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Social Context
Charles Avison, born Newcastle upon Tyne 1709 and died there in 1770. English composer, conductor and organist, ".the most important English concerto composer of the 18th century" New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
 Newcastle upon Tyne was a town of great strategic and economic importance in the 18th century largely due to it being virtually the last major town in England before the border with Scotland and of course its dominance and control of the coal trade.
John Baillie wrote in his History of Newcastle in 1801:
"Trade has long been the principal pursuit of this town but in proportion as civilisation, learning, and foreign intercourse, diffused their influence, a taste for the polite amusements of the drama, the dance, the polish of refined manners, rapidly took place in Newcastle."
 With the growth of the middle classes in the town, so arose a need for refined entertainments and intellectual pursuits and Charles Avison was the man of the moment.
Born in Newcastle Avison's father cultivated the boy's musical education and his progress was such that it seems he was packed off to Italy for a period of study (according to Charles Burney) and then to London to take lessons from Geminiani.
Returning to provincial Newcastle after experiencing the high life of London, Avison saw a gap in the market for concerts and social gatherings. It so happened that every month the Assizes met in the town to deal with the dispensation of justice, and there would have been a large gathering of people in the town - probably eager to watch the public hangings! (Interestingly, the site of the gallows would have been just about where the present St James' Park football ground is today!). Avison took advantage of this and would announce his concerts to follow the Assizes. He would also plan concerts to follow the races - again the town would be overflowing with people eager for entertainment.
 The Concerts took place initially at the Assembly House and they soon outgrew the space available there, so the concerts had to be moved to Mr Parker's Long Room (now demolished). The concerts quickly grew in popularity to the extent that Avison took out an advertisement asking the ladies to "remove the hoops from their skirts so that room could be made for others who wanted to attend the concert". Of course, this could have been a marketing ploy to drum up more attention to his activities!
One advertisement has Avison announcing that Mr Parker's Long Room was undergoing re-decoration, therefore the venue had to be changed to the Royal Grammar School. A full flavour of the times is to be had from reading his closing comment - ".patrons of the concert need have no fear - the school will be thoroughly scrubbed before hand".
Newspapers of the day reported on the vast throngs of people attending the concerts in the Bigg Market and the 'loud shouts and peals of claps' greeting the performers. It seems that very little has changed in Newcastle over the years - just the dress sense and the music!
The concerts must have been very different to those we know today. We do know they began at around 6pm and often went on until 2am! Theatres were subject to taxation in the 18th century, so a useful dodge was to present a play in the middle of a concert. Advertisements for musical events in Newcastle often show plays in the middle of the evening such as Hamlet. Possibly, if the atmosphere needed lifting for the resumption of the concert, the endings would be re-written to provide the uplift needed!
Interestingly, Avison had a social conscience and we find that he did regular concerts to raise funds for the foundling hospital in Newcastle. He also allowed benefit concerts for individual performers in his concerts, the proceeds going to help a particular musician in his orchestra.
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