Dry ice is a common feature of the late-night non-classical Proms. The Radio 6 Music and Radio 1Xtra events were thick with it, and even in the Frank Sinatra tribute it was visible in the spotlight beams like cigarette smoke in a jazz club. Atmosphere, of course, is important in any concert. The main justification for these populist evenings is to demonstrate the equal validity of other musics as art. The artifice in the Sinatra Prom was the faithful replication by the three vocalists on stage of the American singer’s every musical tic, from the delayed beat to the song introductions. This is similar to the aims of the Early Music movement, although actual mimicry here is impossible. Conductor John Wilson charmed the ear through his orchestra with a perceptive appreciation of the su
20 August 2015, The Tablet
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