The 大象传媒 Proms is the largest classical music festival in the world. It runs for 8 weeks over the summer months and is predominantly held at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Founded by Sir Henry Wood and Robert Newman, the inaugural season opened at Queen鈥檚 Hall, London in 1895.
The 大象传媒鈥檚 relationship with the Proms started in 1927, after the death of Robert Newman, when the 32nd season was broadcast to the nation. Sir Henry Wood continued to be the conductor and driving force behind the concerts.
When the 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1930 it became the main orchestra for the Proms.
1944 saw Wood celebrate his 75th birthday and his golden Jubilee conducting the Proms. The season was abandoned after three weeks because of the danger of flying bombs. Wood died in August that year.
The Proms carried on after Wood鈥檚 death and now embraces an even wider range of music genres, a literary festival, talks and family activities.
The 大象传媒 Written Archives Centre holds files relating to the 大象传媒鈥檚 work and history in creating classical music performances. They include music reports and composer files for individual composers and artists, meetings of minutes relating to music commissioned by the 大象传媒, the development of the Third Programme and Radio 3, publicity material and outside broadcast files for symphony, opera and Promenade concerts.
