Every July in London the Prom season arrives! A Victorian festival that has lasted the test of time because although it is a classical music festival (and that term is now stretching to include alternative traditions of music etc) it positively encourages the great unwashed masses to attend: cheap tickets (as little as £4 to see best musicains in the world) and no need to sit still and be quiet i.e thus the appellation 'Proms'...to promenade! (walk round and be seen!)
The festival includes stalwarts of the repetoire (Beethovens 9th with Berlin Philharmonica) and crowd pleasers and also completely new works and thus appeals to those who are more accustomed to classical concert attendence. My main point in telling you all this? The Proms work! The Proms even make me want to attend! Why arent there more concerts and classical music events that reach to the oikes of this world like yours truly? Normally, I feel uneducated, common, and well...stupid if I dare to attend a concert.......Is this my problem or the music 'industries'? A bit of both I think.
Still, vive le Proms!
Syre Byrd