Desmond Shawe-Taylor (music critic)
Encyclopedia
Desmond Christopher Shawe Taylor, (29 May 1907 – 1 November 1995), was a British writer, co-author of The Record Guide
, music critic of The New Statesman
, The New Yorker
and The Sunday Times
and a regular and long-standing contributor to The Gramophone.
(1869–1920), magistrate and high sheriff for the county of Galway
, and his wife, Agnes Mary Eleanor née Ussher (1874–1939). His parents were members of the Anglo-Irish ruling classes; he was related to the playwright and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre
, Lady Gregory
and a cousin of Sir Hugh Lane
who founded Dublin's gallery of modern art. His childhood was brutally interrupted by his father's murder. He was sent to be educated in England, at Shrewsbury School
and Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1930 with a first class degree in English. He then spent time in Germany and Austria before his first job, with the Royal Geographical Society
in London. From 1933 he began to contribute musical, literary, and film reviews to various London journals, including The New Statesman
.
During World War II
Shawe-Taylor served in the Royal Artillery
. After the war he returned to The New Statesman, taking on the post of music critic. In 1958 he was invited to succeed Ernest Newman
as music critic of The Sunday Times
. This, as The Times
observed, was not an easy task. Newman, who retired just before his 90th birthday, had been the paper's music critic since 1920, and was a legendary figure. Shawe-Taylor was a success as Newman's replacement, and he remained at The Sunday Times until his own semi-retirement in 1983. His years on the paper were broken only by a season as guest critic of The New Yorker
from 1973 to 1974.
In 1948 Shawe-Taylor wrote a short historical work Covent Garden about opera audiences and changing operatic styles. It was the only book for which he was solely responsible, but in 1951 he collaborated with Edward Sackville-West
to research and write The Record Guide
, a pioneering reference work discussing and grading currently available classical records. This was followed by a series of updates and an enlarged new edition between 1952 and 1956.
The long-established music magazine The Gramophone wrote of him, "His writing combined acute perception with an easy erudition that stemmed from wide cultural interests. Although a man of catholic musical tastes, he was a particular authority on singing." The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography said, "He became the most perceptive critic of singing among his colleagues, delighting in voices from an age preserved on his oldest records but quick to welcome new artists, and was also a friend to singers including Emma Eames
, Lotte Lehmann
, and, a Long Crichel guest, Elisabeth Schumann
." Between 1951 and 1973 Shawe-Taylor wrote a quarterly retrospect for The Gramophone, under the title of "The gramophone and the voice", and also contributed to other musical publications. He was also an influential presence on the advisory committee of Historic Masters
, a vinyl record label set up to produce quality 78 rpm reissues of historic recordings by famous opera singers. He was known for his championship of modern composers. His colleague David Cairns
wrote of him, "The familiar repertoire came freshly alive in his hands; and when he wrote about an unfamiliar piece whether by Berio
or Britten
, Elliott Carter
, Ligeti
or Tippett
he did so in a way that made you long to hear it for yourself."
Together with Sackville-West and another close friend, the painter, collector and art dealer Eardley Knollys
, Shawe-Taylor, set up home at Long Crichel
in Dorset
. Later they gained another partner, the literary critic Raymond Mortimer
, another New Statesman colleague. After the death of Sackville-West, Shawe-Taylor remained at Long Crichel until his death; from 1966 he was joined there by the ophthalmic surgeon and gay rights activist Patrick Trevor-Roper
.
Shawe-Taylor died suddenly at Long Crichel House at the age of 88 after a country walk.
The Record Guide
The Record Guide was an English reference work, listing, describing and evaluating gramophone recordings of classical music in the 1950s. It was the precursor of modern guides such as The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music-Publication history:...
, music critic of The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
and a regular and long-standing contributor to The Gramophone.
Biography
Shawe-Taylor was born in Dublin, the elder of two sons of Francis Manley Shawe-TaylorFrank Shawe-Taylor
Frank Shawe-Taylor was an Irish land agent and murder victim. Arising from a land dispute, a shocking event in County Galway during the Irish War of Independence led to a series of further deaths and tragedies.-Background to the dispute:...
(1869–1920), magistrate and high sheriff for the county of Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, and his wife, Agnes Mary Eleanor née Ussher (1874–1939). His parents were members of the Anglo-Irish ruling classes; he was related to the playwright and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
, Lady Gregory
Augusta, Lady Gregory
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory , born Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of...
and a cousin of Sir Hugh Lane
Hugh Lane
Sir Hugh Percy Lane is best known for establishing Dublin's Municipal Gallery of Modern Art and for his remarkable contribution to the visual arts in Ireland...
who founded Dublin's gallery of modern art. His childhood was brutally interrupted by his father's murder. He was sent to be educated in England, at Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
and Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1930 with a first class degree in English. He then spent time in Germany and Austria before his first job, with the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in London. From 1933 he began to contribute musical, literary, and film reviews to various London journals, including The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Shawe-Taylor served in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
. After the war he returned to The New Statesman, taking on the post of music critic. In 1958 he was invited to succeed Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman
Ernest Newman was an English music critic and musicologist. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His style of criticism, aiming at intellectual objectivity in contrast to the more subjective...
as music critic of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
. This, as The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
observed, was not an easy task. Newman, who retired just before his 90th birthday, had been the paper's music critic since 1920, and was a legendary figure. Shawe-Taylor was a success as Newman's replacement, and he remained at The Sunday Times until his own semi-retirement in 1983. His years on the paper were broken only by a season as guest critic of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
from 1973 to 1974.
In 1948 Shawe-Taylor wrote a short historical work Covent Garden about opera audiences and changing operatic styles. It was the only book for which he was solely responsible, but in 1951 he collaborated with Edward Sackville-West
Edward Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville
Edward Charles Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville was a British music critic, novelist and, in his last years, a member of the House of Lords. Musically gifted as a boy, he was attracted as a young man to a literary life and wrote a series of semi-autobiographical novels in the 1920s and '30s...
to research and write The Record Guide
The Record Guide
The Record Guide was an English reference work, listing, describing and evaluating gramophone recordings of classical music in the 1950s. It was the precursor of modern guides such as The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music-Publication history:...
, a pioneering reference work discussing and grading currently available classical records. This was followed by a series of updates and an enlarged new edition between 1952 and 1956.
The long-established music magazine The Gramophone wrote of him, "His writing combined acute perception with an easy erudition that stemmed from wide cultural interests. Although a man of catholic musical tastes, he was a particular authority on singing." The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography said, "He became the most perceptive critic of singing among his colleagues, delighting in voices from an age preserved on his oldest records but quick to welcome new artists, and was also a friend to singers including Emma Eames
Emma Eames
Emma Eames was an American soprano renowned for the beauty of her voice. She sang major lyric and lyric-dramatic roles in opera and had an important career in New York, London and Paris during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century.-Early life:The daughter of...
, Lotte Lehmann
Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
, and, a Long Crichel guest, Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
." Between 1951 and 1973 Shawe-Taylor wrote a quarterly retrospect for The Gramophone, under the title of "The gramophone and the voice", and also contributed to other musical publications. He was also an influential presence on the advisory committee of Historic Masters
Historic Masters
Historic Masters is a historical reissue record label, based in Takeley, Hertfordshire, England, dedicated to making available quality pressings on vinyl of rare 78 rpm recordings of opera singers...
, a vinyl record label set up to produce quality 78 rpm reissues of historic recordings by famous opera singers. He was known for his championship of modern composers. His colleague David Cairns
David Cairns (writer)
David Cairns is a British journalist, non-fiction writer and musician. He is a leading authority on the life of Berlioz.-Biography:...
wrote of him, "The familiar repertoire came freshly alive in his hands; and when he wrote about an unfamiliar piece whether by Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
or Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Elliott Carter
Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...
, Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
or Tippett
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
he did so in a way that made you long to hear it for yourself."
Together with Sackville-West and another close friend, the painter, collector and art dealer Eardley Knollys
Eardley Knollys
Eardley Knollys was an English artist of the Bloomsbury School of artists, art critic, art dealer and collector, active from the 1920s to 1950s...
, Shawe-Taylor, set up home at Long Crichel
Long Crichel
Long Crichel is a hamlet in east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase five miles north east of Blandford Forum. The hamlet has a population of 81 ....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Later they gained another partner, the literary critic Raymond Mortimer
Raymond Mortimer
Charles Raymond Mortimer Bell , who wrote under the name Raymond Mortimer, was a British writer, known mostly as a critic and literary editor....
, another New Statesman colleague. After the death of Sackville-West, Shawe-Taylor remained at Long Crichel until his death; from 1966 he was joined there by the ophthalmic surgeon and gay rights activist Patrick Trevor-Roper
Patrick Trevor-Roper
Patrick Trevor-Roper , British eye surgeon and pioneer gay rights activist, was one of the first people in the United Kingdom to "come out" as openly gay, and played a leading role in the campaign to repeal the UK's anti-gay laws....
.
Shawe-Taylor died suddenly at Long Crichel House at the age of 88 after a country walk.