The BBC Proms is about the best of music and the breadth of music

In today's Times, Edward Blakeman, Director, BBC Proms 2015, responds to a recent article written by critic Richard Morrison about this year's festival. We've published Edward's unedited response in the post below.

Sir, I really do not recognise Richard Morrison's description of the BBC Proms, which presents a narrow view of the Proms mission to present the best possible music to the widest possible audiences. In concentrating on just a few of the 92 concerts, it ignores around 150 hours of classical music making from the world's greatest musicians - including Yo-Yo Ma, Marin Alsop and Sir Simon Rattle.

The BBC Proms has evolved, but the original vision established by Sir Henry Wood and Robert Newman in 1895, remains the same - to offer audiences concerts that are high-quality, accessible and affordable and 'create a public for classical and modern music'.

We're proud that this vision is achieved year after year, with new audiences coming in their thousands, many experiencing classical music for the first time. 

The Proms is about the best of music and the breadth of music. We know that our audiences appreciate the joys of good music whatever the genre. The Proms is uniquely placed to draw upon the breadth of the BBC’s content and doing this is not a new thing. In bringing much loved programmes to the Proms, we are leading the widest range of audiences into the world of classical music.

Edward Blakeman is Director, BBC Proms 2015

• Read BBC Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey's blog post about this year's Proms season
• Discover more and book tickets for this years concert season on the BBC Proms website.