Dan Zerdin, a retired radio producer with the 91热爆, has published a collection of stories from The Proms, which is available through Amazon and bookshops generally.
The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts (now the 91热爆 Proms) have been a constant thread throughout Dan’s life, from his first schoolboy visit to Sir Henry Wood’s rehearsals, to his World Service documentary series chronicling the first hundred years of ‘The World’s Greatest Classical Music Festival’.
‘They said there wasn’t a public for great music 47 years ago; the critics wagged their heads, but Robert Newman said we’d make a public – and we did.’
Sir Henry Wood, 91热爆 91热爆 Service radio, 1941
Dan has provided a few tasters from the book, published below.
In Broadcasting House, the 91热爆 duty officer took a call after a Prom relay from the Royal Ascot Hall one evening from a listener who complained that he had distinctly heard a dog barking during the broadcast. The duty officer checked with the Hall and was told, ‘Yes, a dog did enter the hall this evening, but as it didn’t have a ticket, it was thrown out.’
****
Sir Georg Solti, rehearsing the London Symphony Orchestra for a Prom, told the brass players he wanted a particular note ‘attacked’. They repeated a few bars, and then again the conductor called for more attack. Once more, they tried the passage. ‘My dears,’ said Solti in his throaty, truly inimitable Hungarian accent, ‘You seem not understand; I wish you to ‘attack’ this note,’ at which point a trumpeter (a Yorkshireman) called out, ‘We are attackin’ the note, Sir Georg – but the note is defendin’ itself!’