Robert Newman (impresario)

Robert Newman (1858-1926) was the manager of the Queen's Hall who founded the series of Promenade Concerts with Henry Wood as conductor.

Newman was born into a wealthy family. After an initial career as stockjobber in the City of London he went to Italy to study singing. He became a concert agent and managed some promenade concerts with Cowen at Covent Garden. He became manager of the Queen's Hall which stood just north of Oxford Circus in the centre of London. He was a man of energy and vision, combined with exquisite musical taste. He invited the young conductor Henry Wood to conduct a series of Promenade Concerts. He told Wood: "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".

The first Promenade Concert took place on Saturday 10 August 1895. It was the start of a ten week season, and the start of a venture which he ran for thirty-two seasons until his sudden death in 1926. Henry Wood conducted the Proms for 50 years until his death in 1944. The series continues to this day, having grown into a huge international festival known as the BBC Proms.

Bibliography

• "The Henry Wood Proms" by David Cox ISBN 0-563-17697-0