Preview: Bristol Proms 2015

Three years after the first edition cocked a snook at the classical establishment (no shushing, feel free to take pictures as long as you tweet them IMMEDIATELY), Bristol Proms is back. And, this year, Bristol Old Vic’s annual festival of fresh looks at classical music has itchy feet.

The Paintshop, studio and Georgian grandeur of the Old Vic’s main house are still ‘home’, of course. But the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Night Shift embarks on a pub crawl (not for the first time, either). Returning Bristol Proms favourites include violinist Daniel Hope, the Erebus Ensemble, pianist Jan Lisiecki, and, fresh from last year’s Dido and Aeneas, South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza.

Newbies for Proms ’15 include trumpeter Alison Balsom and, following a memorable Concierto de Aranjuez in the Colston Hall’s Classical Series, star guitarist Milos Karadaglic – or Milos to his friends and record label. Bach meets modern minimalism courtesy of the intrepid Sinfonia Cymru, and Erebus supersizes to 40 parts for surround-sound Tudor style.

Highlights include:

Beethoven in the Dark, July 27

“From the heart may it go straight to the heart” Beethoven inscribed on his Missa Solemnis – and, when it comes to his late string quartet in C sharp minor Op. 131, the estimable Carducci Quartet is taking him literally. They’re learning it by heart to perform the work from memory in a darkened Studio performance (a Bristol Proms speciality). Time to hold the breath (and maybe not tweet). The Carduccis also return on 30 July for a digitally enhanced performance of Beethoven’s late A-minor quartet, with its spellbinding Heilige Dankgesang movement.

Tchaikovsky vs Brahms, July 27

Brahms, it has to be said, wasn’t a huge fan of Tchaikovsky. And Tchaikovsky famously called Brahms a ‘talentless bastard’. Tonight marks violinist Daniel Hope’s return to the Proms after last year’ Vivaldi Four Seasons, as reimagined by Max Richter. This time he’s joined by his own hand-picked Bristol Proms Ensemble for Brahms’ voluptuous string sextet Op. 111 and Tchaikovsky’s Italian postcard home: the Souvenir de Florence. 

My Life in Song: Pumeza Matshikiza, July 28

After last summer’s Dido, Matshikiza returns in thoughtful mood with poems and works charting her life in music. Long-term collaborator Charles Hazlewood and his specially convened Bristol Proms Chamber Orchestra lend support for music by Bizet, Fauré and Puccini, as well as numbers reflecting her South African roots.

Late Night Trumpet: Alison Balsom, July 29

Three-times winner of the Classical BRIT Awards, and Gramophone Artist of the Year 2013, Alison Balsom Is the trumpet’s answer to violinist Nicola Benedetti – an outstanding soloist with a deep-seated care for nurturing emerging talent. Backed by a dozen instrumentalists and harpsichord continuo, Balsom indulges in a little late-night music-making via Bach, Handel, Britten and Stravinsky.

Jan Lisiecki, July 30

In the very first Bristol Proms, Canadian-Polish pianist Jan Lisiecki performed against large-screen images of himself filmed from all angles. This time he appears with visuals specially envisaged by Rod MacLachlan, in a programme that sets the protean muscularity of Bach’s C minor partita against proto-lullabies by Mozart and Chopin, plus Rachmaninov’s brooding E-flat minor Elegie Op. 3 No. 1.  

From Bach to the Beatles, July 31

There’s more Proms Bach as star guitarist Milos Karadaglic returns to Bristol following a solo recital at St George’s, and a concerto appearance at the Colston Hall alongside the Brussels Philharmonic. Newly-commissioned arrangements of songs by the Beatles crown a wide-ranging programme that includes the mighty chaconne from Bach’s partita for solo violin in D minor. Unmissable! 

Bristol Proms runs from Monday, July 27 to Saturday, August 1. Find full listings at www.bristololdvic.org.uk/proms2015.html

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On Monday, Bristol’s official fanfare for the city – commissioned by the Bristol Proms – will be heard for the first time. The winning fanfare is written by David Mitcham, an award-winning Wiltshire composer.

You can catch the fanfare at the following places:

• 8.30am Outside the Engine Shed – next to Temple Meads Station
• 11am Watershed balcony
• 1.30pm From the top of Wills Memorial Bell Tower
• 5.30pm Bristol Old Vic