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- Robert Newman (1858 - 4 de novembre de 1926) va ser un empresari i empresari musical britànic. És conegut per la fundació de la sèrie de concerts de música clàssica que ara es coneixen com The Proms. Nascut el 1858 en una família benestant, Newman va tenir una carrera inicial com a "Stockjobber" a la ciutat de Londres. També va estudiar cant a Itàlia; va cantar com a baix i va participar en la primera interpretació de l'oratori Job de Hubert Parry. Es va convertir en agent de concerts i va obtenir experiència inicial organitzant concerts orquestrals amb Frederic Hymen Cowen al Covent Garden. El 1893, Newman es va convertir en el primer gerent del . Va tenir la idea de realitzar una sèrie de concerts al Queen's Hall, a preus assequibles per al gran públic, amb una proporció de públic que es podia passejar en un espai designat sense seients. Newman va contractar com a director d'aquests "concerts de passeig" (que aquest és el sentit de "promenade"), i va resumir la seva idea a Wood: Wood va mencionar la idea de Newman al doctor otorrinolaringòleg George Cathcart, que es va reunir amb Newman i va oferir suport financer a l'aventura de la sèrie de concerts de Newman. El primer "Concert de promenada" va tenir lloc el dissabte 10 d'agost de 1895, amb Henry Wood dirigint la nova "Queen's Hall Orchestra". Aquesta primera temporada de concerts va tenir una durada de deu setmanes, i, inicialment, es va anomenar "Promenade Concerts del Sr. Robert Newman". Per mantenir els concerts assequibles, Newman va fixar els seus preus de les entrades a 1 xíling per a les entrades a un únic concert i 1 guinea per a un abonament, transferible entre més d'una persona i vàlid per a tots els concerts de la temporada. Newman i Wood van incloure, dins de les sèries, el costum dels concerts de les "Wagner Nights" (dilluns) i "Beethoven Nights" (divendres), i a poc a poc van començar a introduir noves obres, o "novetats", dels compositors de l'època. Tot i que els concerts van guanyar una gran popularitat i reputació, Newman es va trobar amb problemes financers considerables en la gestió dels seus concerts de promenada i va fer fallida el 1901-1902. Edgar Speyer, un banquer alemany, es va fer càrrec del finançament dels concerts, però Newman i Wood van conservar el control sobre l'aspecte artístic. Durant la Primera Guerra Mundial, Speyer va haver de renunciar a participar-hi a causa del sentiment anti-alemany. El 1915, l'empresa editorial "Chappell & Co." va assumir el contracte d'arrendament del Queen's Hall, així com el control financer. Tot i que hi va haver tensions per la gestió entre "Chappell & Co." i "Newman & Wood", Newman va romandre involucrat en la gestió dels seus concerts de promenada fins a la seva mort sobtada el 1926. Després de la mort de Newman, es va col·locar una petita placa commemorativa darrere del seu seient habitual a la segona fila del Queen's Hall. Després d'haver-se resistit a l'oferta de la BBC per emetre els concerts des del Queen's Hall abans de la mort de Newman, "Chappell & Co." va consentir fer aquestes emissions després de la mort de Newman. A més, finalment, la BBC es va fer càrrec de la gestió i el control financer dels "Newman Promenade Concerts". Els "Newman Promenade Concerts" van ser rebatejats com "The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts", ja que Wood va continuar implicant-se en la direcció artística de la sèrie fins a la seva mort el 1944. El 1941, el Queen's Hall va ser destruït en un el Blitz i es va perdre la placa commemorativa a Newman. La seva sèrie de concerts continua avui en dia, i actualment s'anomena formalment "The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presentada per la BBC" i és coneguda popularment com "The Proms". (ca)
- 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", 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, a banker, then took over the financing of the concerts, but Newman and Wood retained artistic control. During World War I, 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 BBC to broadcast the promenade concerts from the Queen's Hall before Newman's death, Chappell & Co. consented to such broadcasts after Newman's death. In addition, the BBC eventually took over the management and financial control of the Newman Promenade Concerts. The Newman Promenade Concerts were renamed "The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts", as Wood continued his involvement in the artistic direction of the series until his death in 1944. In 1941, the Queen's Hall was destroyed in an air raid and the memorial plaque to Newman was lost. His series continues today, and is now formally called "The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC", known popularly as "The Proms". (en)
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