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance were
abandoned in favour of more reflective pieces. And concert-goers
joined in a minute's silence for the attack victims.
The Last Night was conducted by an American for
the first time, with BBC symphony orchestra chief conductor Leonard
Slatkin in charge.
Mr Slatkin addressed the audience both before and
after the performance thanking them for their support for the US.
He said the orchestra had quickly realised that the attacks meant
this year's performance would have to be different. He said:
"One thing became very clear to us, that the very
special nature of the Last Night of the Proms for this night would
not be the same.
"What was to be a celebration of the new - me -
and the traditions - you - would have to be put aside for a moment.
American Leonard Slatkin thanked the audience for its support
"We use music tonight to express all the emotions
we all feel."
More than 6,000 people packed the Royal Albert Hall
in London for the performance which was shown in more than 40 countries
across the world. Thousands of people also watched the concert in
live links to events around the country, in Gateshead, Cornwall,
Liverpool and London's Hyde Park.
US Attacks Affect
Proms - 14/09/01The terrorist attacks
on the the US have led to the organisers of the Last Night of the
Proms to rethink their programme, moving away from the usual rabble-rousing
anthems towards more reflective pieces.
There were also reports that the organisers were
to ban the traditional flag-waving amongst the promenaders, but
now the official stance is that flags will be allowed to be waved,
but they should be flags of all nations rather than just Union Jacks.
By coincidence the programme had been due to feature
John Adams's Short Ride In A Fast Machine which was pulled from
the Last Night once before, following the death of Diana, Princess
Of Wales. Another Adams piece, his fanfare Tromba Lontana, will
take its place. Other substitutes will be Barber's Adagio for Strings,
Tippett's A Child Of Our Time and the choral finale from Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony.
Nicholas Kenyon, director of the BBC Proms, said:
" We feel it is vital to respond to people's mood at this sombre
and difficult time, and at the same time to show that music can
affirm our shared humanity."
There is also uncertainty about the appearance of
American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade who is stranded in the
States. The Last Night is being conducted by an American for the
first time, Leonard Slatkin. He said today: " I am honoured to be
doing the Last Night. Maybe more than ever."
London university to offer degree
in the proms
- 19/04/01
The patriotic flag-waving of the last night of the Proms is to be
studied as part of a new university degree, in which students will
learn about the music, history and culture of Britain's most famous
musical event.
read
more
|
What's
On: December 2001/ January & February 2002 |
|
December
10 Paul Weller
11 Jose Carreras & Elaine Paige
12 Paul Weller
13 Christmas Carols With The Stars
14 A Sargent Christmas Cracker
15 The Bach Choir Family Carols
15 Messiah
16 Classic Carols
16 The Glory of Christmas
17 Royal Choral Society Christmas Carols
18 King's College Choir
19 The BT Christmas Concert
20 A Gospel Christmas
21 Messiah
22 Christmas Carol Singalong
22 Christmas Choral Gala
23 White Christmas
23-24 Carols by Candlelight
31 Tweenies - Live! The Christmas Present
January
1-6 Tweenies - Live! The Christmas Present
11-12 Joaquin Cortes
13 The Sleeping Beauty - The St . Petersburg Ballet
Theatre
February
1 Embrace
5 Marti Pellow & Guests - Teenage Cancer Concert
Series
6 Oasis & Guests - Teenage Cancer Trust Concert
Series
7-8 The Who & Guests - Teenage Cancer Trust Concert
Series
9 Paul Weller Big Band & Guests - Teenage Cancer
Trust Concert Series
12 Grand Prix Charity Concert
14-16 Mountbatten Festival of Music
21-28 Carmen
Bookings may be made in person or by telephoning
020 7589 8212
(for details see listings info above)
Details of individual concerts are available at
the Royal Albert Hall
website
What's
On - archive of 2001
|
History
of Royal Albert Hall |
|
Following the success of the Great Exhibition of
1851 (the world’s first international ‘Expo’), the Hall was conceived
by Albert, the Prince Consort, as the centrepiece of the proposed
development of a range of national institutions - cultural, scientific
and academic - that for the first time would be located on a single
site.
As a first step towards the realisation of the Prince’s
masterplan, a 50 acre estate in South Kensington was bought from
the substantial profits made by the Exhibition. By the end of the
19th century the area had been transformed and today embraces not
only the Hall but the Victoria and Albert, Science and Natural History
Museums, Imperial College, the Royal Colleges of Music and Art and
the Royal Geographical Society: a living monument to the vision
and inspiration of the Prince and his contemporaries. Prince Albert
died suddenly in 1861 before much of the site was occupied. But
by that time the overall concept had firmly taken root.
Plans for a ‘Great Central Hall’ were taken forward
by the very eminent Victorian, Henry Cole, with whom the Prince
had worked on other major public building projects. Under the terms
of a Royal Charter of 1867, a ‘Corporation’ was established to ‘build
and maintain’ the ‘Hall of Arts and Sciences’ (to which Royal Albert
was soon added). Construction began that year and was completed
in 1871, when the Hall was formally opened in the presence of HM
Queen Victoria, the late Prince’s devoted widow.
The magnificent frieze that encircles the building
succinctly describes its purpose: ‘This Hall was erected for the
Advancement of the Arts and Sciences, and works of industry of all
nations, in fulfillment of the intentions of Albert, Prince Consort’.
Those objectives reflect the terms of the Royal
Charter under which the Hall was founded, and (together with a number
of Acts of Parliament) continue to be regulated. As well as providing,
on a 999 year lease at nominal cost, the land on which the Hall
stands, the Royal Commission for the 1851 Exhibition - which continues
as the Hall’s ‘landlord’ - also made a substantial donation towards
the overall cost of its construction, forecast at £200,000. The
remainder of the initial funding was made up by the sale of some
1,300 of the original 7,000 seats in the Auditorium, at a charge
of £100 per seat. These ‘permanent’ seats remain largely in private
or corporate hands, the seatholders being the Members of the Corporation
of the Hall.
|
Hiring
the Hall |
|
The Albert Hall has been described as the nation's
town hall. Why not book it for your own event ... that solo performance
you've always wanted to make ... go on, you know you're worth it.
The Royal Albert Hall provides a unique venue in
the heart of London for every kind of event. Situated opposite Kensington
Gardens and close to world-class hotels and the exclusive shops
of Knightsbridge, it is easily accessible by tube, bus, car or on
foot.
Its 5000 seat auditorium provides a combination
of intimacy and grandeur which, together with its sense of history,
make it a favourite amongst performers and audiences.
The Hall is available for hire by event organisers
and commercial promoters and offers a package of facilities and
services designed to ensure that each event meets its full potential.
For further information please contact the Head
of Sales on 020 7589 3203,
Fax 020 7823 7725 or email sales@royalalberthall.com
|
|
|