MUSIC
The Proms EVERY year, just when the musical journalist's brain is finally emptied of its last idea after an almost unbroken ten months' season of seven concerts a week, the Promenade season begins. Some years it is only too clear that there is either nothing new to say about these concerts or, if there is, it has escaped the notice of those whose duty it is to "introduce" them to the public. The fact is that, • like all popular figures and institutions, they "need no introduction." What may be of some use to those who have not seen the complete list of programmes, are the names of a few unusual or comparatively new works and the dates of their performance. There are thirteen first performances, or first London performances, this season and ten of these are of native works. Five of these are concertos- Malcolni Arnold's for pianoforte duet and strings (July 31st), Arthur Benjamin's for harmonica (August 15th), Lennox Berkeley's for flute (July 29th), Gordon Jacob's for violin (August 21st) and Graham Whettam's for oboe and strings (August 13th). The only new symphony is Iain Hamilton's second (September 7th), which had its first hearing at Cheltenham. Unclassified but none the less worthy of attention are Michael Tippett's Fantasia Concertante on a theme of Corelli (September 3rd), Walton's Coronation Te Delon (July 27th), Howells's Kent Yeoman's Wooing Song (September 10th), and Maurice Johnstone's The Oak and the Ash (August 26th). Of the three 'foreign novelties Frank Martin's Petite Symphonie Con- certante (August 7th) in its original version for harp, harpsichord, pianoforte and strings, is 'to be whole-heartedly recommended. The other two pieces are Malipiero's seventh symphony (September 2nd) and Joseph Jongen's Symphonie Concertante for organ and
Previous page
