Today at the Proms - Prom 15 & 16

Continuing our daily coverage of what's on at The Proms 2019, Susan Omand has a quick look at the programme for Prom 15: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – 1 and Prom 16: Late Night – Angélique Kidjo ...



Prom 16 will be broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday



Two Proms promised today. Looking at the late one first and, really, I'm not sure what to expect with it. Angélique Kidjo has won four Grammy awards for her African inspired albums but it's her latest album, Celia, a tribute to the salsa singer Celia Cruz, that forms the basis for tonight's concert. And it's salsa with a twist as Kidjo has taken Cruz's music back to its West African roots as the songs came over to the Americas with the slave workers. It may be brilliant, it may not.



The earlier prom though is definitely more within my classical comfort zone with Shostakovich and Beethoven. Both are symphonies and both in D but they couldn't be more different and I must admit my head came back with a lyric from a completely different song when I thought of the contrast between them...


"How strange the change from major to minor"









Here's the full programme for this evening's Prom which you can listen to live on Radio 3 or on the iPlayer 



Prom 15 - 19:00



Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No 2 in D major(32 mins)

INTERVAL

Dmitry Shostakovich
Symphony No 5 in D minor(44 mins)

Prom 16 - 22:15


Image - Photo © Chris Christodoulou