Classical music with fabric softener...

At pop concerts, the audience throws beer in the air when they feel the urge, but at classical music, it's sometimes hard to manage a smile, it's so serious. Last night at Maastricht's Mecc, the Night of the Proms once again passionately combined both genres.

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

So, atmosphere, and that was certainly present for the 12,000. Sponsor Heineken had provided visitors with plenty of free mini flashlights, so their hands wouldn't be burned by boiling hot lighters. And shine they did.

Kitsch? Perhaps, but before the first notes are played, the choir of 120 conservatory students warms up the audience with clapping and waving. From the first notes of Richard Strauss's "Also sprach Zarathustra," which featured a drop of fabric softener slowly seeping into the rinse water in a Ster commercial in the early 1970s, the atmosphere is already undeniable.

The Proms' sandwich formula is familiar, but no less refined. Some classics from the genre "Music for Millions" alternate with light, easy-listening pop, like that of Frank Boeijen, now simply a singer in front of a large orchestra: Il Novecento, the Orchestra of the 20th Century, led by Belgian Robert Groslot.

Sting proves that things can be done differently. With choir and orchestra, the Brit performs four songs, of which only "Moon over Bourbon Street" still bears a resemblance to the original. "Fortress Around Your Heart" and "Synchronicity II" feature new arrangements that allow both Sting and the orchestra to fully express their potential.

The murmurs subside, and the audience holds their breath. This isn't just a meeting of pop and classical music; it's a reaching out.

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