Moscheles (1794-1870) is a composer I have adopted as being of interest to British Music enthusiasts. Although he was born in Prague and subsequently died in Leipzig he spent much time in the United Kingdom. Many of his works were performed here and he was friends with all the key players in English music. His description of a train journey is of great interest. In February 1831 Ignaz Moscheles, on a professional tour in the north of England, speaks of his first railway journey."On the 18th I went by rail from Manchester to Liverpool; [1]...
Friday, June 29, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Forty years ago, I had just finished ‘starring’ as a ‘pirate’ in the Coatbridge High School performance of The Pirates of Penzance. It is an experience that remains remarkably fresh in my mind. Nowadays, alas, I only manage to keep in touch with a couple of other ‘pirates’, one of General Stanley’s ravishing daughters and the Major General himself. It is a connection that I treasure. However, looking back on those days, I have come to realise that...
Sunday, June 24, 2012
I had the privilege of three years' lessons from Stanford, at the Royal College, having been lucky enough to gain a scholarship. He seemed to know at once what treatment was good for me, and I certainly got it from him. I was ‘for it’ from the beginning, and my first year with him was not a bed of roses. There was no softness in his methods with me, and he was right. A few effective sentences of criticism, startling in their candour and absolutely...
Thursday, June 21, 2012
I can still remember being taken to my Uncle John’s house to see his new stereogram. I cannot recall the exact date, but it would have been around 1962. I am not sure what I expected, but the stereo effects record was rather fun. There were a number of LPs stored inside the unit, with some rather attractive covers, including what I later discovered to be Henry Mancini’s soundtrack for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. At that time it all seemed so modern...
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
I posted recently about Herman Finck’s visit to Glasgow to conduct a season of performances of Edward German’s well-known opera Merrie England. I have discovered both the advertisement and the review of the opening night in the contemporary Glasgow Herald. I have adopted this opera for special consideration and study over the next few months.The advert indicated that Merrie England commenced on 4 March 1935 at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow and continued for six nights. There were also to be matinee performances at 2 o’clock on Wednesday and...
Thursday, June 14, 2012
I cannot resist posting the review of the first recital given in Glasgow by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It will be the last of the non-British contributions to this blog –at least for a wee while.The second of the Glasgow series of ‘Celebrity’ concerts, given last evening in St Andrew’s Hall, brought Rachmaninoff to the city in a piano recital. By virtue of his famous Prelude in C sharp minor he may safely be claimed as the greatest international celebrity of them all. There must be very few, if any, followers of music in the world, even among those...
Monday, June 11, 2012
No sooner had I drawn a seeming blank on Rachmaninov’s appearance in Glasgow on 4thMarch 1935, than I found this review of the concert in the Glasgow Herald. I know that the Russian composer does not really fall into the remit of The Land of Lost Content British Music Blog, however I think it is such an important event that is is worth recording here. I do not believe that anyone else has written about this in recent years. I have included the reviewer’s philosophical musings on the nature of piano recitals as I believe that his view is still...
Saturday, June 9, 2012
I first came across Clive Richardson when a very good friend suggested that I listen to the London Fantasia, which was a wartime work and purported to be ‘a day in the life of a city being blitzed’. It is a piece I have yet to hear. However, many of his delightful pieces have come my way including Naval Splendour, Girl on the Calendar, Beachcomber and Running off the Rails. One of my favourites is Melody on the Move. This work was composed...
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Further to my recent post, it has not been possible to establish the exact details of Sergei Rachmaninov’s recital in Glasgow. However, I do know that the date was 4thMarch 1935. Let us hope that some reader can provide me with more details. In 1943, the music critic at the Glasgow Herald reprises Herman Finck’s anecdote from a slightly different perspective. It is worth repeating.‘When Rachmaninov played here…another well known musician, in the lighter field of music, was also in Glasgow. He was Herman Finck then conducting the...
Monday, June 4, 2012
I recently posted a review of the music of Herman Finck. Apart from being a good composer he is quite definitely one of the greatest musical wits to have lived in the Twentieth Century. Ok. I accept that his humour may not appeal to the sophisticated audiences of today who idolise Jimmy Carr or Peter Kay. Furthermore, his wit is not caustic like Sir Thomas Beecham – I guess that Finck rarely offended anyone. However, some of his anecdotes are funny, entertaining and educative. I give two for your delight. Over the next couple of posts...
Friday, June 1, 2012
Herman Finck (1872-1939)Cheero! for orchestra; In the Shadows; Hullo, Girls! for orchestra; My Waltz Queen; Jocoso for orchestra; ‘Dear old fighting boys’; Pirouette (dedicated to Anne Pavlova); Venetia (from Decameron Nights); My Lady Dragonfly – Ballet Suite; The K-Nuts Medley – including ‘Gilbert the Filbert’ & I’ll make a Man of you’; Queen of Flowers; Moonlight Dance for orchestra; Decameron Nights -Orchestral Suite The Principals of the...
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