Contemporary Music
I often take a punt with the Proms and this year it was the Urban Classic Prom, attracted by new favourite Laura Mvula. I was more at home with the soul of Mvula, Maverick Sabre & Jacob Banks than the hip hop / rap of Fazer, Wretch 32 and Lady Leshurr (what names!), but the combination was compelling, the atmosphere was extraordinary and the respect of the ‘urban’ crowd for the BBC SO was wonderful to behold. I could have done without the intros, but hey that’s a small quibble. Put together by conductor /arranger Jules Buckley, this was a brave experiment that worked big-time, moving the Proms on again and finding yet another new audience.
I’ve seen Martha Wainwright a few times before, but her Union Chapel concert was at another level altogether. Her voice soared, packed full of passion and sincerity, with just acoustic guitar for accompaniment. Her sound seems even more unique than ever, but she’s also clearly very happy and for the first time her infectious eccentric charm cast a spell (with self-deprecating humour and faux bitchiness about brother Rufus). Her 3-year-old son almost stole the show when he accompanied his dad on stage; this could have been indulgent, but it came over as more charm, making you think how much fun it would be to have Sunday lunch at the Wainwrights. Great support from Luke Sital-Singh (who used to be an usher there!) and a terrific evening overall.
Classical Music
The Proms rarely disappoint, but this year my third (and last) did. In the first half, Holst’s ‘Hindu’ symphonic poem Indra was paired with the world premiere of Nishat Khan‘s sitar concerto. The former seemed slight and uninspiring and the latter just didn’t work – the sitar and orchestra appeared to be in competition rather than harmony; their styles didn’t compliment and the sitar sometimes fought to be heard. In the second half, Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony lacked sparkle, not helped by audience additions, notably a mobile phone ringing (and being answered!) just at the point where the harp is playing solo, drowning it out and destroying the atmosphere.
Film
If Alpha Papa was a feature-length episode of a TV series, I’d have been happy. I’m not sure it justifies it’s cinema release though. It’s often funny and the character of Alan Partridge has, somewhat surprisingly, evolved and endured, but it’s not really good enough for such a high profile release.
Art
A trio of exhibitions at Tate Britain, led by a major Lowry retrospective. There is a limit to the number of Lowry pictures one can take before they appear very formulaic; towards the end it began to feel like chimneys, terraces and stick people assembled in different configurations, and the people became more like caricatures. Though he is unique in portraying early 20th century British industrial life, and I admired and liked much of the paintings on show, it is a case of more-is-less. Mind you, after you’ve taken a look at the Gary Hume & Patrick Caulfield exhibitions, your admiration of Lowry shoots up! Caulfield is the better of the two, but neither excite.
The annual Travel Photography exhibition at the RGS was up to its usual standard. It comes to something when you think you take good photos but you’re in awe of the talent of a 10-year-old Indonesian boy! Across the road and in the park, the Serpentine Gallery is hosting another of those take-it-or-leave it shows (Sturtevant), but Sou Fujimoto’s 2013 Pavilion outside is lovely. A bus ride to Piccadilly and there we were in superstar architect Richard Rogers very personal Royal Academy show. Lots of those building models I so adore (especially the ones of the unbuilt) with lots of philosophical ramblings to go with them.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 