On Friday 17th July the BBC Proms began. It’s 120 years since the first Proms season, and for the first fifty seasons, Sir Henry Wood did the lion’s share of the conducting.
Wood’s discography is large, and includes many works he performed at the proms. In 1934, Columbia made a compilation record of excerpts of Wood’s recordings from 1925 to 1933, titling it “A Night at the Proms.”
A Night at the Proms – music by Bizet, Schubert, Rossini, Mendelssohn, Bach and Nicolai – conducted by Sir Henry Wood
(mp3 file – click to play, or right click the link, then select “Save as”)
Columbia DX 724
Matrices CAX 7731-1, 7730-1
Recorded 19th April 1934, London
Issued August 1934
Contents
Bizet – Carmen – Prelude to Act 1
(from L1208R, 1st October 1926, New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, 78.7rpm)
Schubert – Symphony No.8 in B minor- “The Unfinished” – start of first movement
(from DX 551, 30th October 1933, London Symphony Orchestra, 77.4rpm)
Rossini – William Tell – Overture – final section
(from 5059, 13th July 1928, New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, 76.1rpm)
Mendelssohn – Fingal’s Cave – Overture – opening
(from 9843, 4th March 1929, New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, 75.7rpm)
Mendelssohn – Spring Song – opening
(from 9844, 4th March 1929, New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, 75.7rpm)
J.S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G – start of first movement
(from LX 173, 16th June 1932, British Symphony Orchestra, 76.1rpm)
Nicolai – Merry Wives of Windsor – Overture – final section
(from L 1723, 7th December 1925, New Queen’s Hall Orchestra, 80.1rpm)
The original recording speeds of the records Columbia re-recorded for this compilation vary somewhat, so for this transfer, I’ve repitched each selection to A440.
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