About Last Night…
Marin Alsop leads a Prom to remember
‘It’s always a big party and there’s always such a great atmosphere’
Marin Alsop is excited to be conducting this year’s Last Night of the Proms. Excited, but not overawed. It will, in fact, be her third time leading the Proms’ traditional closing extravaganza: the first came exactly a decade ago, when she made history as the Last Night’s first female conductor. ‘I’m thrilled to be working with Lise Davidsen and Sheku Kannehmason, who’s now a good friend and regular collaborator,’ she enthuses. ‘And it’s always a big party – when people come to a concert expecting the best, there’s always a great atmosphere.’
So, how do Alsop and the team go about putting together the programme for such a well-loved fixture? How much is bolted down already, and how much is up for discission?
‘It’s always a discussion and a negotiation,’ she reveals. ‘It depends on a few factors – what’s been performed at other recent Last Nights, and who else is doing what at that year’s Proms. But yes, there’s a formula. For example, they always want an orchestral showcase, so I have picked Strauss’s Don Juan. I thought that would show off the BBC Symphony really well. Then Sheku and I talk about what he would like to play…
‘We also have an exciting premiere – James B Wilson’s 1922. After that, it’s a potpourri of all your British hit tunes, right?’ she says with a smile.
Happy memories of her first Last Night back in 2013? ‘Fantastic memories. I’ve become a little bit fatigued by all the “first woman” stuff now, but being the first woman to do the Last Night of the Proms was terrifically exciting. It was so cute, because all the Prommers dressed up my podium with balloons and flowers saying, “It’s a girl!”’
Prom 71, 9 September