Blog Post
A Brief History of Concert Programs
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A concert program is the selection and organization of musical pieces for a live performance, or concert. The performance can be by a single musician or a group of musicians and can take place in a wide variety of settings. Concert programs are a vital component of the music industry giving musicians a platform to express themselves and share their music at scale. Concert programs as we know them today have come a long way from their humble beginnings.
The earliest concert programs were associated with university activities. During the 15th century, amateur musicians would gather and play in Italian academies found in Milan and Bologna.
Fast forward to the 17th and 18th centuries, the Collegium Musicum, a type of musical society, became a staple in German universities as well as Oxford University and Cambridge University.
The first known public concert program where people were charged for admission was performed by John Banister in his Whitefriars, London home in 1672. In 1678, Thomas Britton established weekly concert programs in Clerkenwell, London at an annual subscription rate of 10 shillings. During this time, concerts were also held in the homes of the French nobility.
Fast forward to the second half of the 18th century where the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart were introduced in England through the use of concerts programs. Haydn wrote his famous London symphonies (Nos. 93-104) between 1791-1795 to perform at the Salomon concerts.
Also during this time, the United States held concert programs in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Charleston, South Carolina based on the model of the London garden concerts held in Covent Garden and Crystal Palace. New concert societies were formed to meet the demands of a growing democratic spirit in the U.S.; the most popular being the symphony orchestra. Prosperity and demand for a wide variety of music attracted European artists, and enabled high standards to be reached by American musicians.
In the early 20th century, concert activity in major U.S. cities mirrored the level of that in European centers. However, after World War II, concert programs were greatly stimulated by technology such as the radio, phonograph and television. Although the music being played on these mediums was mostly popular music, the result was an increased demand for live performances of all genres of music. This led to more concert halls being built and in turn, orchestral and chamber music concert programs became more frequent forms of entertainment.
The Internet reshaped the music industry in the 21st century with the introduction of digital streaming services, social media platforms and digital concert programs.
Today, technology is still growing at an exponential rate and shows no signs of slowing down. This will continue to change the way concert programs are experienced. For example, the Digital Concert Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is a website which transmits the concerts of the Berlin philharmonic orchestra to subscribers which can be streamed live in high-definition video with excellent audio quality. Furthermore, digital concerts are becoming more and more popular with the use of YouTube, Facebook Live and Instagram Live by professional and independent artists.
ConcertProgram.Me is innovating the way music is brought to the digital world. Artists can use cutting-edge technology to create their own digital concert programs to use for their concerts in a simple and interactive way.