The "Proms." and Sir Henry Wood

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22249, 13 November 1937, Page 19

The "Proms." and Sir Henry Wood

Some thousands of people in London look forward eagerly to the advent of August. They are the faithful patrons of the Queen's Hall "Proms." with the perennially youthful Sir Henry Wood still at the conductor's desk. This is the fortythird season of the Proms. Even the Proms., though almost imperceptibly, move with the times, and the general standard of music played is infinitely higher than it was 40 years ago. In the programmes, the outstanding feature is the steady rise in the popularity of Sibelius, who now ranks with Wagner, Beethoven, and Bach as a composer who can be relied on to fill the house for a "one man" evening. The extreme discomforts so patiently, even cheerfully, suffered by Prom, audiences will be somewhat alleviated this year, for the hall i ; being redecorated and a new sy_" m of ventilation is being installed which will. it is promised, reduce the number o£ faints among the music-lovers who have been accustomed to stand closely packed and half stifled upon the floor of the hall. In one respect only, the original Prom, patron returning to his old haunt might ge: a shock as he approaches the famous shrine, for this year's posters outside the Queen's Hall are singularly unconventional; they depict Sir Henry Wood, not in immaculate evening dress with his inevitable carnation, but in his shirt sleeves conducting a rehearsal—and that would have been unthinkable 40 years ago.