Behind the scenes at the Proms
FLEETS of music stands, umpteen water bottles for thirsty singers, coaches for travelling performers, cushions for cellists with backache or fans for the hundreds of people who stand, sit or lie on the floor of the Albert Hall arena and gallery during the great summer festival of BBC Promenade Concerts—the statistics of this 57-day musical extravaganza are near infinite. The Proms began in 1895 and the BBC has been an integral part of the season since 1927, when it stepped in to save the concert series from going bust.
It’s an enormous enterprise, with live performances not only in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Battersea Arts Centre and Cadogan Hall, but also, this year, in Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol, Truro,
