Sir Henry Joseph Wood 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".
Portrait by Ernest Walter Histed, c. 1906
1891 production of Messager's La Basoche, for which Wood was répétiteur
Robert Newman, co-founder with Wood of the Queen's Hall promenade concerts
Wood in 1908 – painting by Cyrus Cuneo
Promenade concerts were musical performances in the 18th and 19th century pleasure gardens of London, where the audience would stroll about while listening to the music. The term derives from the French se promener, "to walk".
Vauxhall Gardens, from the Microcosm of London, 1810
A c. 1880 poster for promenade concerts at Hengler's Circus, on the site of the present-day London Palladium