Robert Newman (impresario)

Robert Newman (1858 – 4 November 1926) was an English businessman and musical

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

. He is most celebrated as the founder of the series of classical music concerts that are now known as

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. Born in 1858 into a wealthy family, Newman had an initial career as

stockjobber Stockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. The business of stockjobbing emerged in the 1690s during England's Financial Revolution. During the 18th century the jobbers attracted numerous critiques from ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. He also studied singing in Italy, and sang bass, which included participation in the first performance of

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...

's oratorio ''Job''. He became a concert agent and gained initial experience organising orchestral concerts with Frederic Hymen Cowen at Covent Garden. In 1893, Newman became the first manager of the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

. He had the idea for a series of concerts at the Queen's Hall, at affordable prices for a mass audience, with a proportion of the audience able to promenade in a designated space without seats. Newman hired

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

as the conductor for these "promenade concerts", and summarised his idea to 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".

Wood mentioned Newman's idea to the otolaryngologist Dr George Cathcart, who met with Newman and offered financial backing to Newman's concert series venture. The first "Promenade Concert" took place on Saturday 10 August 1895, with Henry Wood conducting his new "Queen's Hall Orchestra". This first season of concerts ran ten weeks, and was initially called "Mr Robert Newman's Promenade Concerts". To keep concerts affordable, Newman set his ticket prices at 1s for a single promenade concert ticket, and 1 guinea for a season ticket, transferable among more than one person, and valid for all that season's concerts. Newman and Wood included regular concerts within the series of "Wagner Nights" (Mondays) and "Beethoven Nights" (Fridays), and gradually began to introduce new works, or "novelties", by the composers of the day to promenade concerts audiences. Although the concerts gained a popular following and reputation, Newman encountered considerable financial problems in the management of his Promenade Concerts, and went bankrupt in 1901-1902.

Edgar Speyer Sir Edgar Speyer, 1st Baronet (7 September 1862 – 16 February 1932) was an American-born financier and philanthropist. Barker 2004. He became a British subject in 1892 and was chairman of Speyer Brothers, the British branch of the Speyer fami ...

, a banker, then took over the financing of the concerts, but Newman and Wood retained artistic control. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Speyer had to relinquish his participation with the series because of anti-German sentiment. In 1915, the publishing firm Chappell & Co. took over the lease of the Queen's Hall as well as financial control. Although management tensions developed between Chappell & Co. and Newman and Wood, Newman remained involved with the running of his Promenade Concerts until his sudden death in 1926. After Newman's death, a small memorial plaque was placed behind his second circle regular seat in the Queen's Hall. Having resisted an offer by the

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...

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