Henry J. Wood
Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 1869 – 19 August 1944) 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". Born in modest circumstances to parents who encouraged his musical talent, Wood started his career as an organist. During his studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he came under the influence of the voice teacher Manuel Garcia and became his accompanist. After similar work for Richard D'Oyly Carte's opera companies on the works of Arthur Sullivan and others, Wood became the conductor of a small operatic touring company. He was soon engaged by the larger Carl Rosa Opera Company. One notable event in his operatic career was conducting the British premiere of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in 1892. From the mid-1890s until his death, Wood focused on concert conducting. He was engaged by the impresario Robert Newman to conduct a series of promenade concerts at the Queen's Hall, offering a mixture of classical and popular music at low prices. The series was successful, and Wood conducted annual promenade series until his death in 1944. By the 1920s, Wood had steered the repertoire entirely to classical music. When the Queen's Hall was destroyed by bombing in 1941, the Proms moved to the Royal Albert Hall. Wood declined the chief conductorships of the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestras, believing it his duty to serve music in the United Kingdom. In addition to the Proms, he conducted concerts and festivals throughout the country and also trained the student orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music. He had an enormous influence on the musical life of Britain over his long career: he and Newman greatly improved access to classical music, and Wood raised the standard of orchestral playing and nurtured the taste of the public, presenting a vast repertoire of music spanning four centuries. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 3, 1869 (London), Died August 19, 1944 (Hertfordshire)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1915 - 1925
Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor, arranger
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 146 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 6584 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Introduction, act 3 | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6585 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Prelude in C sharp minor | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6586 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Symphony no. 4 | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6587 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Shepherd's hey | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6588 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Träume | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6605 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | When all was young | Clara Butt ; C. Warwick Evans ; Henry J. Wood | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6606 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | O mio Fernando | Clara Butt ; Henry J. Wood | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6607 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | O rest in the Lord | Clara Butt ; Henry J. Wood | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6642 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Prelude & Liebestod | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6643 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Prelude & Liebestod | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6655 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Ombra mai fu | Clara Butt | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6656 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Mon cœur s'ouvre a ta voix | Clara Butt ; Henry J. Wood | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6675 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Tannhäuser grand march | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6676 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Rhapsody España | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6677 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Coriolan overture | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6678 | 12-in. | approximately 1915 | Irish tune from County Derry | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6708 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Die Walküre, prelude, act 3 | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6709 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Dance of the apprentices | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6710 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Song of the Rhine daughters | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6711 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Shepherd Fennel's dance | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6764 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Hungarian dance no. 5 | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6765 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Hungarian dance no. 6 | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6766 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Tills merry pranks: or a rogue's | New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood | Orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6767 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | Che faro | Clara Butt ; Henry J. Wood | Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor | |
Columbia | 6768 | 12-in. | approximately 1916 | O divine redeemer | Clara Butt ; Henry J. Wood | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | conductor |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wood, Henry J.," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/351463.
Wood, Henry J.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/351463.
"Wood, Henry J.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Sir Henry Wood
Discogs: Henry J. Wood
Grove: Henry J. Wood
IMSLP: Henry J. Wood
IMDb: Henry J. Wood
Britannica: Henry J. Wood
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Wood, Henry J. (Henry Joseph), 1869-1944 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50016037
Wikidata: Sir Henry Wood - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q449299
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/22330222
MusicBrainz: Sir Henry Wood - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9c1a1171-1c95-472e-bb1f-9da89d19ea4a
ISNI: 0000 0001 0878 5744 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000108785744
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