Editing BBC Proms (section)

==History==
[[File:BBC Proms August 2022.jpg|thumb| A promenade concert in the [[Royal Albert Hall]], 2022]]

===Origins and Sir Henry Wood===
Promenade concerts had existed in London's pleasure gardens since the mid-18th century, and indoor proms became a feature of 19th century musical life in London from 1838, notably under the direction of [[Louis Antoine Jullien]] and [[Sir Arthur Sullivan]].<ref>Robert Elkin, ''Queen's Hall, 1893–1941'' (Rider & Co, London 1944), pp. 25–6.</ref> The annual series of Proms continuing today had their roots in that movement. They were inaugurated on 10 August 1895 in the [[Queen's Hall]] in [[Langham Place, London|Langham Place]] by the impresario [[Robert Newman (impresario)|Robert Newman]], who was fully experienced in running similar concerts at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]].<ref>Henry J. Wood, ''My Life of Music'' (Victor Gollancz, London, First edition 1938, cheap edition 1946), 1946, p. 68.</ref> Newman wished to generate a wider audience for concert hall music by offering low ticket prices and an informal atmosphere, where eating, drinking and smoking were permitted to the promenaders. He stated his aim to [[Henry Wood]] in 1894<ref>Wood, 1946, p. 68.</ref> as follows:
{{blockquote|I am going to run nightly concerts and train the public by easy stages. Popular at first, gradually raising the standard until I have created a public for classical and modern music.<ref>{{cite news | author=Ivan Hewett | title= The Proms and the Promenerders | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/07/12/nosplit/bmproms112.xml | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=12 July 2007 | access-date=20 July 2008 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>}}

George Cathcart, an [[otolaryngologist]], gave financial backing to Newman for the series (called "Mr Robert Newman's Promenade Concerts") on condition that Henry Wood be employed as the sole conductor.<ref>{{cite news | author=Peter Mullen | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/everyone-knows-henry-wood-set-up-the-proms-but-who-remembers-the-man-who-hired-him-to-do-it-by-peter-mullen-1592519.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/everyone-knows-henry-wood-set-up-the-proms-but-who-remembers-the-man-who-hired-him-to-do-it-by-peter-mullen-1592519.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Everyone knows Henry Wood set up the Proms. But who remembers the man who hired him to do it? | work=The Independent | date=21 July 1995| access-date=19 April 2009 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=John Smith | url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz/s/1058858_encore_for_the_proms | title=Encore for the Proms | work=Manchester Evening News | date= 18 April 2010| access-date=19 April 2009}}</ref> Wood, aged 26, seized this opportunity and built the "Queen's Hall Orchestra" as the ensemble specially devoted to performing the promenade concerts.<ref>Wood 1946, pp. 68–84.</ref> Cathcart also stipulated (contrary to Newman's preference) the adoption of French or Open Diapason [[concert pitch]], necessitating the acquisition of an entirely new set of wind instruments for the orchestra, and the re-tuning of the Queen's Hall organ. This coincided with the adoption of this lower pitch by other leading orchestras and concert series.<ref>Wood 1946, pp. 69–71, 73.</ref> Although the concerts gained a popular following and reputation, Newman went bankrupt in 1902, and the banker [[Edgar Speyer]] took over the expense of funding them. Wood received a knighthood in 1911. In 1914 [[Anti-German sentiment#World War I|anti-German feeling]] led Speyer to surrender his role, and music publishers [[Chappell & Co.]] took control of the concerts.<ref name="Jacobs">{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37001 |title= Wood, Sir Henry Joseph (1869–1944) |last=Jacobs
|first=Arthur |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/37001}}</ref>

Although Newman remained involved in artistic planning, it was Wood's name which became most closely associated with the Proms.<ref>In a BBC interview recorded on 23 August 1941, introducing Sir Henry Wood, W. W. Thompson, the orchestral manager, remarked, "There's only one man to speak for the Proms, for he ''is'' the Proms. That's Sir Henry Wood. Would you live them over again, Sir Henry?" (Henry Wood): "Every day and every hour." (Thompson): "All those five thousand concerts?" (Henry Wood): "Every one of them." R. Elkin, ''Queen's Hall 1893–1941'' (Rider & Co., London 1944), Transcript pp. 138–46, at p. 143.</ref> As conductor from the first concert (which opened with Wagner's ''[[Rienzi]]'' overture) in 1895, Sir Henry was largely responsible for building the repertoire heard as the series continued from year to year. While including many popular and less demanding works, in the first season there were substantial nights devoted to Beethoven or Schubert, and a programme of new works was given in the final week. Distinguished singers including [[Sims Reeves]] and [[Signor Foli]] appeared. In the first two decades Wood firmly established the policy of introducing works by contemporary composers (both British and international) and of bringing fresh life to unperformed or under-performed works.<ref>For a list of Wood's principal 'novelties' from 1895 to 1937, see Wood 1946, pp.&nbsp;353–372.</ref> A bronze bust of Sir Henry Wood recovered from the ruins of the bombed-out Queen's Hall in 1941, and now belonging to the [[Royal Academy of Music]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ram.ac.uk/sir-henry-wood-collection|title=Sir Henry Wood Collection.|access-date=13 September 2014}}</ref> is still placed in front of [[Royal Albert Hall Organ|the organ]] for the whole Promenade season. Though the concerts are now called the BBC Proms, and are headlined with the BBC logo, the tickets are subtitled "BBC Music presents the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts".

[[File:Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra 1928.png|thumb|Sir Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra, rehearsing for the first Promenade Concert of the 1927 Season, from the ''BBC Hand Book 1928'']]

In 1927, following Newman's sudden death in the previous year, the [[BBC]]&nbsp;– later based at [[Broadcasting House]] next to the hall&nbsp;– took over the running of the concerts.<ref name="BBCHB">{{cite book|chapter=Symphony concerts |title=BBC Hand Book 1929 |date=1928 |publisher=[[BBC]] |pages=71–72 |chapter-url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BBC-Annual/BBC-Year-Book-1929.pdf}}</ref> This arose because William Boosey, then managing director of Chappell & Co. (the Prom. proprietors), detested broadcasting and saw the BBC's far-reaching demands and intentions in the control of musical presentation as a danger to the future of public concerts altogether. He decided to disband the New Queen's Hall Orchestra, which played for the last time at a Symphony concert on 19 March 1927. He found it more expedient to let the Queen's Hall to the broadcasting powers, rather than to continue the Promenade concerts and other big series independently in an unequal competition with what he saw as effectively the Government itself. So the Proms were saved, but under a different kind of authority. The personnel of the New Queen's Hall Orchestra effectively continued until 1930 as "Sir Henry J. Wood and his Symphony Orchestra".<ref>Elkin 1944, p. 33, quoting from W. Boosey, ''Fifty Years of Music'' (Ernest Benn Limited, London 1931), at [https://archive.org/stream/fiftyyearsofmusi002543mbp#page/n195/mode/2up/search/concert-giver pp. 177–78]. The title "Queen's Hall Orchestra2 was briefly revived in 1935 and 1936 for some recordings and a series of Sunday Concerts.</ref> When the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] (BBC SO) was formed in 1930, it became the main orchestra for the concerts. At this time the season consisted of nights dedicated to particular composers; Mondays were [[Wagner]], Fridays were [[Beethoven]], with other major composers being featured on other days. There were no Sunday performances.

===During World War II===

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the BBC withdrew its support. However private sponsors stepped in to maintain the Proms, always under Sir Henry Wood's direction, until the Queen's Hall was devastated beyond repair during an [[The Blitz|air raid]] in May 1941. (The site is now occupied by the St George's Hotel and BBC Henry Wood House). The concerts then moved (until 1944) to their current home, the Royal Albert Hall, during the Promenade season presented by Keith Douglas in conjunction with the [[Royal Philharmonic Society]] (of which he was Secretary).<ref>Thomas Russell, ''Philharmonic Decade'' (Hutchinson & Co, London, New York, Melbourne & Sydney [1944]), pp. 97–8.</ref><ref>Further details of Wood's sometimes difficult relations with Keith Douglas and with the BBC are given in [[Reginald Pound]], ''Sir Henry Wood: A Biography'' (Cassell, London 1969).</ref>

The London Symphony Orchestra had sometimes assisted in the series since (after 1927) the New Queen's Hall Orchestra had ceased to function, and in 1942 Sir Henry Wood also invited the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] under its new leader [[Jean Pougnet]] to participate in this and subsequent seasons.<ref>Russell, ''Philharmonic Decade'', pp. 97–8, 112.</ref> In this he was attempting to maintain vigour in the programme, under the renewal of its relationship with the BBC as promoters. Sir Henry Wood continued his work with the Proms through vicissitudes with the BBC until his death in 1944, the year of his Jubilee Season.<ref>In 1944 an article in ''The Times'' commented, "The Proms. as we know them are Sir Henry Wood's creation, and in their unbroken though slightly war-damaged career of 48 years they have depended on him through all vicissitudes of taste, finance, personnel, and management." (quoted in) Elkin (1944), p. 37.</ref> During that period [[Sir Adrian Boult]], chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and [[Basil Cameron]] also took on conducting duties for the series,<ref>Russell ([1944]), p. 112.</ref> continuing them in 1944 when, under increased danger from bombing, they were moved again, this time to the [[Bedford Corn Exchange]] (home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 1941) which hosted them until the end of the War.

===Post-war===
Sir Adrian Boult and Basil Cameron continued as conductors of the Promenade Concerts after the War, on their return to the Royal Albert Hall, until the advent of [[Malcolm Sargent]] as Proms chief conductor in 1947. Sargent held this post until 1966; his associate conductor from 1949 to 1959 was [[John Hollingsworth]]. Sargent was noted for his immaculate appearance ([[:wikt:evening dress|evening dress]], [[carnation]]) and his witty addresses where he good-naturedly chided the noisy Prommers. Sir Malcolm championed choral music and classical and British composers, especially [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor]]. The charity founded in his name, [[CLIC Sargent]], continues to hold a special Promenade Concert each year shortly after the main season ends. CLIC Sargent, the [[Musicians' Benevolent Fund]] and further musical charities (chosen each year) also benefit from thousands of pounds in donations from Prommers after most concerts.  When asking for donations, Prommers from the Arena regularly announce to the audience the running donations total at concert intervals through the season, or before the concert when there is no interval.

After Wood's death, Julian Herbage acted as ''de facto'' principal administrator of the Proms for a number of years, as a freelance employee after his retirement from the BBC, with assistance from such staff as [[Edward Clark (conductor)|Edward Clark]] and Kenneth Wright.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Doctor | first=Jenny | title=The Parataxis of "British Musical Modernism" | journal=The Musical Quarterly | volume=91 | issue=1–2 | pages=89–115 | year=2008 | doi=10.1093/musqtl/gdn031}}</ref> During the tenure of [[William Glock]] as Controller of the Proms, from 1960 to 1973, the Proms repertory expanded both forwards in time, to encompass then contemporary and avant-garde composers such as [[Boulez]], [[Berio]], [[Elliott Carter|Carter]], [[Dallapiccola]], [[Peter Maxwell Davies]], [[Roberto Gerhard|Gerhard]], [[Hans Werner Henze|Henze]], [[Ligeti]], [[Lutosławski]], [[Lutyens]], [[Nicholas Maw|Maw]], [[Messiaen]], [[Luigi Nono (composer)|Nono]], [[Stockhausen]], and [[Michael Tippett|Tippett]], as well as backwards to include music by past composers such as [[Purcell]], [[Francesco Cavalli|Cavalli]], [[Monteverdi]], [[William Byrd|Byrd]], [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], [[Dufay]], [[Dunstaple]], and [[Machaut]], as well as less-often performed works of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] and [[Joseph Haydn]].<ref>{{cite news | author=Bayan Northcott | title=Small ripples in a calm sea: As the 100th season of Henry Wood Proms sails into port, Bayan Northcott wonders if the programming is running out of steam | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/music--proms-small-ripples-in-a-calm-sea-as-the-100th-season-of-henry-wood-proms-sails-into-port-bayan-northcott-wonders-if-the-programming-is-running-out-of-steam-1446529.html?cmp=ilc-n | work=The Independent | access-date=19 September 2010 | location=London}}</ref> From the 1960s, the number of guest orchestras at the Proms also began to increase, with the first major international conductors ([[Leopold Stokowski]], [[Georg Solti]], and [[Carlo Maria Giulini]]) performing in 1963, and the first foreign orchestra, the [[Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra]], performing in 1966. Since that time, almost every major international orchestra, conductor and soloist has performed at the Proms. In 1970, [[Soft Machine]]'s appearance led to press attention and comment as the first "pop" band to perform there.

The 1968 season began on a Friday night instead of the usual Saturday night. This concert marked a tribute to Sir Malcolm Sargent who had died shortly after delivering a brief speech from the rostrum at the Last Night in 1967. He had been too ill to actually conduct that concert.  Every year since then, the Proms have always started on a Friday night in July.

===Since 1990===
The Proms continue today, and still present newly commissioned music alongside pieces more central to the repertoire and early music. Innovations continue, with pre-Prom talks, lunchtime chamber concerts, children's Proms, Proms in the Park either appearing, or being featured more heavily over the past few years. In the UK, all concerts are broadcast on [[BBC Radio 3]], an increasing number are televised on [[BBC Four]] with some also shown on [[BBC One]] and [[BBC Two]]. The theme tune that used to be played at the beginning of each programme broadcast on television (until the 2011 season) was an extract from the end of the "Red" movement of [[Arthur Bliss]]'s ''[[A Colour Symphony]]'', in 2017 [[Anna Clyne]]'s
''[[Masquerade (Clyne)|Masquerade]]'' (a Proms commission in 2013) and since 2019 an original theme by [[Ian Arber]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.classical-music.com/bbc-proms/bbc-proms-theme-tune-who-wrote-it-and-what-is-it/|title=BBC Proms theme tune: who wrote it and what is it?|website=Radio Times|date=21 July 2022}}</ref> It is also possible to hear the concerts live from the BBC Proms website. The Last Night is also broadcast in many countries around the world.

In 1996, a related series of eight lunchtime chamber concerts was started, taking place on Mondays during the Proms season. In their first year these were held in the Britten Hall of the [[Royal College of Music]] (just across [[Prince Consort Road]] from the Albert Hall). The following year they moved slightly further afield, to the [[Henry Cole (inventor)|Henry Cole]] Lecture Theatre at the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]. In 2005, they moved further again, to the new Cadogan Hall, just off London's [[Sloane Square]]. These allow the Proms to include music which is not suitable for the vast spaces of the Albert Hall.

From 1998 to 2007, the ''Blue Peter'' Prom, in partnership with long-running BBC television programme ''[[Blue Peter]]'', was an annual fixture.<ref name="Guide2007">{{cite book |title=BBC Proms Guide 2007 |year=2007 |publisher=BBC |isbn=978-1-84607-256-7}}</ref> Aimed at children and families, the Prom is informal, including audience participation, jokes, and popular classics.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/proms2004/story/0,,1269954,00.html |title=Blue Peter Proms |first=David |last=Lasserson |date=27 July 2004|work=The Guardian |location=UK }}</ref> High demand for tickets&nbsp;– which are among the lowest priced in the season&nbsp;– saw this Prom split in 2004 into two Proms with identical content.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/01/proms_bluepeter.shtml |title=Blue Peter presenters perform at the Proms |author=BBC Press Office |date=1 July 2004|access-date=1 September 2007 }}</ref> In 2008, the Blue Peter Prom was replaced with a [[Doctor Who Prom (2008)|''Doctor Who'' Prom]] which was revived in both the 2010 and 2013 seasons.<ref>{{cite news |first=Neil |last=Fisher |title= The Proms have been innovating ever since 1895 |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/proms/article4413065.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616150119/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/proms/article4413065.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 June 2011 |work=The Times |location=UK |access-date=1 January 2009 }}</ref>

The 2004 season also featured the Hall's newly rebuilt [[Royal Albert Hall Organ|pipe organ]]. It took two years to complete the task (2002–2004) and was the work of Noel Mander, Ltd., of London. It was the first complete restoration of the instrument since Harrison and Harrison's work in 1936.

The tradition of Promming remains an important aspect of the festival, with over 1000 standing places available for each concert, either in the central arena (rather like the [[groundling]]s in the pit at [[Shakespeare's Globe]]) or high in the hall's gallery. Promming tickets cost the same for all concerts (currently £8 as of 2023<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/news/2018/april/the-bbc-proms-season-has-been-announced-but-how-do-i-buy-tickets/|title=The BBC Proms season has been announced, but how do I buy tickets? {{!}} Royal Albert Hall|website=Royal Albert Hall|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref>), providing a considerably cheaper option for the more popular events. Since most promming tickets cannot be bought until 10:30am on the morning of the concert<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2018/day-promming/|title=Day Promming {{!}} Royal Albert Hall|website=Royal Albert Hall|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref> (although there are full-season tickets and weekend passes available), they provide a way of attending otherwise sold-out concerts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/booking/howtoprom.shtml|title=What is promming?|publisher=BBC|year=2010|access-date=19 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723022048/http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/booking/howtoprom.shtml|archive-date=23 July 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/booking/howtobook.shtml|title=How to book/buy tickets|publisher=BBC|year=2010|access-date=19 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723010417/http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/booking/howtobook.shtml|archive-date=23 July 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2010, the Proms Archive was introduced on the BBC Proms webpage, to allow for a systematic searching of all works that have been performed and all artists who have appeared at the Proms since their inception. On 1 September 2011, a Prom given by the [[Israel Philharmonic Orchestra]] was severely affected by interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 September 2011|title=Proms: Palestinian protest at Royal Albert Hall forces BBC to abandon live broadcast |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/proms/8736652/Proms-Palestinian-protest-at-Royal-Albert-Hall-forces-BBC-to-abandon-live-broadcast.html |access-date=28 March 2025|website=The Telegraph}}</ref> While the [[Palestine Solidarity Campaign]] had urged a boycott, they denied being behind the disruption inside the Royal Albert Hall. For the first time ever, the BBC took a Prom concert off the air.<ref>Marcus Dysch [http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/54010/anti-israel-protesters-disrupt-bbc-proms "Anti-Israel protesters disrupt BBC Proms"], ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 2 September 2011 ([https://archive.today/20120913095516/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/54010/anti-israel-protesters-disrupt-bbc-proms Archived version])</ref>

Successive Controllers of the Proms after Glock have been Robert Ponsonby (1973–1985), [[John Drummond (arts administrator)|John Drummond]] (1986–1995), [[Nicholas Kenyon]] (1996–2007), and [[Roger Wright (music administrator)|Roger Wright]] (2007–2014). Between 1986 and 2014, the post of Director, BBC Proms had mostly been combined with the role of Controller, BBC Radio 3.  Edward Blakeman, editor of BBC Radio 3, became interim Proms Director upon Wright's departure in July 2014.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/17/start-bbc-proms-2014-end-roger-wright-tenure-director | title=Start of Proms marks end of Roger Wright's tenure as director | work=The Guardian | author=Andrew Clements | date=17 July 2014| access-date=7 June 2015}}</ref>  In May 2015, the [[BBC]] announced the appointment of David Pickard as Director of BBC Proms,<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/david-pickard | title=David Pickard named as Director, BBC Proms | publisher=BBC | date=26 May 2015 | access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Plunkett">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/may/26/glyndebourne-david-pickard-bbc-proms | title=Glyndebourne chief David Pickard to head BBC Proms | work=The Guardian | author=John Plunkett | date=26 May 2015|access-date=7 June 2015}}</ref> in succession to Wright.  In November 2023, the BBC announced that Pickard is to stand down as Proms Director after the 2024 season.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2023/bbc-proms-david-pickard-to-step-down | title=David Pickard to step down as Director of the BBC Proms | publisher=BBC | date=23 November 2023 | access-date=28 November 2023}}</ref>  In February 2024, Sam Jackson became Director of The Proms.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/26/a-james-bond-night-radio-3-boss-sam-jackson-shakeup-jools-holland | title='A James Bond night? Absolutely!' Radio 3 boss Sam Jackson reveals his big shakeup | work=The Guardian | author=Charlotte Higgins | date=26 February 2024|access-date=28 March 2024}}</ref>

[[File:BBC Proms July 2022.jpg|thumb|The Proms in 2022. Most people sit, while Promenaders stand in front of the orchestra. The bust of [[Henry Wood|Sir Henry Wood]] can be seen in front of [[Royal Albert Hall Organ|the organ]].]]