Henry Wood

Henry Wood was born in London on 3 March 1869 and died at Hitchin on 19 August 1944. His allegiance to the Promenade Concerts - the dominant feature of London's summer musicmaking - is universally known, perhaps less so his courageous presentation of new music, notably Schoenberg's 5 Orchestral Pieces in 1912. He first played the organ, and later conducted opera before his first season of Proms in 1895.