Celebrating British Music – Part 2

It was the next generation that totally put paid to the accusation that Britain was ‘a country without music’. In 1899 Edward Elgar (1857-1934) had his first big success with the Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma) putting him on the national stage.

His great choral work of 1900, The Dream of Gerontius, gave him an international reputation. His first symphony, of 1908, was premiered by Hans Richter who called it ‘…the greatest symphony of modern times...’ adding somewhat unnecessarily ‘…and not only in this country…’   The Manchester Morning Post critic described it as ‘…a masterpiece such as no other British hand has yet produced.’

Apart from a handful of violin lessons Elgar was entirely self-taught yet after that breakthrough with the Enigma Variations and Dream of Gerontius, he went on to write the other great choral works The Apostles and The Kingdom, as well as two great symphonies, a violin concerto, cello concerto and the late chamber works.

Of the recordings of the two symphonies, Sir John Barbirolli on EMI rates extremely highly as does, of course, Sir Adrian Boult. www.emiclassics.com

94638215158

99996892428

For those who want to hear Elgar himself conducting the symphonies, Naxos has issued them on two discs. www.naxos.com



8.111256

8.111260

Recorded electrically between 1927 and 1932 they also include his orchestral work Falstaff and the Cello concerto played by Beatrice Harrison. 

Of the recordings of the Dream of Gerontius we are again spoilt for choice but I suppose that I will always return to Barbirolli’s 1964 recording with Richard Lewis Kim Borg and the incomparable Janet Baker.

And what about those Variations? Well if I had to be pushed to choose just one recording then it would have to be Boult on EMI. www.emiclassics.com

77776401553

The next generation of British composers were in a very different mould to their predecessors. It is true that Stanford had much to do with producing such a fine number of them that included Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).

The son of a clergyman he was descended from the Wedgwoods and the Darwins. His Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis (1910) was a turning point in British music and greatly affected composers such as Herbert Howells and Ivor Gurney. His cycle of nine symphonies is among the greatest by any British composer. His choral works such as Dona Nobis Pacem (1936) and Sancta Civitas (1925) are amongst his finest works. Though influenced by English folk music as well as Tudor music, Vaughan Williams went on to forge an entirely personal style.

His nine symphonies have been recorded many times but surely the finest set of all is Vernon Handley’s on EMI available from Amazon as a 7 CD set that also includes other Vaughan Williams gems such as Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, Serenade to Music (written For Sir Henry Wood’s Jubilee) and Flos Campi. www.amazon.co.uk

Of his choral music Sancta Civitus and Dona Nobis Pacem stand high, particularly in Richard Hickox’s EMI recording. www.emiclassics.com

77775478853

Vaughan Williams’ great friend Gustav Holst (Gustavus Theodore von Holst) (1874-1934) is, of course, known mainly for his orchestral suite The Planets written in 1916 and first performed by Sir Adrian Boult.

However, for those who haven’t looked further, his other orchestral works such as St Pau’ls Suite, Somerset Rhapsody and Ballet music from the Perfect Fool should be heard. The powerful Egdon Heath inspired by Hardy’s landscape should not be missed. Of his choral works the First Choral Symphony and The Cloud Messenger are fine works.

After the 1918 premiere of The Planets, Holst inscribed Adrian Boult’s copy of the score with ‘… this copy is the property of Adrian Boult who first caused the Planets to shine in public and thereby earned the gratitude of Gustav Holst." Given this, I must chose Sir Adrian’s 1978 EMI recording. www.emiclassics.com

72435677492

Of recordings of other works, David Lloyd-Jones has made a fine recording for Naxos of the Somerset Suite, Egdon Heath and Hammersmith with Royal Scottish National Orchestra. www.naxos.com

8.553696

Also on Naxos is Howard Griffiths and the English Sinfonia in the St Pauls Suite, Brook Green Suite and Concerto for two violins. www.naxos.com

8.570339

Frederick (Fritz) Delius (1862–1934 was of German stock but born in Bradford. However, his travels to Florida and Norway before settling in rural France effectively set him apart from other British composers.

Despite this, it was Sir Thomas Beecham who first championed Delius and it is to his recordings that I first look. EMI have issued some wonderful stereo recordings on a single CD that are a must for any admirer of Delius. www.emiclassics.com

0724356755321

This fine recording includes Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, Summer Evening, Summer Night on the River and A Song Before Sunrise.

Of other recordings try Vernon Handley on EMI who gives us Brigg Fair, The Walk to the Paradise Garden, Summer Night on the River and A Song of Summer. www.emiclassics.com

0724357531528

Of the lesser known composers of this era we should not forget Sir Granville Bantock (1868-1946), not only a fine conductor but a composer of individuality. The conductor, the late Vernon Handley, has recorded many orchestral works by Bantock on six CDs from Hyperion. Chandos have also issued his recording of the huge choral work Omar Khayyam covering no less than three discs.

All six of Vernon Handley’s orchestral CD’s for Hyperion have been issued in one bargain priced box. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

CDS44281/6

There is some terrific music in this set, outstandingly conducted by Vernon Handley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Just listen out for the Celtic Symphony featuring no less than six harps.

Cyril Rootham (1875–1938) was born in Redland, Bristol and, after studying at Cambridge eventually returned there becoming Director of Music at St. John’s College and later University Lecturer and conductor of the Cambridge University Music Society.

Rootham wrote an opera, The Two Sisters (1918–21) as well as numerous orchestral works including two symphonies.

His Symphony No.1 has been recorded for Lyrita by Vernon Handley and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and also includes works by Bantock and Josef Holbrooke. www.lyrita.co.uk

SRCD 269

A recording of choral works by Rootham appears on EMI conducted by Richard Hickox with the Northern Sinfonia of England, the Sinfonia Chorus and BBC Nothern Singers. The works include For the Fallen and the City in the West. www.emiclassics.com

5099950592326

Rutland Boughton (1878-1960) was a friend of Bantock who also gave the rising composer support. It was Boughton who, in 1914, founded the Glastonbury Festival. This, as you would expect, had no connection whatsoever with the Glastonbury Rock Festivals of today.

The idea was to found an English version of Bayreuth where English music drama could be performed in favourable circumstances. Boughton’s most famous music drama The Immortal Hour had performances at Glastonbury and later had the longest run in London of any British opera. His third symphony is also a very fine work.

Vernon Handley has recorded the Third symphony for Hyperion in a performance that came as a revelation, such is the quality of this symphony. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

CDH 55019

Hyperion has also recorded The Immortal Hour with Alan G Melville, the English Chamber Orchestra and a fine cast. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

CDD 22040

Dutton Epoch have also done Boughton proud with a recording of his Third symphony as well as orchestral works and, most recently, the music drama The Queen of Cornwall. www.duttonvocalion.co.uk

2CDLX7256

It is difficult to place William Havergal Brian (1876-1972) in any particular era given that he rose to fame whilst Elgar was still alive and later, in obscurity, went on to write thirty two symphonies. His enormous Gothic Symphony has now been recorded more than once.

For more on this composer look at my blog of 19^th March 2012. All I will mention here is his mammoth Gothic Symphony recorded by Naxos. Although there are other recordings now available this one from Ondrej Lenárd directing The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, with several choirs and soloists is a terrific achievement.  www.naxos.com

8.557418-19

Joseph Holbrooke (1878–1958) son of a music hall musician and teacher and father of the well known English bassoonist Gwydion Brooke, wrote no less than eight symphonies, a number of tone poems, two piano concertos and chamber music.

His Symphony No.4 has been recorded on Dutton Epoch by George Vass and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and includes his Cello Concerto as well as his orchestral fantasie The Pit and the Pendulum. www.duttonvocalion.co.uk

CDLX 7251

This CD was one of the most interesting finds that I have recently made on Dutton Epoch.

In my next British music blog, I will move from Frank Bridge to such composers as Ireland, Bax and Howells.

Celebrating British Music – Part 1

In this Jubilee and Olympic year the eyes of the world will be on Britain so it seems a good opportunity to look at the renaissance of British music from the late 19^th century to the current time.

Through record companies such as Chandos, Hyperion, Naxos and Dutton epoch we have an unrivalled opportunity to hear British composers that were previously unheard of.

Towards the end of the 19^th century England, and by inference, the whole of Britain, had seemingly failed to produce a composer of significance since Purcell. Handel, though naturalised as a British citizen and loved by the British people, was born in Germany. But in 1882 Hubert Parry’s First Symphony was performed to such acclaim that the critic, Joseph Bennett, wrote that the work gave "capital proof that English music has arrived at a renaissance period.’ This comment initiated the often used term ‘English Musical Renaissance’.

There had been George Alexander Macfarren (1813-1887) Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in succession to Sterndale Bennett in 1875. He was a composer of anthems, oratorios and operas, none of which have stayed the course.

It has taken a German record company, CPO, www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo to record two of his symphonies, numbers 4 and 7 (CPO 999 433-2), and Naxos has recorded his opera Robin Hood.

8.660306-07

There was William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875) Principal of The Royal Academy of Music (1856 - 75) whose Symphony in G Minor, four piano concertos and a Cantata 'May Queen' composed for the opening of Leeds Town Hall in 1858 which remained popular for many years. It was his piano concertos that won him a reputation both in London and Leipzig where he became a friend of Mendelssohn and Schumann. Both were knighted but are largely forgotten today. It was William Sterndale Bennett’s grandson, Robert Sterndale Bennett that taught the composer E J Moeran music at Uppingham School in the early years of the 20^th century.

There is quite a lot of Sterndale Bennett on CD with Lyrita issuing his Symphony in G minor and three overtures and piano concertos number 1 and 3 with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Braithwaite with Malcolm Binns (piano).  www.lyrita.co.uk

SRCD206

SRCD205

SRCD204

I also have a favourite recording of the G minor symphony and piano concerto number 4 on the old Unicorn-Kanchana label with Hilary Davan Wetton and the Milton Keynes Chamber Orchestra and again, Malcolm Binns as pianist, still available through Amazon

UKCD2032

Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) 

In addition to the Savoy operas, Sullivan tried to make his name as a more serious composer. His attractive Symphony in E major 'Irish' has been recorded by Chandos, and also includes his Overture In Memoriam and Suite from 'The Tempest'. www.chandos.net

CHAN9859

It was to be left to the next generation to move British music forward and, in 1882, Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848 –1918) wrote his First Symphony. Originally to be conducted by Hans Richter, a rehearsal by him was a fiasco when many of the orchestra failed to turn up and the work had to be abandoned.

It was then agreed that the symphony would be produced at the Birmingham Festival but again rehearsals went badly. However, the actual performance was warmly received prompting the critic Joseph Bennett to write those words quoted at the beginning of this blog.

All five of Parry’s symphonies can be obtained in a 3 CD box set from Chandos with Mathias Bamert and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. These are really fine performances and I particularly would direct you to the fourth and fifth symphonies for some glorious music. Just listen to the coda of the first movement of the fourth when Parry brings in a glowing theme that feels like a beautiful sunset.

CHAN 9120-22

Interestingly Sir Adrian Boult chose Parry’s 5^th Symphony as his very last recording for EMI before retiring. Such was his admiration of Parry.

It was Parry and his colleague at the Royal College of Music, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, (1852–1924) who did much to raise the reputation of British music both by their own works and by their teaching of the next generation.

Parry is, of course, best known for his setting of Blake’s Jerusalem but his five symphonies are fine works in their own right, particularly the fourth and fifth. His anthem ‘I was Glad’ has been played at Royal occasions since its first performance at the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. His choral works such as The Lotus Eaters, a setting of Tennyson’s poem and Invocation to Music, a setting of an ode by Robert Bridges in honour of Purcell have much fine music.

Again Chandos have done us proud with a two CD bargain price set of The Soul’s Ransom, The Lotus Eaters, Blest Pair of Sirens, Invocation to Music and the popular I Was Glad.

CHAN 241-31

Stanford was an Irishman from Dublin and, where Parry never totally cast off the influence of Brahms, it was Stanford’s Irishness that seemed to give a different flavour to his music. Whilst his symphonies are not all of equal merit they are worth investigating, as is his wonderful violin concerto of 1899, later taken up by Kreisler and his beautiful Requiem from 1896.

Chandos have recorded all seven of Stanford’s Symphonies now available in a 4 CD set

CHAN9279-82

Possibly the most attractive music from Stanford is his six Irish Rhapsodies with are issued by Chandos in a 2 CD set with Vernon Handley and the Ulster Orchestra with Margaret Fingerhut giving a spirited performance of the Second Piano Concerto. www.chandos.net

CHAN X10116(2)

I mustn’t forget a Hyperion recording of that wonderful rediscovery, Stanford’s Violin Concerto superbly performed by Anthony Marwood and wonderfully supported by Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

CDA67208

Unique perhaps for the time was a female composer Dame Ethel Smyth (1858 –1944) who wrote six operas including ‘The Wreckers’ recorded on the old Conifer label and now only available (usually second-hand) through Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk

Probably a better starting point would be with her Concerto for violin, horn and orchestra coupled with her Serenade in D performed by Odaline de la Martinez and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with Sophie Landon (violin) and Richard Watkins (horn).

North of the border, Scotland produced Hamish MacCunn (1868-1916) who from 1888 to 1894 was a professor at the Royal College of Music. His opera Jeannie Deans was produced in Edinburgh in 1894 but it is his overture The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, written in 1886 when he was only 18 years of age that has lasted.

A fine performance of this overture, together with excerpts from his opera Jeannie Deans and a number of other orchestral works has been recorded by Hyperion by Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. www.hyperion-records.co.uk

CDA66815

Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie (1847-1935) in addition to his operatic and choral music, wrote an attractive Violin Concerto in C # minor that it took two years for Joachin to decline to perform. It was eventually premiered by no less than Sarasate in 1883.

Mackenzie has also been well served on Hyperion with recordings of his Violin Concerto on the budget Helios label, with an orchestral disc also on the Helios label. Vernon Handley conducts the Royal National Scottish Orchestra with the violinist  Malcolm Stewart and Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra perform the selection of orchestral works.

CDH55343

 

CDH55395

Sir John Blackwood McEwen (1868-1948) ventured into symphonic territory with his Solway Symphony in 1909 though it was not performed until 1922.

McEwen was Professor of Harmony and Composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1898 until 1924, becoming Principal in 1924.  His comic opera The Royal Rebel was produced in 1909 but it was with orchestral works and chamber music that he was prolific.

Chandos are the company that again provide some fine recording of his work including the Solway Symphony (Alasdair Mitchell conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra), Three Border Ballades (Alasdair Mitchell conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra) and his Hymn on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity Alasdair Mitchell conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the Brighton Festival Chorus and Janice Watson (soprano).

CHAN 9345

CHAN 9241

CHAN 9669

In part two of my British music blog I will be starting with Elgar, the first great composer to achieve international prominence.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – the Music in 1897

There seems to have been comparatively little music used for the formal ceremonies of the 1897 Diamond Jubilee. What probably didn’t help was the frailty of Queen Victoria who couldn’t manage the steps of St Pauls Cathedral.

The Jubilee celebrations began on Accession Day, Sunday 20^th June 1897, when the Queen, together with family members took part in a simple ceremony of thanksgiving at St George’s chapel Windsor.

The ceremony featured the Jubilee hymn ‘Oh King of King’s’ by the Bishop of Wakefield, set to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), the hymn appointed for use in all churches and chapels throughout the empire on that day. There is a recording of this hymn on the British Music Society label BMS422CD www.britishmusicsociety.com  (see below)

The service also included a performance of ‘Hymn of Praise’ by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) one of the Queen’s favourite composers, sung by the Canadian soprano Emma Albani. It will be remembered that Mendelssohn had met Queen Victoria in 1842 and had become a personal favourite of the Queen. He dedicated his Scottish Symphony to her.

Without a doubt the choice of recording for Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise must be Claudio Abbado with London Symphony Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon. www.deutschegrammophon.com  Here we have an unsentimental and fresh performance with excellent choral singing.

423143 2

At Windsor Castle, The Poet Laureate, Mr Alfred Austin, presented Queen Victoria with an especially composed poem “Victoria”. It seems that this was probably the poem that was also submitted to Sullivan by the Poet Laureate, but was never set.

On Monday 21 June, Queen Victoria left Windsor Castle and travelled to London by train, arriving at Paddington Station. In the evening the Queen hosted a State Banquet in the State Supper Room at Buckingham Palace, where the Band of the Royal Engineers played a selection of music under the direction of Mr J. Sommer, Bandmaster. After the dinner a reception was held in the Ballroom for invitees of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The main Jubilee celebrations took place on 22^nd June with a service at St Paul’s cathedral with a congregation of around 15,000 people. The ceremony included a Te Deum by the Queen’s late husband Prince Albert (1819 –1861) and the congregation singing the National Anthem and the Psalm, ‘The Old Hundredth’. Prince Albert was a competent musician and had written a number of works that had been published including ‘L’invocazione all’ Armonia’ for chorus and soli, a morning service in C and A, an anthem ‘Out of the Deep’, as well as collections of lieder.

                                     

There is a fascinating recording of Prince Albert’s works on a Decca Eloquence CD still available from Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk

Vaughan Williams of course made an arrangement of the Psalm tune ‘The Old Hundredth’ which has been beautifully performed by the Corydon Singers and the City of London Sinfonia directed by Matthew Best on a Hyperion CD www.hyperion-records.co.uk  with other choral works by the composer.

CDA66569

As the Queen walked with difficulty and was unable to climb the steps to the Cathedral, it was decided to hold the service outside with Queen Victoria remaining in her carriage. The ‘Te Deum’ was sung on the steps of the Cathedral.

After the short service, Queen Victoria stopped at Mansion House to be welcomed in to the City of London by the Lord Mayor. She then toured London in her carriage so that as many people as possible could see her.

In the evening, a torchlight procession of boys from Eton School sang for Queen Victoria in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle and the boys created formations on the ground including the letters ‘V.R’. They were accompanied by the band and drums of the Coldstream Guards, performing a number of songs including ‘Auld Lang Syne” and “God Save The Queen”. Afterwards the boys gave Queen Victoria three cheers.

In addition to the more formal music Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was approached by his publishers, Novellos, to provide two small works to celebrate the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee.

The 40 year old Elgar had no experience of writing such commissions but, as an up and coming composer, he saw the value in such a commission and wrote for the occasion his Imperial March and The Banner of St George. The Banner of St George was a setting of a much altered version of words by a certain Mr Shapcott Wensley

For the orchestral version of the Imperial March you can’t do any better than George Hurst’s fine recording for Naxos www.naxos.com. This also gives you an exceptionally good performance of Elgar’s First Symphony. If you prefer to hear the organ version of the March then Donald Hunt’s excellent recording on Regis www.regisrecords.co.uk  is the one to go for and includes other organ works by Elgar.

8.550634

RRC1001

The Banner of St George has been recorded by Richard Hickox with the Northern Sinfonia of England and London Symphony Chorus on EMI back in 1986 and, whilst not being of the same stature as Caractacus that came soon after it, Hickox gives a stirring performance. You also get Elgar’s Anthem ‘Great Is The Lord’ Op. 67 and his ‘Te Deum and Benedictus’ Op. 34. This is still available on CD from Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk

CDM 5 65108 2

In addition to receiving a royal command to set the Jubilee Hymn to music, Sir Arthur Sullivan also composed a ballet, Victoria and Merrie England, which told the story of Britain’s greatness in a series of tableaux. The ballet was one of the great successes of jubilee year, running for six months at the Alhambra Theatre.  Composed mainly during a stay on the French Riviera it was also popular with members of the royal family, who were said to have attended no less than nineteen times.

Finding a full score for a recorded performance of this work was not without its difficulties as the autograph score and most of the orchestral material had simply disappeared.  Only the first Suite still exists in its orchestral form, however, in recent years research has shed light on its original orchestration allowing for a complete reconstruction by Roderick Spencer on behalf of the Sullivan Society.

This has enabled Marco Polo www.naxos.com/labels/marco_polo.htm  to make the premiere recording of Victoria and Merrie England with Andrew Penny and RTE Sinfonietta.

8.223677

It seems that Sir Hubert Parry (1848–1918) felt uncomfortable about providing music that was overtly expressing patriotism and, therefore, composed a setting of the Magnificat spoken of at the time of its first performance at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival in 1897 as ‘…one of his finest.’

Oddly enough I have been unable to find a recording of this particular work but for a good recording of Parry’s church music generally I would suggest a wonderful recording by the Manchester Cathedral Choir directed by Christopher Stokes on Naxos. www.naxos.com   This well recorded CD has Parry’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimmitis from the Great Service together with his Songs of Farewell.

8.572104

Amongst others that provided music for the Jubilee was Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1847-1935) who wrote his ‘Dormi Jesu’.  Such was Mackenzie’s popularity at that time that he was able to tell the story that ‘last year, during the Jubilee festivities, a gentleman asked to be introduced to me, and on shaking hands with me he said ‘I want to know you our band plays your Benedictus twice a week at Hong Kong!’

Sir George Martin (1844-1916) (not the same Sir George Martin of Beatles fame) composed a ‘Te Deum’. Sir George Martin studied under Sir John Stainer (1840–1901), and was organist of St. Paul's Cathedral from 1888-1916. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897.

A CD from the British Music Society www.britishmusicsociety.com   entitled ‘ Sixty Glorious Years: A Concert of 19th Century British Music’ includes Arthur Sullivan’s setting of the Jubilee Hymn ‘O King of Kings’ and Sir George Martin’s ‘Te Deum’ as well as a wealth of disparate music from composers popular in 1897, such as Walter Macfarren (1826–1905) the younger brother of one of the leading Victorian composers, George Alexander Macfarren (1813-1887) who is also represented on this disc.

BMS422CD

Macfarren had a long career as a piano teacher at the Royal Academy of Music and among his students was Henry Wood. Macfarren wrote a large number of piano pieces, much in the style of Mendelssohn, as well as a piano concerto in B minor. On this disc is a piano piece called ‘L'Amitié’.

Maude WHITE (1855-1937) appears to have been a prolific writer of songs and her ‘To Mary’ is included on this disc.

Composers that predeceased the Jubilee in 1897 are represented presumably due to their continuing popularity, such as the opera composer John Pyke Hullah (1812–1884) with a piece called ‘Three fishers went sailing’, William Sterndale Bennett (1816-1875) with ‘Three Romances Op. 14 No.2 for piano’, and the amateur composer Robert Pearsall (1795-1856) with his choral work ‘O who will o'er the downs so free?’.

I haven’t heard this CD so cannot specifically recommend it but it does give a tantalising variety of forgotten composers with also include Philip Armes (1836-1901), John Hatton (1809-1886), Michael Balfe (1800-1880), John Goss (1800-1880, Brinley Richards (1817-1885), Walter Carroll (1869-1955) Henry Bishop (1786-1855)

Finally there is Prince Albert (1819-1861) who ‘Grüss an den Bruder’ (Does my brother think of me?) is also recorded here.

Such was the music for the last Diamond Jubilee, 115 years ago. I wonder how this year’s Diamond Jubilee music will compare.

Harnoncourt awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal

On Sunday, 22^nd April 2012, to a standing ovation from the audience, the conductor, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, when he was in London to conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Barbican. 

The citation of the society read ‘“Nikolaus Harnoncourt was a pioneer in the early period instrument revival, but much more besides. As a conductor his name is legendary with singers for his extraordinary vision into early, baroque, classical and even operetta. Performances with Harnoncourt are always unique and special.

Nearly 60 years ago he formed the Concentus Musicus Wien with period instruments, but he also works with most of the world’s main orchestras using modern instruments and was one of the earliest pioneers of this dual approach. His performances of the Monteverdi operas along with the Mozart cycle in Zurich stand as landmark events.  He is a man who is dedicated to music and humanity.”

The gold medal was initiated in 1870 to commemorate the Centenary of Beethoven’s birth and to celebrate the close relationship between the Society and the composer. The medal bears the effigy of Beethoven, and has become one of the greatest honours in the world of music, there having been fewer than 100 medals presented in the intervening years.

Among the names on the list of honour are Brahms (1877), Fritz Kreisler (1904), Delius and Elgar (1925), Richard Strauss (1936), John Barbirolli (1950), Kathleen Ferrier (1953),  Stravinsky (1954), Britten (1964) Horowitz (1974) Lutoslawski (1986) and Bernstein (1987)

Current Gold Medal recipients include: Claudio Abbado, Janet Baker, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Alfred Brendel, Elliott Carter, Colin Davis, Placido Domingo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Henri Dutilleux, Bernard Haitink, Thomas Quasthoff, Simon Rattle and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Born in Berlin, in 1929, the Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt spent his childhood and youth in Graz, where he grew up in the Meran Palace. His father was a descendant of the de la Fontaine-d’Harnoncourt-Unverzagt family, Counts of Luxembourg and Lorraine, his mother the great-granddaughter of Archduke Johann of Styria.

Harnoncourt studied cello at the Vienna Academy of Music and joined the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as a cellist in 1952. Having gained an interest in period instruments and renaissance and baroque musical performance tradition, only a year later; together with his wife Alice, he founded the Concentus Musicus Wien ensemble.

From 1972 Nikolaus Harnoncourt taught performance practice and the study of historical instruments at the Mozarteum University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Salzburg, while at the same time enjoying growing success as an opera conductor.

He made his operatic debut in 1971 at the Theater an der Wien with Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. This was followed by a cycle of Monteverdi operas, which he developed in collaboration with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, director at the Zurich Opera House.  

These productions were greatly acclaimed and seen as a tremendous breakthrough in the performance of early opera. This cycle was followed by a ground-breaking cycle of Mozart operas, again at the Zurich Opera House and again in partnership with Ponnelle.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s career as a conductor of both orchestral works and opera is extremely wide and encompasses the great Viennese Classics, the Romantic repertoire and works from the 20th century.

He has worked with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, in the concertos and symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorák and Bruckner, as well as the works of Bartók and Berg.

In 1985 the styriarte Festival, a summer music festival taking place in the Styrian capital, was founded in Harnoncourt’s home city of Graz and it is there that he first conducted Schumann’s Genoveva, the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde and, in 2001, Verdi’s Requiem. In 2003 followed the first scenic production of an opera with Offenbach’s La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and in 2005 Bizet's Carmen.

In 2008 Nikolaus Harnoncourt not only conducted but also directed a highly acclaimed production of Mozart's Idomeneo, in Graz followed, in 2009, with a highly acclaimed production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

His recordings have been equally impressive and too numerous to cover in this blog. However, amongst those that stand out is his recording of Monteverdi’s l’Orfeo, with Concentus Musicus Wien www.warnerclassics.com/release,MonteverdiLOrfeo_4873.htm  

2CD 2564696458

This performance has a simplicity and directness that to me strongly appeals, with the 1968 recording still sounding excellent.

Harnoncourt’s Bach is represented in particular by two exceptional recordings. The first is a marvellous St Matthew Passion. www.warnerclassics.com/release,StMatthewPassion_2656.htm

3CD 2564643472

Much finer than his pioneering 1970 recording, this is a tremendous performance that shows Harnoncourt at his very best.

  

2CD 2564698538

His Bach B minor Mass from 1968 was a landmark in Bach performance and still sounds tremendous today. www.warnerclassics.com/release,MassinBminorBWV232_4836.htm  

Harnoncourt’s Mozart opera recording are available from Warner Classics either individually or in three box sets at a remarkably low price.

Recorded with both the Arnold Schoenberg Choir and Concentus Musicus Wien (using period instruments) and the Choir of Zürich Opera and the Mozart-Orchestra of Zürich Opera (using modern instruments), despite much competition, these performances never disappoint. www.warnerclassics.com/search.htm

Harnoncourt’s Beethoven symphony cycle recorded with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is another ground breaking recording bringing freshness to these much recorded works. www.warnerclassics.com/search.htm

5CD 0927497682

Despite my fondness for the live Edinburgh Festival recordings from the late Sir Charles Mackerras, this issue must be considered alongside them. This was Gramophone magazine’s record of the year in 1992.

Of Harnoncourt’s Handel recordings I have only recently acquired his 1990 live recording of Theodora made in Großer Saal, Konzerthaus, Vienna. www.warnerclassics.com/release,HandelTheodora_5592.htm

2CD 2564690564

This recording has had its critics due to some cuts that are made and what are described by some as ‘eccentric tempos’. I find that Harnoncourt brings to life this oratorio that was Handel’s own favourite, with brisk tempos but without missing the pathos in the quieter sections. With a fine line up of soloists, excellent playing from Concentus Musicus Wien and rich recorded sound I have enjoyed this immensely. Unless you are a purist that cannot put up with the small cuts, then I would recommend this issue.

Finally Harnoncourt’s Brahms symphony cycle should not be overlooked. www.warnerclassics.com/release,SymphoniesNos1-4HaydnVariationsAcademicFestivalOvertureTragicOverture_959.htm

3CD 0630131362

With the Berlin Philharmonic on fine form in repertoire they know well, these live performances bring a clarity and freshness to Brahms. Nowhere here is anything that could bring an allegation of eccentricity, yet these are intense, thrilling performances that I would not be without.

I am sure that others will have their own favourite Harnoncourt performances and, indeed, will not necessarily agree with my choice but surely no one can dispute the sheer musicality of the man whose whole life has been dedicated to great music making.