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A packed Albert Hall at the BBC Proms
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Where can you hear some of best western classical and contemporary music in Britain? The answer is at the annual Proms concerts. Every summer for the past 111 years people have enjoyed the widest possible range of music, performed to the highest standards.
The home of The Proms is The Royal Albert Hall in London, and the name comes from the season’s official title: The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts.
The Proms was the brainchild of the impresario Robert Newman, manager of the newly built Queen's Hall in London.
Together with Henry Wood, the organist, accompanist and conductor, the two man team created a particular philosophy that set the tone of the Proms in the years to come.
'I am going to run nightly concerts to train the public in easy stages,' explained Newman. 'Popular at first, gradually raising the standard until I have created a public for classical and modern music.'
From the late 1920’s the BBC has organised the Proms concerts. Since 1961 the BBC has commissioned a number of new works each season, offering Proms audiences a chance to hear the latest in musical trends from contemporary composers.
The festival now includes over 70 main Prom concerts every year. 1996 saw the launch of Proms in the Park, where huge TV screens show the concerts to audiences in the open air. There have been special events such as 'Choral Day' (1998), and '1000 years of music in a day' (1999).
A total of ten Proms are broadcast on the BBC World Service in English on Saturdays from 1900 China time until the 8th September 2007. Try 11750 and 9740 short wave, or download the latest Prom at www.bbcworldservice.com - enjoy!
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