The new Proms director denied that the arrival of the Tardis at the Royal Albert Hall meant that the world-famous music festival was dumbing down.
Daleks and Cybermen will roam the stage on July 27, presented by actress Freema Agyeman, the Time Lord’s assistant Martha in the last series. The theme tune will be performed, along with other pieces related to time and space, including Holst's The Planets, while The Doctor, David Tennant, will appear in a pre-recorded scene written by Russell T Davies.
It is among events that are set to break down barriers within an £8-million eight-week festival that also boasts some of the world’s most gifted names.
Weeks after Nigel Kennedy gave a flawless rendition of the Elgar Violin Concerto at the Royal Festival Hall, bringing the audience to its feet with a standing ovation, he is returning to the Proms for the first time in more than 20 years.
A rush for tickets is expected, just as there will be for the pianist Murray Perahia, the bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and the conductor Sir Simon Rattle, although their concerts will be available to everyone through radio, television and online broadcasts.
As Roger Wright, the new Proms' director, unveiled his first programme, placing the emphasis on how the greatest performers could be heard for as little as a fiver, the Culture Minister’s criticisms of the Proms came back to haunt her.
Margaret Hodge faced a chorus of criticism last month after telling the Institute of Public Policy Research think tank that the event was failing to attract a sufficiently diverse audience.
She said: "The audiences for many of our greatest cultural events - I’m thinking in particular of the Proms - are still a long way from demonstrating that people from different backgrounds feel at ease with this."
She praised "icons of a common culture" including Coronation Street and said culture could enhance a sense of "shared identity", singling out the Proms for not doing that. Mr Wright responded to those criticisms by saying today: "Interesting discussion. Wrong target."
This is an event that last year attracted record numbers. More than 272,000 people came, while the number of people buying £5 promming tickets rose by 7 per cent to 72,500. Some 6,000 young people attended through half price tickets offered to those below the age of 16.
The Proms was founded in 1895 with the aim of giving a wider audience the chance to hear classical music with low ticket prices. The £5 price of the 1,400 promming tickets remains unchanged this year.
Mr Wright said that the public could hear some of the greatest musicians for just £2.23 a night with a season ticket: "Where else can you get that sort of quality music-making made so available?" he said.
He said that Mrs Hodge had called to apologise, claiming that she never intended to attack the Proms.
Downing Street had been embarrassed by her remarks. Gordon Brown’s spokesman had swiftly praised the concerts as a "wonderful, democratic and quintessentially British institution".
This year’s programme will also celebrate the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams on the 50th anniversary of the English composer’s death, as well as numerous new works, including 11 BBC commissions.
Perahia will be performing Mozart with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon will appear with the Berliner Philharmoniker with a programme of Messiaen and Shostakovich, and Daniel Barenboim will bring his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, made up of young Arab and Israeli musicians.
The BBC Proms runs from July 18 to September 13.
Source: Times Online
