Why the Proms still matter

Every April for as long as I can remember I have ripped open the BBC Proms Guide a few days ahead of publication in search of coming summer thrills. A sad life, I know, but not without meaning.

Because the Proms have set, in high times and low, the standard on which orchestral music is judged in this benighted kingdon.

In the high times of the 1980s and 90s, when the London orchestras had world-class conductors and packed houses, the Proms had to fight for access to star names and big events. In the low times, post-Brexit, when London has lost orchestral allure and its prime concert venues are in retreat from classical music, the Proms are the last shop-window of an artform that no longer functions year-round.

Sad, but true.

So what about the coming season? I am sworn to silence on content for another couple of days, but the runes look promising. The Proms are under new management, curated by Radio 3 chief Sam Jackson after a decade of BBC dumb-downing and diversity do-gooding. Things, at first glance, are looking up. The programme book has more intelligent articles and agendas than I can recall for a long while and the choice of music and artists throughout the season is consistently surprising  – in a good way.

There are no visiting US orchestras to froghten the horses in Hyde Park, but seven of Europe’s finest are in attendance. Simon Rattle finds an unexpected orchestral partner. Two hardcore big British bangers are given full value. A French composer unknown to me presents a maiden symphony. There are concessions still to BBC cross-promotion, one of them especially egregious, but on the whole this looks like the Proms in recovery mode, and it could not come at a better time.

While the Arts Council has progressively abandoned dead, white art-forms, the Proms are the flag-carrier for serious music. On Thursday, all will be revealed.

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