Sir Malcolm Sargent and Melton Mowbray Leicestershire UK, the connection.
Derrick Fawsitt
relationship the Conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent had with the town of
Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. I am of course aware of the
information contained in the various biography's of Sir Malcolm,
including the recent one "Tunes of Glory" by Richard Aldous but I am
preparing a Press Release for a forthcoming concert in the town which
includes a performance of his composition, "An Impression of a Windy
Day" so would greatly appreciate any help I can get.
Kind regards,
--
Derrick Fawsitt
alanwa...@aol.com
(still going strong) may add additional material:
"Founded before Leicester became a city and still going strong over
eighty years later, the LSO is one of our most enduring musical
institutions.
It was the owner of one of the town's leading music shops, William
Russell, who felt Leicester should have its own symphony orchestra. His
rival, Sir Herbert Marshall, proprietor of a large piano saloon in
Belvoir Street had founded the Leicester Philharmonic Choir many years
earlier and Russell felt that his backing of a new orchestra would give
him an equal importance in musical circles.
William Russell handed over the detail of forming the orchestra to his
son Karl whose first task was to find a conductor. This was easy. There
was a brilliant young organist at Melton Mowbray who had transformed
the parish church choir and the local choral society as well as
charming all and sundry with his vivacious personality. What's more, he
had already conducted one of his own compositions at a London "Prom"
concert the previous year. His name was Malcolm Sargent. Russell
approached him with the offer to form an orchestra in Leicester. Not
surprisingly, Sargent accepted without hesitation.
After weeks of auditioning for players (a task he shared with the
orchestra's leader the well-known local violinist and music teacher,
Grace Burrows) the first concert of the Leicester Symphony Orchestra
took place in the De Montfort Hall on 24th October 1922. The programme
consisted of Wagner's overture to Die Meistersinger, the Gopak from
Sorochinsky Fair by Mussorgsky, a choral tone poem, Byron By Joseph
Holbrooke and Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor. The concert was a
huge success and the orchestra was quickly established as one of
Leicester's greatest musical assets. Sargent was a tremendous
inspiration to his players and before long he had gained a national
reputation as one of the most exciting young musicians in the country.
He was recording with the major London orchestras as well as with the
Doyle Carte Opera Company. This recognition meant that he was able to
entice all the leading musicians of the day to Leicester. Cortot,
Backhaus, Schnabel, Solomon, Suggia, Rubinstein and Moisiewitsch all
performed with the LSO in its first decade.
Amazing though it seems now, the orchestra gave Leicester its first
performances of two great masterpieces: Beethoven's 9th Symphony and
the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. But it was not just the classics
that Sargent promoted, new music by Holst Vaughan Williams, Lambert and
Walton regularly appeared on programmes. Sargent and the LSO also
introduced De Montfort Hall audiences to the Elgar Symphonies.
By the mid 1930's Sargent was internationally known and regularly
conducting orchestras in Europe Australia and America. He was also in
demand in England as a choral conductor. In 1931, he had given the
world premiere of Walton's oratorio, Belshazzar's Feast and shortly
afterwards became the conductor of both the Huddersfield Choral Society
and the Royal Choral Society.
Despite all this activity, Sargent still found time to conduct the
orchestra that had launched him on his way. He was its inspiration and
the players adored him. In turn, he made them play better than they
ever thought they could. He also gave them a chance to perform with the
world's great artists and to make regular broadcasts on the BBC. With
this level of music making it was really something to be a member of
the Leicester Symphony Orchestra.
After the outbreak of war, Sargent was in even greater demand across
the country and by 1942, it was really impossible for him to keep his
post with the LSO. Reluctantly, after twenty years of outstanding
achievement, he resigned as conductor and became the orchestra's
president."
*************************************************
During his time in Leicester he also both conducted AND produced quite
a number of G&S productions given by local societies. There is a
memorial window to him at St Mary's Church, Melton Mowbray.
He first G&S in his home town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, when the
conductor failed to turn up and someone said: "Let young Sargent have a
go."
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins