6 things to see at the Proms (if you think you don't like classical music)
You don't have to know your Schubert from your Schumann to have a ball at the Albert Hall
±«Óãtv Proms Season Launch 2015
Look ahead to the 2015 season of the world's largest classical music festival.
Think you don't like classical music? Lucky you - it means your moment is still to come, and you'll never forget it when it happens. You'll be watching a film, or in a restaurant, or anywhere, and suddenly a piece of music will catch you unawares. You'll ask what it is and it'll be , or , or and that's it, you're off. At that moment, a gate will open into a whole world you previously thought impenetrable. You'll realise, in fact, that music is just music and it's either good or bad, whether it's chart pop, thrash metal or classical.
The Proms are for everyone. On any day, you can roll up with just a fiver in your pocket and buy a standing ticket - . If you've never done that before, make a promise that you will in 2015. Go up to the Gallery, turn off your phone, lie down on the floor, listen - you won't regret it. Pick something at random or try one of these recommendations, any of which prove just how musically wide the Proms programme is.
Prom 8: Late Night With … ±«Óãtv Asian Network, July 22, 10.15pm
Something special - a Prom to celebrate 50 years of Asian Programmes on the ±«Óãtv, hosted by Asian Network presenter (above) and featuring Indian singers , , alongside producer , and the . Bollywood meets UK urban and pop, and Richard Davis conducting an orchestra - only at the Proms could that happen.
Prom 13: Holst - The Planets, July 27, 7.30pm
Holst: The Planets
Stephen Johnson explores Holst's The Planets.
, , - all influenced by 's The Planets, all incorporated parts of its seven movements (one for each of the known planets in 1914, when work began on the piece) into their own music. To hear the full composition live is an immense experience, and for this performance celebrated violinist joins the .
Prom 19: Alina Ibragimova plays Bach, July 31, 10.15pm
Bach: Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002 (extract)
An extract from Bach: Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002
It's Friday night, July 31, you're out for a couple of drinks in London with friends and maybe you're feeling a little bit tipsy. Do you have another drink? No, don't; instead, go and hear the brilliant play two solo sonatas and one partita at 10.15pm. One violin filling the entire Albert Hall. It will be, we promise, absolutely mesmerising.
Prom 27: Late Night With… ±«Óãtv Radio 6 Music, August 5, 10.15pm
Nils Frahm: Is Classical the New Rock 'n' Roll?
German pianist Nils Frahm discusses whether classical music is cool again.
6 Music's Mary Anne Hobbs is presenting this Prom and you know what that means - something slightly different. The presenter has invited both German pianist and ambient duo to explore the boundaries between classical music, pop and electronics, alongside London Brass and members of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. Even seasoned prom-goers will be taken to a new realm.
Prom 59: Life Story Prom, August 30, 3.30pm
Baby-sitting monkeys
A juvenile langur monkey takes an unconventional approach to baby-sitting.
once said, "When the Proms season comes, life changes; a kind of light comes into your diary." He's absolutely right, and he'd be more than amused to know that a Prom he's presenting - excerpts from the original score by to his series - is one of 2015's most hotly anticipated events. Get there early on Sunday August 30 to grab one of the 1,350 standing tickets.
Prom 74: Wireless Nights Prom With Jarvis Cocker, September 10, 10.15pm
Presented by Jarvis Cocker with Maxime Tortelier conducting the , Radio 4 show becomes a live concert experience, pairing music and spoken word inspired by the night. Jarvis says it'll be "a nocturnal investigation of the human condition", which means just about anything could happen and probably will. Unmissable.
