Donald Mitchell (writer)
Encyclopedia
Donald Mitchell is a British writer on music, particularly known for his books on Gustav Mahler
and Benjamin Britten
and for the book The Language of Modern Music, published 1963.
Mitchell was born in London, and educated at Brightlands Preparatory School and Dulwich College
, London. In 1943 he registered as a conscientious objector
and his war-time service was spent in the Non-Combatant Corps. After the war, he taught at Oakfield School
, London and in 1947 founded and edited the journal Music Survey
; several issues appeared before he was joined in 1949 by Hans Keller
and the journal was re-launched in the Music Survey's so-called 'New Series' (1949–52), whose uncompromising critical standards and pugnaciously pro-Britten and pro-Schoenberg stance brought it renown and notoriety in equal measure. Mitchell studied at Durham University
1949-50. In the 1950s he was a regular contributor to the journals Musical Times and Musical Opinion
. In 1958 he became editor of Music Books at Faber and Faber
and in the same year was appointed Editor of Boosey & Hawkes
's music journal Tempo
, until 1962. From 1963 to 1964 he was a special music adviser at Boosey & Hawkes with particular responsibility for contemporary music and the acquisition of contemporary composers. he was responsible for Peter Maxwell Davies
and Nicholas Maw
joining the publisher's list. In 1965, with the encouragement of Benjamin Britten he founded the music-publishing firm of Faber Music
, and was its first Managing Director (vice-chairman, 1976, chairman, 1977, president, 1988–95). In 1972 he became the first Professor of Music at Sussex University (until 1976). Following the death of Benjamin Britten, Mitchell became a senior trustee of the Britten-Pears Foundation; in 1986 he became the Foundation's director and chairman of the Britten Estate Ltd. From 1989 to 1992 he was chairman of the Performing Right Society
.
By his own admission, Mitchell's work on Mahler has not been principally as a work of biography (he cites Henry-Louis de La Grange
's four-volume work as the standard), but rather a series of extended essays, often personal in nature. Across the four volumes Mitchell also presents analyses of Mahler's work, grouped loosely into early works (vol. 1), Wunderhorn works (vol. 2) and later works (vols. 3 and 4).
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
and Benjamin 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...
and for the book The Language of Modern Music, published 1963.
Mitchell was born in London, and educated at Brightlands Preparatory School and Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, London. In 1943 he registered as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
and his war-time service was spent in the Non-Combatant Corps. After the war, he taught at Oakfield School
Oakfield School
Oakfield Preparatory School is an independent coeducational preparatory school, situated near Tulse Hill, Dulwich, Lambeth.Oakfield is a member of the Independent Schools Association...
, London and in 1947 founded and edited the journal Music Survey
Music Survey
Music Survey was a short-lived academic journal covering classical and contemporary music, which flourished in the United Kingdom for a brief period after World War II...
; several issues appeared before he was joined in 1949 by Hans Keller
Hans Keller
Hans Keller was an influential Austrian-born British musician and writer who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being an insightful commentator on such disparate fields as psychoanalysis and football...
and the journal was re-launched in the Music Survey's so-called 'New Series' (1949–52), whose uncompromising critical standards and pugnaciously pro-Britten and pro-Schoenberg stance brought it renown and notoriety in equal measure. Mitchell studied at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
1949-50. In the 1950s he was a regular contributor to the journals Musical Times and Musical Opinion
Musical Opinion
Musical Opinion, often abbreviated to MO, is a European classical music journal edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such journals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication since 1877....
. In 1958 he became editor of Music Books at Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
and in the same year was appointed Editor of Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
's music journal Tempo
Tempo (journal)
Tempo is a quarterly music journal published in the UK and specialising in music of the 20th century and contemporary music. Originally founded in 1939 as the 'house magazine' of the music publisher Boosey & Hawkes, Tempo was the brain-child of Schoenberg's pupil Erwin Stein, who worked for Boosey...
, until 1962. From 1963 to 1964 he was a special music adviser at Boosey & Hawkes with particular responsibility for contemporary music and the acquisition of contemporary composers. he was responsible for Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
and Nicholas Maw
Nicholas Maw
John Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
joining the publisher's list. In 1965, with the encouragement of Benjamin Britten he founded the music-publishing firm of Faber Music
Faber Music
Faber Music is a British sheet music publisher best known for contemporary classical music. It also publishes music tutor books, and in 2005 acquired popular music publisher International Music Publications....
, and was its first Managing Director (vice-chairman, 1976, chairman, 1977, president, 1988–95). In 1972 he became the first Professor of Music at Sussex University (until 1976). Following the death of Benjamin Britten, Mitchell became a senior trustee of the Britten-Pears Foundation; in 1986 he became the Foundation's director and chairman of the Britten Estate Ltd. From 1989 to 1992 he was chairman of the Performing Right Society
Performing Right Society
PRS for Music is a UK copyright collection society undertaking collective rights management for musical works. PRS for Music was formed in 1997 as the MCPS-PRS Alliance, bringing together two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and Performing Right Society...
.
Mahler and Britten
Mitchell's two major written projects have been a four-volume exploration of the music of Gustav Mahler, and an ongoing edition of the letters of Benjamin Britten, currently running to five volumes, and covering the years up to 1965.By his own admission, Mitchell's work on Mahler has not been principally as a work of biography (he cites Henry-Louis de La Grange
Henry-Louis de La Grange
Henry-Louis de La Grange is a musicologist and biographer of Gustav Mahler.-Biography:Henry-Louis de La Grange was born in Paris of an American mother and a French father, , who was a senator, one-time government minister, and Vice-President of the International Aviation Federation...
's four-volume work as the standard), but rather a series of extended essays, often personal in nature. Across the four volumes Mitchell also presents analyses of Mahler's work, grouped loosely into early works (vol. 1), Wunderhorn works (vol. 2) and later works (vols. 3 and 4).
Selected writings
- (ed., with Hans Keller): Benjamin Britten: A Commentary on His Works from a Group of Specialists (London, Rockliff, 1952). With drawings by Milein CosmanMilein CosmanMilein Cosman is an artist who specializes in studies of musicians in action, such as Britten, Stravinsky, and Furtwaengler. She has lived most of her adult life in London....
- (ed., with H.C. Robbins Landon): The Mozart Companion (London: Rockliff, 1956)
- (ed., with Philip Reed and Mervyn Cooke): Letters From a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten. 5 vols., Faber (vols 1-4), Boydell Press (vol 5) 1991–2010
- Britten and Auden in the Thirties: The Year 1936 (Boydell Press, 2nd Ed., 2000)
- Gustav Mahler, Vol. 1: The Early Years. Faber, 1958 (revised with Paul Banks and David Matthews 1978)
- The Language of Modern Music Faber & Faber, 1963, revised 1966, 1969, ISBN 0-571-04934-6
- Gustav Mahler, Vol. 2: The Wunderhorn Years: Chronicles and Commentaries. Faber 1975
- Gustav Mahler, Vol. 3: Songs and Symphonies of Life and Death: Interpretations and Annotations. Faber 1985
- Discovering Mahler. Writings on Gustav Mahler 1955-2005. Boydell Press 2007, ISBN 9781843833451
- The Mahler Companion. Oxford, 1999 (online at Google Books)