Radio 3 presenter slams Proms 'snobs'
Critics of an upcoming BBC Prom that will celebrate the dance sounds of Ibiza have been branded "snobs and scaremongers" by a Radio 3 presenter.
Writing in the Radio Times, Suzy Klein said suggestions the BBC was "teetering worryingly at the top of a slippery slope" were "a load of old cobblers". "Electronic dance music is dazzling in its primal energy," the presenter of Radio 3's In Tune programme continued. "Great music festivals must embrace great music, in its many guises." The late-night Prom on 29 July will see Radio 1 presenter Pete Tong celebrate 20 years of the Ibiza dance scene in a concert with Jules Buckley and the Heritage Orchestra. This year's Proms season also includes a BBC Radio 1Extra Prom on 12 August featuring leading hip-hop and grime artists from Britain's urban music scene. Klein promised that the latter concert would be "mind-blowing" and could hardly be seen as "the tip of the iceberg for Proms armageddon". "I love dancing to an addictive club anthem as much as I adore listening... to a Brahms symphony," the broadcaster wrote. "Who says you're not allowed to enjoy all of it?" The 2015 BBC Proms season runs from 17 July to 12 September and will comprise 92 concerts in total, mainly at London's Royal Albert Hall. Klein is a regular presenter of Radio 3's daily afternoon music show and will be one of the presenters of the BBC's Proms coverage.