The BBC has had a bit of bother in recent weeks, so let’s find something positive to say: the 2023 Proms season kicked off over the weekend. If you’ve been listening to any of the Beeb’s many radio channels, it’s been hard to avoid the insistent claims that this is “the world’s greatest classical music festival”. Perhaps it is, and if some of the repertoire feels a little bland, there’s plenty that’s inviting, whatever your taste. But do we really need two concerts in the same season featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons?
Well, maybe not “need”, but neither concert is a conventional take. Later in the season, Britten Sinfonia offers Max Richter’s post-minimalist recasting, while last night, to round off the opening weekend, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen played a version devised by Finnish conductor and violinist Pekka Kuusisto.
