Intermezzo

Proms Guide 2014

The Proms guide, or BBC Proms 2014: The Official Guide as it's technically known, can now be pre-ordered from Amazon at the slightly discounted price of £5.20 including delivery (full price £6.50).

It's not 'released' until the day of the official season announcement, 24 April. However readers have previously reported it being delivered on the release date, if not the day before, giving you the opportunity to whinge about this year's programme hours before anyone else. An unbeatable offer.

Stemme sings Salome at Proms

Full details of the Deutsche Oper Berlin's visit to the Proms are now up on their website.

30 August is the date for a concert performance of Salome, with Nina Stemme in the title role and Donald Runnicles wielding the baton. 

Strauss-lovers will  be pleased to hear that this performance is just part of a wide-ranging anniversary celebration at the Proms.

(UPDATE - the website page has now been deleted - obviously DOB's collective wrist has been slapped by the Proms secret police).

More Proms to watch

All the Cadogan Hall chamber music Proms were filmed this year.

They won't be shown on TV for several months, but you can watch them here (in handy bite-size chunks). Warning- as you may be able to tell from the example above, the sound balance can be a little peculiar.

Backstage with Barenboim at the Proms Ring

The German TV channel RBB trailed Daniel Barenboim and his Staatskapelle Berlin all the way from Tegel airport to the Royal Albert Hall. The resulting documentary offers an intriguing glimpse of what went into producing the Proms Ring cycle - plus a sugar-coated view of London. Mostly in German, but don't let that put you off.

If you can't see it below, try RBB's website. May take a while to load.

Gotterdammerung at the Proms

Götterdämmerung - Royal Albert Hall, 28 July 2013

It's not often I reach the end of a concert wishing I could experience it all over again - especially one six hours long. The final episode of Daniel Barenboim's Ring cycle wasn't perfect - when is it ever? - but there were some truly heartstopping moments.

Tannhauser ticket giveaway

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous reader, I have a stalls ticket (face value £38) for the Proms Tannhäuser on 4 August to give away.  

But don't jump yet!  To allow more people a chance, the giveaway will be at 12.05pm tomorrow, 30 July.

I will post a Wagner-related question, and the first person to email me with the correct answer gets the ticket. Keep your eyes peeled.