Latest news with #BBCProms
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bradford City of Culture year hits half-way mark
The start of July has marked the half-way point of Bradford's year as 2025 UK City of far, the city has been treated to a whole series of special events, including a live performance from hometown magician Stephen Frayne, art exhibitions across the district and a para-orchestra marching through the organisers have promised there is still much more to come in the second half of the year, including more live music, a food festival and the prestigious Turner Prize are just some of the highlights due to take place in Bradford over the coming months: The Railway Children A stage adaptation of E. Nesbit's classic novel The Railway Children will be performed at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway from 15 July until 7 heritage line runs steam and diesel trains through the countryside and became famous when it appeared in the 1970 film version of The Railway will take place twice a day between Wednesdays and Sundays, with tickets costing from £15. BBC Proms Five-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo will present a special concert in Bradford as part of BBC Beninese-French singer-songwriter will perform at St George's Hall on 7 September, with standing tickets costing from £8 and those for the stalls costing from £18. World Curry Festival The UK's curry capital is hosting the World Curry Festival between 15 and 30 and and line-up will be announced soon, according to the City of Culture team. Turner Prize The Turner Prize, an annual award for contemporary visual art, is awarded to a British artist, or one working primarily in Britain, for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the preceding by the shortlisted artists – Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa – will feature at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery from 27 September. The winner will then be announced in Bradford on 9 December. The CBeebies Panto The CBeebies annual panto be recorded at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford on 11 and 12 October. Most tickets are sold out for the production of Cinderella, but there a few seats left for the 16:30 BST show on 11 October. Other highlights Loaded Laughs have two stand-up comedy events coming up at The Beacon in July and Loading Bay in AugustBD: Festival returns for a two-day takeover in the city centre on 25 and 26 JulyShadmanny, a festival celebrating South Asian wedding culture, takes place on 10 AugustFilms such as Everybody Talks About Jamie and Sexy Beast will be at the open-air cinema at Ilkley LidoNumerous performances, including those by the likes of Bill Bailey, Rob Brydon and Jo Whiley, will take place at the new Bradford Live venue Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Sydney Morning Herald
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Composer, conductor, Buddhist and model: Inside the restless mind of Eric Whitacre
Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre took a deep breath and pitched his germ of a musical idea to the head of London's BBC Proms. 'It would be Vangelis meets Thomas Tallis,″ he says. To his surprise, his proposed marriage of electronica and 16th-century vocal music got the thumbs up. Eternity in an Hour debuted at the Royal Albert Hall last year and is poised to make its Australian premiere with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Whitacre is a musical rarity: a popular, highly regarded composer, conductor and performer who straddles the divide between classical and contemporary music. He has an aura of rock star glamour as crosses his Sydney hotel foyer in black jeans and sweater. With collar-length hair and chiselled good looks – he could be Sting's much younger brother – he looks more the techno band member he once was than a conductor at home on podiums around the globe. It's the third time he has worked with the Philharmonia's young adult ensemble VOX, who co-commissioned the piece with the Proms and Flemish Radio Choir. Whitacre will perform a range of electronics while conducting the work also scored for choir, piano and cello. Its title is based on a stanza from William Blake's poem Auguries of Innocence: To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. Whitacre first read the poem in his early 20s and admires its eloquent meditation on impermanence and the interconnectedness of all things.
The Age
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Composer, conductor, Buddhist and model: Inside the restless mind of Eric Whitacre
Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre took a deep breath and pitched his germ of a musical idea to the head of London's BBC Proms. 'It would be Vangelis meets Thomas Tallis,″ he says. To his surprise, his proposed marriage of electronica and 16th-century vocal music got the thumbs up. Eternity in an Hour debuted at the Royal Albert Hall last year and is poised to make its Australian premiere with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Whitacre is a musical rarity: a popular, highly regarded composer, conductor and performer who straddles the divide between classical and contemporary music. He has an aura of rock star glamour as crosses his Sydney hotel foyer in black jeans and sweater. With collar-length hair and chiselled good looks – he could be Sting's much younger brother – he looks more the techno band member he once was than a conductor at home on podiums around the globe. It's the third time he has worked with the Philharmonia's young adult ensemble VOX, who co-commissioned the piece with the Proms and Flemish Radio Choir. Whitacre will perform a range of electronics while conducting the work also scored for choir, piano and cello. Its title is based on a stanza from William Blake's poem Auguries of Innocence: To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. Whitacre first read the poem in his early 20s and admires its eloquent meditation on impermanence and the interconnectedness of all things.
New Straits Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: MPO teams up with violin virtuoso Bomsori Kim
THE Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) continues its tradition of exceptional musical collaborations, this time featuring South Korean violin virtuoso Bomsori Kim. Kim's performance, this Saturday at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP), will mark her debut with the MPO. "I'm thrilled to perform Bruch's Violin Concerto with the MPO in Kuala Lumpur. I've heard about the warm, enthusiastic audiences here and it'll be my first time playing there, so I'm excited to share this experience together," the 35-year-old shared in an email interview with Groove. She added: "Performing with new partners is always inspiring. I love how an orchestra and a soloist connect. I hope the audience feels the blend of deep emotions and technical refinement in the music that we are creating. Kim, a regular guest at renowned music festivals across Europe and a prizewinner of many prestigious violin competitions, has been honoured with the Young Artist Award from the South Korean Ministry of Culture. She has performed under acclaimed conductors such as Paavo Jarvi and Fabio Luisi, captivating audiences in Hong Kong, London, New York and Los Angeles with her exceptional musicality. The MPO now joins the ranks of her illustrious orchestral collaborations, which include the New York Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. Together with the MPO, Kim will enchant the DFP audience with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, a work celebrated for its brilliant lyricism. Completed in 1866, this piece opens with the MPO's vigorous and energetic musicianship before the soloist enters with a full, gypsy-like theme and virtuosic flair. A distingushed career In February 2021, Kim signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in Berlin. Highlights of Kim's 2024/25 season include opening with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali, making her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, and touring with the Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hrusa in Germany and Asia. She is also set to debut with the RSB Orchestra Berlin, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and at Wigmore Hall. Additionally, she will return to the Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and Ryan Bancroft, and to Hong Kong with Jarvi. Recent career milestones include her debuts at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic and at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She has also toured with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and Jarvi, and made her debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Spanish National Orchestra. Kim has performed with the Vienna Symphony at the Vienna Konzerthaus and made her Concertgebouw debut with the Residentie Orchestra. This highly experienced violinist is a regular guest at renowned festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and Verbier Festival. In 2021, she became the Focus Artist of the Rheingau Musik Festival and began a five-year residency at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival as a Menuhin's Heritage Artist. Her discography with Deutsche Grammophon includes Violin on Stage with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic and a duo album with Rafal Blechacz featuring works by Faure, Debussy, Szymanowski, and Chopin, which won the Fryderyk Music Award for Best Polish Album Abroad. Her latest recording of the Nielsen Violin Concerto with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi won the 2024 Gramophone Award. Born in South Korea, Kim studied at Seoul National University with Young Uck Kim and at The Juilliard School with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes. Kim shared that watching fellow South Korean Kyung-Wha Chung at age 5 was a pivotal moment that deeply moved her and shaped her approach to music. "Chung inspired me with her direct, emotional tone. I also learned from every great musician I've worked with; each collaboration has shaped my voice. "Another moment was when performing Shostakovich Concerto in Montreal, the audience gasped at the cadenza. It was a breakthrough for me," explained Kim, who performs on the 1725 Guarnerius del Gesu violin 'ex-Moller', generously loaned by The Samsung Foundation of Culture and The Stradivari Society of Chicago. Despite demanding schedule, Kim prioritises her fitness routines. "I do yoga almost daily even while touring. it keeps my body flexible, prevents strain from long practices and helps me stay relaxed and focused," said Kim, who is a proponent of yoga, combining physical stretching with mental calm. Beyond her physical wellbeing, she dedicates considerable time to rehearsals. "I study rehearsals carefully, record them, and then mentally rehearse and imagine performing on stage. "That preparation builds confidence. Before going on stage, I will calm myself, focusing on the mood of the opening piece. That mental space prepares me to swim freely in the music," she added. t the upcoming concert, conductor Jaume Santonja returns to lead tha MPO for an evening of sweeping romanticism and passionate tonal colours. The MPO will open the concert with Overture to Byron's 'Manfred', composed by Schumann and based on Byron's great dramatic poem. In addition to the evening performance, Kim will host a violin masterclass on June 26 at 6pm at DFP for music enthusiasts.
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Berlioz and Ravel album review – his orchestra is responsive to Mäkelä's every move
Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris gave an unforgettable performance of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique at the BBC Proms last September, the electric atmosphere of which is not quite replicated on this recording, made in Paris a few months later. It's all played with consummate skill by an orchestra who are clearly responsive to their conductor's every move, as they were in Royal Albert Hall, and Mäkelä's shaping of Berlioz's music, from the gentle, vibratoless violins at the beginning to the careering witches' dance of the finale, remains highly coloured and full of impact. Yet it all feels a little clinical; the edge-of-the-seat excitement is missing. Perhaps it has been engineered out: the sound feels over-tweaked, and although the spatial effects at the beginning of the third movement – with the cor anglais duetting with a faraway oboe – come over beautifully, elsewhere it sometimes feels as though we're being shown exactly what to listen to. The symphony is paired with Ravel's La Valse, which fares better: the orchestra are again on sparkling form but here the energy keeps on fizzing. Mäkelä keeps the tempo whirling and the momentum rising; by the end the whole thing feels held together by centrifugal force alone. This article includes content hosted on We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Listen on Apple Music (above) or Spotify
