Aeolian Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Aeolian Quartet was a highly reputed string quartet
based in London (UK), with a long international touring history and presence, an important recording and broadcasting profile. It was the successor of the pre-War Stratton Quartet
. The quartet adopted its new name in the late 1940s and disbanded in 1981.
During the 1950s the Quartet had the following celebrated line-up:
In 1970 Emanuel Hurwitz took over as first violin, the remaining members staying with the quartet.
, and so the Aeolian came into being.
The Stratton Quartet performed under that name at the National Gallery frequently during the war, and in 1946 the group attended the first International Music Festival at Prague
. At about that time the new name was adopted. Both Watson Forbes and John Moore, the violist and cellist, had been members of the Stratton Quartet. The Aeolian Quartet leader was Alfred Cave, for recordings made before 1953 of Peter Warlock
's The Curlew
with Leon Goossens
and tenor René Soames and Purcell
Fantasias which they recorded with future member Emanuel Hurwitz.
It was, however, under the leadership of Sydney Humphreys that the 1950s formation of the ensemble was particularly remembered. Humphreys, a Canadian violinist, studied in Vancouver and Toronto and in Europe trained with Frederick Grinke
and Georges Enesco. He was leader of the Aeolian Quartet from 1952-1970. He was eminent both as a concertmaster and as a chamber player, notably in the St Cecilia Trio 1954-1965 and as first violin in the Purcell String Quartet 1979-1987.
Emanuel Hurwitz (leader) won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music
in a contest adjudicated by Bronislaw Huberman
. In 1937 he was a member of the Scottish National Orchestra under Georg Szell, and in 1938 joined the London Philharmonic under Thomas Beecham
. After the war he formed the Hurwitz string quartet, and led the small orchestra in the Glyndebourne
premiere of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. He was sub-leader of the Boyd Neel
orchestra under Maurice Clare, and during the 1950s and 1960s leader of the Melos Ensemble and of the English Chamber Orchestra
, which he led to international recognition. In 1965 won the Worshipful Company of Musicians
' Gold Medal for services to chamber music. He was guest leader for two seasons of the New Philharmonia Orchestra
working with Carlo Maria Giulini
and Otto Klemperer
. He became leader of the Aeolian Quartet in 1970.
Raymond Keenlyside was also a leader of the Boyd Neel and English Chamber Orchestras. He studied at the Trinity College of Music
, London, and later taught and became a professor there. he was professionally associated with string quartet playing from his college days. Margaret Major studied at the Royal College of Music
and won the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition there. She then won the IMA concert award, leading to concerts in London, Paris and Geneva. From 1956-1960 she was principal viola for the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
, and then returned as principal viola of the Philo-musica of London. She was a noted soloist, and became the third wife of the cellist Derek Simpson. She became Professor at the Royal College of Music. Derek Simpson was first holder of the Suggia
Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music
, and continued his studies in Paris. Returning to England he won the Queen's Prize and the Moulton-Meyer Award and soon afterwards made his debut in London recital. He was Professor at the Royal Academy of Music
.
in 1970 and 1972. In 1977 they planned to tour Australia and New Zealand with Kenneth Essex (viola), with whom they recorded Mozart's viola quintets. They held an international summer school in northern Italy, and established a similar course for chamber music players at the 1976 York
Festival.
During the early 1970s they maintained a busy schedule in the UK, including appearances at Universities for concerts or master-classes. They were awarded Honorary Degrees at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1970, and were also connected with the University of Reading
and the University of East Anglia
. They gave regular broadcasts on the BBC
. In 1973-1976 they were engaged on a recording project for Argo Records (UK)
(a limb of Decca
), to record the complete Haydn quartets using a new edition by H.C. Robbins Landon. This was the first fully complete recording.
The Quartet broke new ground with a televised performance of all Beethoven's Late Quartets for BBC 2 Television channel, broadcast on five consecutive nights in March 1975, and afterwards repeated in other countries.
with Leonard Cassini, Revolution LP RCB.8 . Since the Aeolian Quartet's predecessor the Stratton Quartet
had made the 1933 recording of the Elgar quintet, this Aeolian version (through the continuity in the group of Watson Forbes) has the authority of a tradition going back to the composer.
The Quartet made many recordings, but is especially noted for the complete Haydn cycle. This included the dubious op 3 series, and an account of the Seven Last Words From The Cross with poetic readings by Peter Pears
(the Hurwitz-Keenlyside-Major-Simpson version, replacing a well-known Humphreys-Keenlyside-Forbes-Simpson version of the same work). In the Schubert C major quintet D956 (c1966) their collaborator is Bruno Schrecker. In recordings of the quartet (composed 1951-52) and clarinet quintet (1968) by Robert Simpson
, the clarinettist is Bernard Walton
.
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
based in London (UK), with a long international touring history and presence, an important recording and broadcasting profile. It was the successor of the pre-War Stratton Quartet
Stratton Quartet
The Stratton String Quartet was a well known British musical ensemble active during the 1930s and 1940s. They were specially associated with the performance of British music, of which they gave numerous premieres, and were a prominent feature in the wartime calendar of concerts at the National...
. The quartet adopted its new name in the late 1940s and disbanded in 1981.
Personnel
Before 1953 the leader of the Aeolian quartet is listed as Alfred Cave.During the 1950s the Quartet had the following celebrated line-up:
- Sydney Humphreys (violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
) (1952-1970) - leader - Trevor Williams (violin)
- Watson ForbesWatson ForbesWatson Douglas Buchanan Forbes was a Scottish violist and classical music arranger...
(viola) - John Moore (cello (before 1956))
In 1970 Emanuel Hurwitz took over as first violin, the remaining members staying with the quartet.
- Emanuel HurwitzEmanuel HurwitzEmanuel Hurwitz CBE was a British violinist. He was born in London with parents of Russian-Jewish ancestry....
(violin (from 1970)) - Raymond Keenlyside (violin) (before 1965)
- Margaret Major (violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
(from 1965)) - Derek SimpsonDerek Simpson (cellist)Derek Simpson was an English cellist, known primarily from his work with the Aeolian Quartet, and as the teacher of many contemporary cellists.-Career:...
(celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
(from 1956)
Origins
The Stratton Quartet flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. George Stratton, the leader, found it increasingly difficult to lead the London Symphony Orchestra as well as the Stratton QuartetStratton Quartet
The Stratton String Quartet was a well known British musical ensemble active during the 1930s and 1940s. They were specially associated with the performance of British music, of which they gave numerous premieres, and were a prominent feature in the wartime calendar of concerts at the National...
, and so the Aeolian came into being.
The Stratton Quartet performed under that name at the National Gallery frequently during the war, and in 1946 the group attended the first International Music Festival at Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. At about that time the new name was adopted. Both Watson Forbes and John Moore, the violist and cellist, had been members of the Stratton Quartet. The Aeolian Quartet leader was Alfred Cave, for recordings made before 1953 of Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
's The Curlew
The Curlew
The Curlew is a song cycle by Peter Warlock on poems by William Butler Yeats. It is generally considered one of the composer's finest works....
with Leon Goossens
Léon Goossens
Léon Jean Goossens CBE, FRCM was a British oboist.He was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal College of Music...
and tenor René Soames and Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
Fantasias which they recorded with future member Emanuel Hurwitz.
It was, however, under the leadership of Sydney Humphreys that the 1950s formation of the ensemble was particularly remembered. Humphreys, a Canadian violinist, studied in Vancouver and Toronto and in Europe trained with Frederick Grinke
Frederick Grinke
Frederick Grinke was a Canadian-born violinist who had an international career as soloist, chamber musician and teacher...
and Georges Enesco. He was leader of the Aeolian Quartet from 1952-1970. He was eminent both as a concertmaster and as a chamber player, notably in the St Cecilia Trio 1954-1965 and as first violin in the Purcell String Quartet 1979-1987.
Emanuel Hurwitz (leader) won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in a contest adjudicated by Bronislaw Huberman
Bronislaw Huberman
Bronisław Huberman was a Jewish Polish violinist. He was known for his individualistic and personal interpretations and was praised for his tone color, expressiveness, and flexibility...
. In 1937 he was a member of the Scottish National Orchestra under Georg Szell, and in 1938 joined the London Philharmonic under Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
. After the war he formed the Hurwitz string quartet, and led the small orchestra in the Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
premiere of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. He was sub-leader of the Boyd Neel
Boyd Neel
Louis Boyd Neel was an English conductor and academic. He is perhaps best known for revitalizing the genre of the chamber orchestra.-Early years:...
orchestra under Maurice Clare, and during the 1950s and 1960s leader of the Melos Ensemble and of the English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, which he led to international recognition. In 1965 won the Worshipful Company of Musicians
Worshipful Company of Musicians
The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of music making in London moved from the City to the...
' Gold Medal for services to chamber music. He was guest leader for two seasons of the New Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
working with Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...
and Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
. He became leader of the Aeolian Quartet in 1970.
Raymond Keenlyside was also a leader of the Boyd Neel and English Chamber Orchestras. He studied at the Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
, London, and later taught and became a professor there. he was professionally associated with string quartet playing from his college days. Margaret Major studied at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and won the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition there. She then won the IMA concert award, leading to concerts in London, Paris and Geneva. From 1956-1960 she was principal viola for the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra is a chamber orchestra based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The NKO is part of the Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest , along with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra . The core of the NKO is a group of at least 20 string instrumentalists...
, and then returned as principal viola of the Philo-musica of London. She was a noted soloist, and became the third wife of the cellist Derek Simpson. She became Professor at the Royal College of Music. Derek Simpson was first holder of the Suggia
Guilhermina Suggia
Guilhermina Augusta Xavier de Medim Suggia Carteado Mena, known as Guilhermina Suggia, was a Portuguese cellist. She studied in Germany with Pablo Casals, and built an international reputation. She spent many years living in England, where she was particularly celebrated...
Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, and continued his studies in Paris. Returning to England he won the Queen's Prize and the Moulton-Meyer Award and soon afterwards made his debut in London recital. He was Professor at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
.
Activities
Between 1966 and 1973 the Quartet toured Canada, the United States, Mexico and Australia. By 1973 they had completed 33 concerts in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including a performance of Haydn Quartets at the Colon in Buenos Aires. their schedule also included Amsterdam and Brussels, and the Far East. In 1973-4 they were making tours of Spain, the middle East and Belgium, with other recitals in Italy and Portugal. There were important appearances at the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
in 1970 and 1972. In 1977 they planned to tour Australia and New Zealand with Kenneth Essex (viola), with whom they recorded Mozart's viola quintets. They held an international summer school in northern Italy, and established a similar course for chamber music players at the 1976 York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
Festival.
During the early 1970s they maintained a busy schedule in the UK, including appearances at Universities for concerts or master-classes. They were awarded Honorary Degrees at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1970, and were also connected with the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
and the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
. They gave regular broadcasts on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. In 1973-1976 they were engaged on a recording project for Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
(a limb of Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
), to record the complete Haydn quartets using a new edition by H.C. Robbins Landon. This was the first fully complete recording.
The Quartet broke new ground with a televised performance of all Beethoven's Late Quartets for BBC 2 Television channel, broadcast on five consecutive nights in March 1975, and afterwards repeated in other countries.
Recordings
The Quartet in its earlier manifestation, with Humphreys, Keenlyside, Forbes and Simpson, sometimes appears on vinyl under a 'Revolution Records' label (a form of the Delta Records label, made and distributed by RCA, not to be confused with the 1996 label of that name), as for instance in a recording of the Elgar piano quintetPiano Quintet (Elgar)
The Quintet in A minor for Piano and String Quartet, Op. 84 is a chamber work by Edward Elgar.He worked on the Quintet and two other major chamber pieces in the summer of 1918 while staying at Brinkwells near Fittleworth in Sussex. W. H...
with Leonard Cassini, Revolution LP RCB.8 . Since the Aeolian Quartet's predecessor the Stratton Quartet
Stratton Quartet
The Stratton String Quartet was a well known British musical ensemble active during the 1930s and 1940s. They were specially associated with the performance of British music, of which they gave numerous premieres, and were a prominent feature in the wartime calendar of concerts at the National...
had made the 1933 recording of the Elgar quintet, this Aeolian version (through the continuity in the group of Watson Forbes) has the authority of a tradition going back to the composer.
The Quartet made many recordings, but is especially noted for the complete Haydn cycle. This included the dubious op 3 series, and an account of the Seven Last Words From The Cross with poetic readings by Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
(the Hurwitz-Keenlyside-Major-Simpson version, replacing a well-known Humphreys-Keenlyside-Forbes-Simpson version of the same work). In the Schubert C major quintet D956 (c1966) their collaborator is Bruno Schrecker. In recordings of the quartet (composed 1951-52) and clarinet quintet (1968) by Robert Simpson
Robert Simpson (composer)
Robert Simpson was an English composer and long-serving BBC producer and broadcaster.He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music , and for his writings on the music of Beethoven, Bruckner, Nielsen and Sibelius. He studied composition under Herbert Howells...
, the clarinettist is Bernard Walton
Bernard Walton
Bernard Walton was a British classical clarinetist.Walton was born into a musical family. His grandfather was a cellist with the Hallé Orchestra under the eponymous founder Charles Hallé, and his father played in the Queen's Hall Orchestra...
.
Sources
- Article in The Gramophone, 1973, (editorial referring to publication of the first of the Haydn series albums, containing opp 71 and 74.)
- 'The Aeolian String Quartet', in Haydn String Quartets, Argo LPs Volume Nine (HDNL 49-51) insert, page 6.
- R. Barret-Ayres, 'The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn: Opus 3 & Seven Last Words from the Cross' (Decca, Argo division, London 1977). (Argo Haydn Volume Eleven, HDNV 82-84 insert).
External links
- Obituary of Derek Simpson (The Times) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2317333.ece
- Obituary of Emanuel Hurwitz (The Guardian) http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/nov/20/guardianobituaries.obituaries
- Obituary of Watson Forbes (The Independent) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970705/ai_n14126504
- Sydney Humphreys in Canadian Dictionary http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001668