Adam writes… The BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall is one of the jewels in the crown of London’s musical calendar.
This glorious, eight week festival of classical music was born out of a season of Promenade Concerts at the Queen’s Hall, Langham Place W1 in 1895. The idea was to encourage concert-going at an otherwise quiet time of year and to foster a new audience for orchestral music through affordable tickets.
The Queen’s Hall 1895
The Queen’s Hall was destroyed on the night of the 10th-11th May 1941. The busts of the Great composers that once adorned the pediment of the venue can be seen in the museum at the Royal Academy of Music on Marylebone Road…
The Queen’s Hall was not rebuilt. Its replacement is the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank. The last piece performed at the Queen’s Hall? Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. In a lovely piece of poetic symmetry, the Royal Festival Hall was opened in 1951 with… Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius.
Queen’s Hall location map here…
Sir Henry Wood
Sir Henry Wood conducted the Proms from 1895 to 1944. In 1913 he was the first conductor in London to employ women musicians in his orchestra. His Blue Plaque can be found at 4 Elsworthy Road, Belsize Park NW3…
…and he is memorialised in a stained glass window at Holy Sepulchre, Holborn Viaduct EC1.
And here’s Sir Henry’s Fantasia on British Sea Songs, a regular feature of the Last Night of the Proms.
Moving House 1944
In 1944 The Proms moved to the Royal Albert Hall.
Among the many treasures in the 2026 season, we mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Carl Maria von Weber. Weber died in London while conducting his opera Oberon at Covent Garden. Sir Mark Elder will conduct a semi-staged Oberon on 6th August, sung in English. A plaque marks the spot where Weber lived and died in Great Portland Street W1.
The orginal building no longer stands, but the plaque remains to mark the location. Find it here on my Weber map…
Listen to Oberon here in a version. by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2006…
The 2026 Proms season will run from 17 July to 12th September. Full programme HERE. See you there!
P.S If you’re heading to the Royal Albert Hall and would like a walking tour of Musical Kensington to accompany your special occasion, drop me a line using the form below…
London Music Tours
First time visitor to this site? Hello! My name’s Adam and I am an award-winning, qualified tour guide.
I specialise in music-themed guided tours here in London. I’ve been a tour guide for 20+ years and I offer a regular schedule of walking tours throughout the year. For the full, up-to-date calendar click HERE.
Private tours are always available, too. Use the form at the bottom of this post to get in touch to book a private tour.
I’m qualified as a Westminster Guide (with distinction), a former visiting lecturer in tour guiding at the University of Westminster and an ex-national newspaper arts journalist . In my spare time I play guitar and sing and buy too many records. Drop me a line anytime using the form below.
To join one of my non-music-themed walking tours, visit the London Walks website HERE.
