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Friday, July 21, 2006

Prom 1: 14 July

If the First Night of the Proms is anything to go by, this Proms season promises to be a very satisfying one indeed.
The Marriage of Figaro overture was crisp, & I felt had the right balance of humour and precision.
Barbara Frittoli had fluidity and lyricism in her rendition of the Mozart arias. Jiri Belohlavek rose to the fore with his interpretation of Smetana's Ma Vlast-Vltava. The BBC Symphony Orchestra has a new spring in their step, as Charles Hazlewood aptly put it, under his baton.
I was not familiar with Dvorak's Te Deum. The BBC Interactive service filled me in, and I learnt a lot about this piece through the service.
The piece de resistance for me was the Shostakovich 5. I love this piece, & I think both conductor & orchestra gave an insightful performance of the work.
All in all, a ground-thumping start to the Proms. Well done!

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