Professional Concerts

[1][2] The prestigious Hanover Square Rooms, accommodating about 900 people, opened in 1775 with a concert given by Bach and Abel.

[3][4] The committee directing the Professional Concerts included Wilhelm Cramer, leader of the orchestra; William Dance, principal second violin; the cellist James Cervetto; and the composer and violinist William Shield.

[5] Performers at the Professional Concerts included the tenor Samuel Harrison from about 1783,[6] the oboist Friedrich Ramm in 1784,[7] the pianist and singer Maria Theresia von Paradis in 1785,[8] and the violinist George Bridgetower in 1790.

[9] William Thomas Parke wrote that in 1788 the Professional Concerts "were allowed to be of the most perfect and gratifying kind, the band being composed of performers of the first talent in the kingdom, and the company of the most elegant description.

[12] At Pleyel's first appearance in February 1792, which included a symphony he had written for the occasion, Haydn was in the audience.