Henry J. Wood

Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 1869 – 19 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences. After his death, the concerts were officially renamed in his honour as the "Henry Wood Promenade Concerts", although they continued to be generally referred to as "the Proms".

Born in modest circumstances to parents who encouraged his musical talent, Wood started his career as an organist. During his studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he came under the influence of the voice teacher Manuel Garcia and became his accompanist. After similar work for Richard D'Oyly Carte's opera companies on the works of Arthur Sullivan and others, Wood became the conductor of a small operatic touring company. He was soon engaged by the larger Carl Rosa Opera Company. One notable event in his operatic career was conducting the British premiere of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in 1892.

From the mid-1890s until his death, Wood focused on concert conducting. He was engaged by the impresario Robert Newman to conduct a series of promenade concerts at the Queen's Hall, offering a mixture of classical and popular music at low prices. The series was successful, and Wood conducted annual promenade series until his death in 1944. By the 1920s, Wood had steered the repertoire entirely to classical music. When the Queen's Hall was destroyed by bombing in 1941, the Proms moved to the Royal Albert Hall.

Wood declined the chief conductorships of the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestras, believing it his duty to serve music in the United Kingdom. In addition to the Proms, he conducted concerts and festivals throughout the country and also trained the student orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music. He had an enormous influence on the musical life of Britain over his long career: he and Newman greatly improved access to classical music, and Wood raised the standard of orchestral playing and nurtured the taste of the public, presenting a vast repertoire of music spanning four centuries.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 3, 1869 (London), Died August 19, 1944 (Hertfordshire)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1915 - 1925

Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor, arranger

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 126-146 of 146 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 76521 12-in. 7/3/1919 Symphony no. 8, part 4 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76523 12-in. approximately 7/2/1919 Hungarian rhapsody no. 1, part 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76524 12-in. approximately 7/21919 Hungarian rhapsody no. 1, part 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76526 12-in. approximately 8/7/1919 Ave Maria New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor, arranger  
Columbia 76527 12-in. approximately 1919 Battle of Poltava New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76528 12-in. approximately 1919 Slavonic dances, op. 46, no. 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76529 12-in. approximately 1919 Slavonic dances, op. 46, no. 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76531 12-in. approximately 8/7/1919 Funeral march of a marionette New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76538 12-in. approximately 1919 Lt. Warneford, V. C. New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76543 12-in. approximately 1919 Semiramide overture, part 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76544 12-in. approximately 1919 Semiramide overture, part 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76927 12-in. 4/17/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 1st movement, part 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76928 12-in. 4/17/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 1st movement, part 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76929 12-in. 4/17/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 1st movement, part 3 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76930 12-in. 4/17/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 2nd movement New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76931 12-in. 4/18/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 3rd movement, part 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76932 12-in. 4/18/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 3rd movement, part 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76933 12-in. 4/18/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 4th movement, part 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76934 12-in. 4/18/1923 Symphony no. 6 in B minor, 4th movement, part 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76953 12-in. 4/24/1923 Fingal's cave overture, part 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
Columbia 76954 12-in. 4/24/1923 Fingal's cave overture, part 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra conductor  
(Results 126-146 of 146 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wood, Henry J.," accessed April 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/351463.

Wood, Henry J.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/351463.

"Wood, Henry J.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/351463

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