Pops Concerts Have Origin in Early Days of Boston Musical History--Have Long Proved Delight to Most Varied Tastes

The annual Pops Concerts of Boston, to be held this year between May 2 and July 2, date back to the earliest stages of Boston's musical history. They are indeed as much a part of Boston as the Common or the golden-dome of the State House. One would hunt in vain in other cities for anything just like the Pops.

The programs range from rhapsody or movements from a symphony to waltzes marches, a sugary trifle, or the operetta of the hour. The scope is broad and appeals to an extensive public.

The Pops date back to the summer of 1885 when the Boston Symphony Orchestra was only four years old. There was then started the project of a supplementary series of concerts of popular character to suit the warmer season. They were modelled after the "Bilse" Concerts of Berlin, the formal rows of seats and tables were removed and tables were so installed so that one might sip wine or beer, munch a sandwich or smoke, while listening to a waltz of Strauss or a march of Sousa.

The experiment was an immediate success. The Promenade Concerts soon came to be called Pops in the vernacular, whether on account of their popularity or the popping corks has never been determined. In any case, the name itself became so popular that it was officially adopted.