The Proms organ. This coincided with the adoption of this lower pitch by other leading orchestras and concert series. Although the concerts gained a popular following and reputation, Newman went bankrupt in 1902, and the banker Edgar Speyer took over the expense of funding them. Wood received a knighthood in 1911. In 1914 anti-German feeling led Speyer to surrender his role, and music publishers Chappell & Co. took control of the concerts. Although Newman remained involved in artistic planning, it was Wood's name which became most closely associated with the Proms. As conductor from the first concert (which opened with Wagner's "Rienzi"
Composer of the Week With the "great composers", weeks dedicated to them tend to focus on a particular aspect of their life or works. The series has been written and presented by Donald Macleod since 1999. Composer of the Week Composer of the Week is a long-running biographical music programme broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Originally This Week's Composer, it was first broadcast on 2 August 1943 on the BBC Home Service, transferring to the BBC Third Programme in 1964 and changing title to "Composer of the Week" in 1988. In terms of longevity, it is only surpassed by "Desert Island Discs" (first heard