Promenade concerts were very common in the 17th and 18th century in London. People would stroll around (hence the name, from the French) one of the many 'pleasure gardens', listening to music. When Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH, (1869 - 1944) one of the most popular orchestral conductors in British musical history, combined with the manager of the new Queen's Hall in London to hold the first of the 'Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts', on 10 August 1895, neither of them could have predicted the huge success they would become. Featuring a mix of light and classical music initially, the public packed the venue for the whole summer season of concerts. Sir Henry, as he became, continued to conduct as many of these annual events as he could. When the Luftwaffe intruded into the concert business in 1941, by destroying the Queen's Hall, the 'Proms', as they had become known, were moved to the much larger Albert Hall (the 'UFO - like' building - with an indifferent acoustics - adjacent to Hyde Park).
In 1926, the British Broadcasting Company Ltd - to become the British Broadcasting Corporation the following year - took over financial control of the event, and they were renamed the BBC Promenade Concerts, and from 1930 they featured the new BBC Symphony Orchestra, London's first permanent classical orchestra.
So, here we have a legendary series of classical music concerts; whoever first had the idea of combining music from the newly reconstituted Doctor Who series with a special musical event is unclear, but the 2004 concert, held in Cardiff, and featuring the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (of course) was a roaring success. The 'new' Dr Who music had been composed by Murray Gold, a composer who was well-known to Russell T Davis. Despite having to use a great deal of synths, Gold wrote big, orchestral themes, with touches of the 'traditional Dr Who' radiophonic sounds. CDs of the performance were quickly published by the BBC.
This was followed in November, 2006, by a special concert, 'Dr Who: A Celebration', given at the Millennium Centre, in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. This was linked to the fund raising BBC telethon, 'Children in Need'.
The very first BBC Prom involving Dr Who took place on Sunday, 27th July, 2008 , at the Royal Albert Hall. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales played a mixture of Murray Gold's compositions, and well-known classical works by Aaron Copland, 'Fanfare For The Common Man', and Richard Wagner, 'Ride of the Valkyries'. David Tennant (Doctor #10) and Freeman Agyeman (Martha Jones), plus aliens foes such as the Cybermen and Daleks were part of the event. Nigel Kennedy, the well-known violinist, opened the concert with a rendition of the classic Dr Who theme, and the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, then in its 50th year, was celebrated.
The 2010 concerts, held on 24th & 25th July, were bigger and better than ever, with Matt Smith (Doctor #11), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams). The by-now usual BBC National Orchestra of Wales, was augmented by the Choir of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert was carried by both BBC America and by the ABC1 network in Australia.
On the 12th March, 2012, there was another concert in Cardiff. This took the form of a showing of the 2011 Christmas special, 'The Lion, The Widow and the Wardrobe', complete with a live performance of the music to this episode.
The scene you can see above is from the special 50th Anniversary Dr Who Prom, held on the 13th & 14th July, this year. Where to start? This was special in every way. The music of Murray Gold links appearances by Matt Smith (with his suddenly shorn hair neatly explained by a plot twist), Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara), Neve MacIntosh (Madam Vastra) and Dan Starkey (Strax), plus many aliens and foes from the series. There are very special guest appearances by Peter Davidson (Doctor #5) and Susan Foreman, who played the very first 'companion' and William Hartnell's granddaughter. Whatever you do, do NOT miss Strax's 'Field Report D956/2' ! The full concert ran for 95 minutes, but was edited down for TV to 75 minutes.
Please note that I have purposely not provided a link to the full-length broadcast; however, it is easily found on several common video sites. I would heartily recommend it.
The Dr Who Prom - now an institution in its own right!
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