The 2014 BBC Proms kicked off on Friday, July 18, with another very full roster of concerts carrying through September 13. This cultural treasure has been a staple of the British musical landscape since 1895, often featuring the works of UK composers, actively commissioning new music, and introducing a diverse audience to innovative programs and new composers and compositions.
A look through the 2014 lineup reveals six works by women composers—which is six more than most major American orchestras can manage to fit into an entire concert season!
The first concert with a work by a woman was yesterday evening. The World Orchestra for Peace performed Roxanna Panufnik’s Three Paths to Peace. You can read a review of the performance in The Guardian, and have a listen for yourself to the concert. (Forgive the first two minutes or so of the recording, there’s overlap from a previous radio show.)
The rest of the Proms lineup that includes work by women are:
Prom 20 – Friday, August 1
Sally Beamish: Violin Concerto
Prom 31 – Saturday, August 9
Helen Grime: Near Midnight
Prom 41 – Saturday, August 16
Dobrinka Tabakova: Spinning a Yarn
Prom 55 – Wednesday August 27
Unsuk Chin: Šu
Proms Chamber Music 7: Monday, September 1
Judith Weir: Day Break Shadows Flee