Are The Proms Living Up To Their Promise?

“[D]o the Proms actually matter – meaning, are they a truly live force in our culture? It’s a fair question, because there’s no doubt that the Proms were a truly live force when they were born in 1895. What founder Robert Newman promised was nothing less than a social and musical revolution. ‘I will run nightly concerts and train the public by easy stages,’ he declared, ‘Popular at first, gradually raising the standard.'”