| Biography | Robert Newman (1858 4 November 1926) was an English businessman and musical impresario. He is most celebrated as the founder of the series of classical music concerts that are now known as The Proms.
Born in 1858 into a wealthy family, Newman had an initial career as stockjobber in the City of London. He also studied singing in Italy, and sang bass, which included participation in the first performance of Hubert Parry'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. 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 as the conductor for these "promenade concerts". |