Over 70 concerts...this is the worlds greatest classical musical festival, and it's not even 2 hours away from Bristol. So Nowt2Do.Com are going to be taking the trip up the M4, to see what all the fuss is about and give you the guide to the Proms. So keep your eyes peeled on this page...as all the details will be coming soon.

If you decide to visit London for the Proms or to see any of the other excellent shows we've reviewed (click here for them!) you are going to need somewhere nice to stay, so Nowt2Do.Com went to Guesthouse West a fantastic new hotel in the center of London well worth a stay to see if it's worth your money. Click here to read all about it!   

The Proms is a bit of a tradition to say the least, a must for classical fans, but what about those who aren't really up on the classics...is it still an entertaining evening out?

Having never been to a classical concert before, the Proms seem like the natural place to start, with such a diverse range of performances and such a history behind it. Choosing what to see couldn't be simpler thanks to the BBC's Proms website which documents every event. We choose a Saturday Night performance that was (like all the events) broadcast live on BBC Radio Three. I had no idea what it was, but it consisted of three wonderful pieces of music played by the Dresden Staatskapelle.

The 2004 BBC Proms, features the traditional mixture of great music, great artists and great occasions – including this year the biggest celebration of Proms in the Park around the United Kingdom on the Last Night. It also introduces new music, new outreach events, new interactive elements, and more Proms on television than ever before, creating a renewed commitment to the audience of the future.

Since the very beginning the Proms has been about making the greatest music available to all; informing, educating and entertaining the widest possible audience, and championing new music, composers and artists. In 2004 the BBC renews all these great traditions, emphasising the great heritage of the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts in their 110th year, while creating a new model of a music festival for the new media of the 21st century.

More Proms on TV than ever before The BBC Proms concerts are available to more people in more ways than ever before in 2004. BBC Four, which has broadcast the first two weeks of the season since its launch, now adds the final week of concerts; BBC One and BBC Two broadcast 10 concerts between them. Thirty of the 74 main evening Proms are televised on BBC One, Two and Four, and all concerts are broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and streamed via the BBC Proms website.

Increasing Interactivity To ensure that audiences have the richest possible experience, advances in the BBC’s interactive and digital services are used to the full. People can access informative notes about the music and musicians, wherever and however they are listening or watching, including for the first time on DAB radio and on BBC Radio 3 via Freeview, as well as online. The BBC Proms website provides unprecedented access to the music and information about all aspects of the Proms. This year there will be a special audience vote on line as well as by phone for Overtures to be played in The Nation’s Favourite Prom. The BBC Proms also launches a text club to keep audiences up to date with news and concert information during the season.

Music for All Ticket prices remain stable, reasonable and accessible to all. There are no price increases this season. For every Prom up to 1,400 standing places are available on the day at £4. There are more than 150,000 places, including seats, available at £10 or under during the Proms season, a price level made possible by the BBC’s continuing promotion of the festival as part of its public service mission.

The Proms Look East The Proms’ East/West theme brings the charismatic cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble to the Proms for the first time, as well as new music by Chinese-American composers Tan Dun, Zhou Long and Bright Sheng. Many of the finest works of Western music by composers such as Britten, Debussy, Mahler, Messiaen and Ravel are also heard.

Bohemian Rhapsodies Anniversaries for Dvořák and Janáček have stimulated an exploration of Czech music which goes beyond those composers to Biber (whose anniversary is also marked), Martinů and other Czech masters. There are great classics: Dvořák’s last four symphonies under Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Sir Charles Mackerras and Vassily Sinaisky; Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, and Biber’s Missa bruxellensis. ‘Back to Bohemia’ also brings rare gems such as Dvořák’s little-known opera Dimitrij and music by neglected composers which might not otherwise be heard.

The rebirth of English music ‘England at the Crossroads: 1934’ celebrates the work of the great patriarchs of English music Elgar, Delius and Holst who all died in 1934, as well as the births of two great Proms names of today, Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, both born that year. Popular classics such as Holst’s The Planets are heard alongside rarer works such as Elgar’s elegiac choral masterpiece The Music Makers and Delius’s Whitman setting Sea Drift. Anthony Payne’s acclaimed realisation of Elgar’s Third Symphony receives a second Proms hearing while there are premieres of new works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle. A first Proms hearing for Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s ‘Antarctic’ Symphony and a concert on his actual birthday form part of the celebrations for the new Master of The Queen’s Music.

Creating the new The BBC Proms has always championed new music. This season there are major commissions for the BBC orchestras from John Casken, Zhou Long and Joby Talbot, a commission from Sir Harrison Birtwistle (as well as the first hearing here of a new co-commission) and new choral works from Judith Bingham and Mark-Anthony Turnage. The Proms also continues to place music by composers of today at the heart of its season with more than 15 other premieres of works by popular composers of our time as diverse as John Adams and Sir John Tavener. There are pieces by around 30 living composers, and nearly 90 works which have never been heard at the Proms before.

Audiences of the future In its ongoing commitment to provide greater access to the riches of the Proms, there are three projects which aim to help build audiences of the future. BBC Proms: out & about events with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Concert Orchestra take high-quality live orchestral music-making to the Hammersmith Town Hall and the Hackney Empire as an upbeat to the 2004 season. Building on the success of the event with John Adams at the Carling Brixton Academy in 2003, the aim is to provide children from the local communities with the chance to experience the vibrancy of an orchestral concert for the first time.

In collaboration with the British Library, another project brings together 120 teenage students from the UK’s Turkish, Chinese and various other Asian communities in a series of creative workshops culminating in an event involving Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. The BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composers Competition, now a well-established strand in the Proms’ audience development programme, is expecting more entries than ever from 12- to 18-year olds around the country. Participants in all three projects are invited to attend Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.

There are also major events aimed at attracting younger audiences to the Proms. The Blue Peter Prom has been such a popular fixture in recent years that the BBC Proms is introducing a repeat performance in 2004. Hosted by Blue Peter presenters Simon Thomas and Liz Barker, this year’s event picks up the EAST/WEST theme as Japanese drums and a Chinese Lion Dance troupe join the BBC Philharmonic under its Chief Conductor, Gianandrea Noseda. The fifth BBC Children’s Prom
in the Park, which follows the festivities of the Last Night in Hyde Park on Sunday 12 September, introduces the best-loved music of Disney to the Proms with plenty of on-stage action and footage from the classic films relayed on giant screens around the park.

The organ is back A £1.7 million refurbishment of the Royal Albert Hall organ, which includes money raised by Proms audiences, puts the country’s largest instrument at the heart of the 2004 season. It has not been heard by Prommers since 2001 and brings many of the world’s leading organists, including Naji Hakim, Martin Neary, Simon Preston, Thomas Trotter and Dame Gillian Weir to the Proms. Solo organ works feature in the 2004 season, from Bach’s famous Toccata on the First Night to Barber’s Toccata festiva on the Last, and there are many giants of the choral and orchestral repertoire with prominent parts for organ, including Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Britten’s War Requiem.

Great artists From Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker to Wynton Marsalis and his Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and from William Christie and Les Arts Florissants to Pierre Boulez and Ensemble Intercontemporain the range of top partnerships is unparalleled. Among the other great conductors and orchestras to look out for are Bernard Haitink and the Dresden Staatskapelle, Sir Charles Mackerras and the Czech Philharmonic, Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Valery Gergiev gives his first Prom with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Outstanding singers permeate the season from Lorraine Hunt Lieberson on the First Night to Thomas Allen on the Last Night. Great violinists include the return of Anne-Sophie Mutter (with the Violin Concerto written for her by her husband, André Previn, who conducts it in his first Prom for 17 years), Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Gidon Kremer, Maxim Vengerov and Pinchas Zukerman. Among the host of leading pianists, Alfred Brendel plays his last Prom as he retires from live broadcast concerts, while hotly-tipped newcomers Simon Trpčeski and Llyr Williams make their Proms debuts.

Top opera Eight complete operas include Sir Simon Rattle conducting Das Rheingold, on period instruments, in the first instalment of a four-year cycle of Wagner’s Ring by different performers; Britten’s Curlew River specially staged for the Proms; Holst’s Eastern-influenced chamber opera Sāvitri and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.

Festive finale BBC Proms in the Park spreads further on the Last Night than ever before with all the fun of the Last Night of the Proms spilling out of the Royal Albert Hall and into big outdoor events in Belfast, Glasgow, London, and Swansea, with Manchester joining the party for the first time. As in previous years each city will have its own distinctive concert before joining together with big-screen link-ups for the live relay of the famous finale. The concerts are broadcast live across BBC Radio and Television including Radio 2, Radio Wales, Radio Scotland, Radio Ulster and GMR plus highlights of all five events shown as part of the live coverage of the Last Night of the Proms on BBC ONE and BBC TWO. 

The BBC Proms 2004 contains full details of the complete programme of concerts, along with articles about the music and artists, and a priority booking form. Priced £5.00, it is available from all good bookshops and can be ordered from the BBC Shop, 50 Margaret Street, W1W 8SF; telephone 0870 241 5490. Booking facilities are also available on the BBC Proms website,  www.bbc.co.uk/proms, itself a comprehensive source of information and insight into the 2004 Proms season. 

The Corrs and Ramon Vargas join Hyde Park line up:
BBC Proms in the Park, Saturday 11 September
Event sponsored by Renault UK Ltd
BBC Press Release 15 June 2004

• Terry Wogan, Evelyn Glennie, Operatunity winners and conductor Carl Davis also among the stars in Hyde Park

• Afternoon entertainment from Bjorn Again, Salsa Celtica and Ray Gelato

• Biggest Proms in the Park ever with Last Night events in London, Belfast, Glasgow, Swansea and Manchester

• BBC Family Prom in the Park Celebrates Disney’s Enchanted Evening on Sunday 12 September featuring classics from the great Disney films with the BBC Concert Orchestra on stage

Saturday 11 September – Hyde Park

Top International Irish band The Corrs have been added to the Hyde Park line-up for BBC Proms in the Park on September 11. The hugely popular band will perform a special orchestrated set on stage in the park to celebrate the Last Night of the Proms, along with acclaimed Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas and a host of other stars. 

World-renowned percussionist Evelyn Glennie and winners of the popular TV series Operatunity Denise Leigh and Jane Gilchrist are among the other stars who join the BBC Concert Orchestra to perform some of the nation’s best-loved music. The legendary Carl Davis conducts. Terry Wogan once again hosts the evening’s entertainment and the Royal Choral Society leads the singing as the 2004 Proms season comes to its rousing conclusion. Celebrations begin in the late afternoon when Radio 2’s Ken Bruce presents ABBA tribute stars Björn Again, the colourful Scottish/Latin group Salsa Celtica and jazz performer Ray Gelato.

Sunday 12 September – Hyde Park

The Hyde Park celebrations continue with a family event on Sunday 12 September. This year the BBC Children’s Prom in the Park celebrates Disney’s Enchanted Evening. This collaboration between the BBC Proms in the Park and Disney features the music of favourite classic Disney movies such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Mary Poppins. There will be plenty of action and surprise guests joining the BBC Concert Orchestra on stage, and big screens will carry footage of the featured films. The event will culminate in a spectacular finale.

Saturday 11 September – Belfast, Swansea, Manchester & Glasgow

Following the huge success of Proms in the Park in all four nations of the United Kingdom for the first time in 2003, the 2004 Last Night celebrations go one further as Manchester joins the party. With events in London, Belfast, Swansea, Glasgow and Manchester this will be the biggest year yet for Proms in the Park. As in previous years each city will have its own distinctive concert before joining together with big-screen link-ups for the live relay of the famous finale of the Last Night of the Proms from the Royal Albert Hall.

Bill Morris, Project Director, BBC Live Events, says: ‘We thought BBC Proms in the Park couldn’t get any bigger than holding events in all four nations of the United Kingdom, but we are delighted to welcome Manchester in 2004, making the biggest Last Night of the Proms celebrations to date.’

Manchester joins for the first time for an event using the backdrop of URBIS in the grounds of the Cathedral Gardens featuring former BBC Young Musician of the Year winner Jennifer Pike and the world-class Hallé Orchestra conducted by John Wilson.

Northern Ireland hosts BBC Proms in the Park for the third time with audiences in the grounds of City Hall in Belfast’s Donegall Square joining the Ulster Orchestra for a feast of entertainment. Conducted by Thierry Fischer, songs come courtesy of acclaimed baritone Bruno Caproni and home-grown star, flautist James Galway.

In Swansea the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is conducted by Grant Llewellyn. National favourite Aled Jones presents the concert and is joined by Welsh tenor Dennis O’Neill, Broadway star Kim Criswell and the all-girl string quartet Celticana, while at Glasgow’s Pacific Quay the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra joins the fun for the second year. Fresh from winning BBC Young Musician of the Year 2004, Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti performs on stage with a whole host of stars including acoustic guitar phenomenon Martin Taylor.

BBC Proms in the Park, a regular fixture of the Last Night of the Proms since 1996, is now an established part of the BBC Proms season attracting capacity audiences to London’s Hyde Park and other venues throughout the UK. The concerts are broadcast live across BBC Radio and Television. Radio 2 broadcasts live coverage from Hyde Park, and BBC Radio Wales, Scotland, Ulster and GMR will broadcast their local events. Televised highlights of all five Proms in the Park will be shown as part of BBC1 and BBC2’s live coverage of the Last Night of the Proms. 

Digital satellite, Freeview and digital cable viewers can press the red button to access an interactive TV service for the Last Night of the Proms on BBC2 and BBC1. The interactive service will enable digital satellite and digital cable viewers to access programme notes for the concert in the Royal Albert Hall and live footage from Proms in the Park concerts across the country. Freeview viewers will be able to access programme notes for the concert in the Royal Albert Hall and live footage from Hyde Park.

Ticket Information:

The BBC Proms in the Park website provides full details and booking facilities for each concert at www.bbc.co.uk/proms/pitp.

Tickets available as follows:

BBC Proms in the Park, London (Saturday 11 September)
Hyde Park. Gates open 4.00pm; entertainment on stage from 5.30pm
Tickets: £19.00 (under-3s free)
Telephone booking: 0870 899 8100 (24 hrs national rate, £2 transaction fee applicable) and (after 14 June) from the Royal Albert Hall on 020 7589 8212 (9.00am–9.00pm, £2 transaction fee applicable) or online via www.bbc.co.uk/proms

BBC Proms in the Park, Belfast (Saturday 11 September)
Donegall Square. Admission by FREE ticket. For information call 0870 333 1918.

BBC Proms in the Park, Swansea (Saturday 11 September)
Singleton Park. Tickets: £6.50 in advance or £8.00 on the day (under-12s free), from the BBC Call NOW line on 08700 13 1812 or the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01792 475 715, or in person from the Grand Theatre Box Office, Singleton Street, Swansea SA1 3QJ.

BBC Proms in the Park, Glasgow (Saturday 11 September)
Pacific Quay. Admission by FREE ticket (available from 1 July). For information call 08700 100 300.

BBC Proms in the Park, Manchester (Saturday 11 September)
URBIS, Cathedral Gardens. Admission by FREE ticket (available from 12 June). For information call 08700 100 300.

BBC Children’s Prom in the Park celebrates Disney’s Enchanted Evening (Sunday 12 September)
Hyde Park. Gates open 5.00pm; entertainment on stage from 6.30pm. Event ends at 8.30pm
Tickets £12 (adults) £7.50 (children 3-16; under-3s free)
Telephone booking: 0870 899 8001 (24 hrs national rate, £2 transaction fee applicable) and (after 14 June) from the Royal Albert Hall on 020 7589 8212 (9.00am–9.00pm, £2 transaction fee applicable) or online via www.bbc.co.uk/proms.

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