This one has Pauline, Duchess of Castlebar’s fingerprints all over it. Not in terms of who paid for the evening, obviously, but in terms of who chose that concert.
Here is the BBC Proms stub for that concert.
A Wednesday evening (virtually guaranteeing a rush job for me and Janie after work), a large concert hall, big sound music…
…Janie does not much go for Beethoven orchestral works nor Mahler on a large scale. Mahler’s 6th would not be my first choice of Mahler symphony. I’m not sure it would even be my 6th choice.
Tim Ashley in The Guardian rated this concert “unmissable”. I always think that a bit harsh on anyone who wasn’t there at a concert, as they are by definition one-offs so anyone who wasn’t there missed it:
Article from 28 Jul 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England)
Rick Jones in The Standard also rated this one highly. He also informs me (25 years later) that this was Paavo Järvi’s first Prom.
Article from 27 Jul 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England)
So, it was no doubt a seriously good concert, and in those days I still enjoyed the opportunity to hear large orchestral works…
…even if The Duchess was part of the price, both additional ticket-wise, plus the costly sense of nervous tension before and after the concert.
“Did the evening continue on to dinner with The Duchess, even after such a long concert?” I hear sympathetic readers cry, while sensing a wave of pity for me and Janie.
Yup, if Janie’s bookings diary is to be believed. Atlantis in Pitshanger Lane – one of the few restaurants in Ealing that would take such a late booking – probably still would 25 years later:
No doubt The Duchess insisted on one more cigarette, one or two more anecdotes hurled in the direction of the tolerant…some might say sycophantic…waiting staff, and zero appreciation that Janie and I both had really early starts the next day.
At sparrow-fart the next morning, Janie headed off to Ham to visit patients, while I headed off crack of dawn to Bristol to visit a Children’s Society site. It was “just what we did” back then – we wouldn’t dream of packing it in like that 25 years later.