BBC 6 Minute English | THE PROMS | English CC | Daily Listening

source: Daily Listening    2016年10月11日
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0:06 Now, Neil, are you doing anything interesting tonight?
0:09 Well, I was thinking of popping down to - that means visiting - my local pub to catch a band.
0:17 What about you?
0:18 Well, my wife and I have got tickets for the Proms tonight.
0:22 The Proms?
0:23 You mean that ceremony for high school leavers?
0:27 I thought you left school decades ago, Finn.
0:30 Ah yes, very funny, Neil.
0:32 Actually, yeah, it was almost two decades ago.
0:35 Anyway, the Proms I'm talking about have nothing to do with that.
0:40 These Proms, or as they're also known, the BBC Proms, are the biggest classical music
0:46 festival in the world, and they're held in London every summer.
0:49 Ah, yes, of course I know the Proms.
0:52 And I've even watched the Last Night of the Proms with all those waving flags and the
0:57 patriotic singing by the audience.
1:00 Not really my thing.
1:01 I know what you mean, but you shouldn't judge the Proms by the concert on the last night,
1:06 Neil.
1:07 It's not really typical.
1:08 Although it is watched by millions of people around the world.
1:11 And you know, the Proms is also a very old festival... but, how old, Neil?
1:16 Is it: a) 57 years?
1:18 b) 84 years?
1:19 c) 120 years old?
1:21 Well, I don't know, so I'm going to guess and say 84 years.
1:30 OK.
1:31 Well, we'll find out the answer to that question later.
1:33 OK.
1:34 So, come on then Finn, sell the Proms to me.
1:37 What is it that I'm missing?
1:39 Well, rather a lot, actually.
1:41 It's not stuck-up - that means a bit superior - in fact, I think there's something for everyone.
1:47 For example, you might hear something like this...
1:58 Wow!
2:06 That was pretty dramatic.
2:07 It really grips you, doesn't it?
2:10 What was it?
2:11 Well, that was from the first movement of Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony.
2:16 And at the end you would hear the Prommers showing their appreciation by cheering and
2:21 clapping.
2:22 Right, so it's almost like Glastonbury, then!
2:26 So that's the point you're making, is it - the Proms make classical music accessible to everyone.
2:32 But who are these Prommers?
2:34 Ah, well for an answer to that, let's hear from the Director of the BBC Proms, Edward
2:40 Blakeman.
2:41 So the Prommers, are quite literally the people who stand to listen to the concerts.
2:46 And there is space for about 800 people, right in the middle of the hall.
2:51 And this is a long tradition, back, going through the Proms.
2:54 And it's wonderful because it costs very little, and it means that almost anyone can afford
3:00 to come to the Proms.
3:01 So it is a wonderful place for all sorts of people to meet together, and by the way, it's
3:06 the best place in the hall to hear the music.
3:09 Now, the hall that he's talking about is the Royal Albert Hall in London - and the Prommers
3:15 are the people who come and stand as they listen to the music.
3:19 You know, Neil, it's only £5 a ticket.
3:22 Right, so you stand?
3:24 That sounds like a proper gig.
3:26 I think I might just give it a go, Finn.
3:28 So, you've been trying to persuade me that it's quite informal.
3:31 But, at the same time you do get all those big, fancy classical music names, don't you?
3:37 You do, absolutely.
3:38 The top soloists - whether that's on the piano, the violin or any other instrument, or singing
3:45 - they all perform at the Proms.
3:47 As do very big orchestras.
3:50 And I believe the BBC commissions new works from time to time.
3:54 I was even told about rock musicians playing there.
3:57 Can that be right, Finn?
3:58 Well, yes Neil.
3:59 That's actually true.
4:01 The whole range of music is becoming wider year by year.
4:05 They also screen concerts to other cities, they hold lunchtime and children's concerts,
4:12 they even play Indian classical music, like this type of thing...
4:18 What, playing sitars (and tablas) at the Proms?
4:24 Yes.
4:25 But the core of the eight-week festival is devoted to the heavyweight composers of the
4:30 last 400 years - Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and so on.
4:38 Let me play you another extract of that Tchaikovsky symphony now Neil.
4:42 Tell me what you think of this.
4:50 Now, that was totally different.
5:06 Much slower and quite sad.
5:09 Yes, every symphony, concerto, or sonata will have a slow movement and it will often be
5:17 deeply emotional.
5:18 Well, you can't beat live music.
5:20 So, I must get going.
5:22 Oh yeah?
5:23 Are you off to see that gig at the pub, Neil?
5:25 Actually, yes.
5:26 Or, you know what?
5:28 I might go and catch a Prom after all.
5:30 OK.
5:31 Well, before you hurry off, I have to give you the answer to the quiz.
5:35 I asked how many years has the BBC Proms been going?
5:39 And I said 84.
5:41 And I'm sorry, Neil.
5:43 That's the wrong answer.
5:44 Oh no.
5:45 The correct answer was actually 120 years.