Selected Miscellaneous Shows

Classical music with a fabric softener...

At pop concerts, the audience throws beer into the air if they feel the urge; at classical music, there is sometimes barely a smile to be seen, it is so serious. Last night at the Mecc in Maastricht, the Night of the Proms once again brilliantly combined both genres.

First of all: at the Proms, it is about the atmosphere, about the cheering crowd. Colin Blunstone (ex-Zombies, ex-Alan Parsons Project) or Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) conducting a 79-piece symphony orchestra seems special, but it isn't. Strings and wind instruments are quite common in pop music too. The difference is that those instruments are usually added in the studio and pop musicians rarely stand on stage together with the violinist.

So, atmosphere, and that was certainly present among the 12,000 attendees. Sponsor Heineken had generously provided visitors with free mini flashlights, so that hands wouldn't have to be burned on boiling hot lighters. And shine they did.

Kitsch? Perhaps, but before the first notes are played, the choir of 120 conservatory students is already warming up the audience with applause and waves. At the first notes of Richard Strauss's *Also sprach Zarathustra*—on which a drop of fabric softener slowly sank into the rinse water in the Ster commercial in the early seventies—it is already a guaranteed success.

The Proms' sandwich formula is well-known, but no less sophisticated for it. Some classical music of the "Music for Millions" genre is alternated with light listening pop, such as that of Frank Boeijen—now simply a singer for a large orchestra: *Il Novecento*, the Orchestra of the 20th Century, conducted by Belgian Robert Groslot.

Sting proves that it can be done differently. With choir and orchestra, the Brit performs four songs, of which only 'Moon over Bourbon Street' bears a slight resemblance to the original. 'Fortress Around Your Heart' and 'Synchronicity II' feature new arrangements in which both Sting and the orchestra can fully unleash their capabilities.

The murmur falls silent, breath is held. This is not just a meeting of pop and classical; here, a hand is extended.

(c) Limburgs Dagblad by Rik van Druten (Thanks to Markus)