Hugh Maguire (violinist)
Encyclopedia
Hugh Maguire is an Irish
violinist, leader, concertmaster and principal player of the London Symphony Orchestra
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
(1962-1967), leader of the Melos Ensemble and the Allegri Quartet
, a professor at the Royal Academy of Music
, and violin tutor to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
, in 1944 he gained a four-year scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music
in London, where he won the Alfred Waley and Alfred Gibson Prizes for violin playing, and the Cooper Prize and McEwan Prize for quartet playing. There he led the first orchestra for two years under Clarence Raybould
and played concertos at several 'end of term' concerts.
In January 1949 Hugh Maguire was among the first violins of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (led by David Wise) during van Beinum
's conductorship. In 1950 he spent ten months in Paris having lessons from Georges Enesco (to whom he acknowledged his greatest debt), and appeared as soloist, including a concerto under Roger Desormière
. In 1952 he was appointed leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
(then under Charles Groves
), after which he had a short period as sub-leader of the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra.
In 1956 he took over as Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra
until 1961, as one of the 'Young Turks' who helped to reshape the orchestra after a confrontation between management and players which had prompted many resignations. In 1959 he became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music
. At that time he played in a series of LSO recordings conducted by Antal Dorati
: a review of Stravinsky ballet music states: "What made the Dorati/LSO collaboration such a matchless historical event of the century was the fact that the London Symphony at that time had assembled the finest musicians of the country as principals - Hugh Maguire (first violin), Neville Marriner
(second), Simon Streatfeild
(viola), Kenneth Heath (cello), Stuart Knussen (double-bass), Alex Murray (flute), Roger Lord (oboe), Gervase de Peyer
(clarinet), William Waterhouse (bassoon), Barry Tuckwell
(horn), Alan Stringer (trumpet) and Denis Wick
(trombone)."
Through the LSO 1960 and 1961 International Series and Festival Tours, Maguire led the orchestra under Sir Arthur Bliss
(President), Pierre Monteux
, Zoltán Kodály
, Leopold Stokowski
, Aaron Copland
, Jean Martinon
, Colin Davis
, Peter Maag
, Josef Krips
and Antal Dorati, under Georg Solti
in Vienna and Benjamin Britten
at Aldeburgh
. In 1962 he handed over leadership of the LSO to Eric Gruenberg and became Leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
, until succeeded there by Trevor Williams in 1967. Maguire played the solo violin in a recording of Strauss' Don Quixote
, recorded in 1964 in the Royal Albert Hall
with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent
. The May 1965 BBCSO tour to USA was joined by Jacqueline du Pré
, with whom Maguire played in trio for several months.
Following the foundation of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields by Neville Marriner in 1959, Maguire became closely associated with its work at the solo violin desk. His pre-eminence as a teacher and pedagogue for soloists and chamber music ensemble groups was also then developing, not least through his pupil Iona Brown
who afterwards became Director of the Academy of St Martin's. Maguire led the Cremona Quartet with Iona Brown, Cecil Aronowitz
and Terence Weil
, recording Luigi Boccherini
's Quintet for Guitar and Strings with Julian Bream
. From 1974 he led the Melos Ensemble, heading that group's renewal after it had been temporarily disbanded following the death of Ivor McMahon
. In that capacity he recorded Mozart's flute quartets with Richard Adeney
, Cecil Aronowitz
and Terence Weil
in 1981. His teaching became centred at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies, where as Director of String Studies he drew many distinguished string players to give seminars, including the inspirational series by Norbert Brainin
in the sonatas and concerti of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.
He was also the leader of the Allegri Quartet
with David Roth, Patrick Ireland and Bruno Schrecker, recording the string quartet no. 2 of Alexander Goehr
and the string quartets no. 3 & 4 of Frank Bridge
. Sir Malcolm Arnold
dedicated his string quartet no. 2 (1975) to him, first performed by the Allegri Quartet in Dublin Castle in June 1976, the British premiere three days later at Snape Maltings
, as part of the Aldeburgh Festival
. On the occasion of the quartet's 40th birthday, he played the Concerto for piano, violin and quartet by Ernest Chausson
with the new formation, with Peggy Gray at the piano.
In 1982 he participated in a recording of Octet Op.67 of Egon Wellesz
with the members of the Melos Ensemble Nicholas Ward (violin), Patrick Ireland (viola), Terence Weil (cello), William Waterhouse (bassoon), Peter Graeme
(oboe), Thea King
(clarinet), and Timothy Brown
(horn).
He is professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and artistic director of the Irish Youth Orchestra, as well as violin tutor to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He teaches master classes at Aldeburgh Music and is on the coaching staff of the ensemble training at the Leiston Abbey
music school.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
violinist, leader, concertmaster and principal player of the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
(1962-1967), leader of the Melos Ensemble and the Allegri Quartet
Allegri Quartet
The Allegri Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and William Pleeth.It is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers....
, a 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...
, and violin tutor to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
Biography
Hugh Maguire was one of six children, all of whom became professional musicians. His first violin lessons were at the age of 6: his early musical training was mostly received from his father, a schoolteacher, who had a remarkable gift for music. By the age of 12 he had won every prize for violin-playing at the principal music festivals in Ireland. Educated at the Belvedere CollegeBelvedere College
Belvedere College SJ is a private secondary school for boys located on Great Denmark Street, Dublin, Ireland. It is also known as St. Francis Xavier's College....
, in 1944 he gained a four-year 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 London, where he won the Alfred Waley and Alfred Gibson Prizes for violin playing, and the Cooper Prize and McEwan Prize for quartet playing. There he led the first orchestra for two years under Clarence Raybould
Clarence Raybould
Clarence Raybould was born in Birmingham on 28 June 1886, to Robert J Raybould , a printer compositor, and Elen A Raybould , and died in Bideford on 27 March 1972. He was an English conductor, pianist and composer who conducted works ranging from musical comedy and operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan...
and played concertos at several 'end of term' concerts.
In January 1949 Hugh Maguire was among the first violins of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (led by David Wise) during van Beinum
Eduard van Beinum
Eduard van Beinum was a Dutch conductor.-Biography:Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the Arnhem Orchestra as a violinist in 1918. His grandfather was conductor of a military band...
's conductorship. In 1950 he spent ten months in Paris having lessons from Georges Enesco (to whom he acknowledged his greatest debt), and appeared as soloist, including a concerto under Roger Desormière
Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière was a French conductor.Désormière was born in Vichy in 1898. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his professors included Philippe Gaubert , Xavier Leroux and Charles Koechlin , and Vincent d'Indy...
. In 1952 he was appointed leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is an English orchestra. Originally based in Bournemouth, the BSO moved its offices to the adjacent town of Poole in 1979....
(then under Charles Groves
Charles Groves
Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors....
), after which he had a short period as sub-leader of the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra.
In 1956 he took over as Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
until 1961, as one of the 'Young Turks' who helped to reshape the orchestra after a confrontation between management and players which had prompted many resignations. In 1959 he became a Fellow of 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...
. At that time he played in a series of LSO recordings conducted by Antal Dorati
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
: a review of Stravinsky ballet music states: "What made the Dorati/LSO collaboration such a matchless historical event of the century was the fact that the London Symphony at that time had assembled the finest musicians of the country as principals - Hugh Maguire (first violin), Neville Marriner
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner is an English conductor and violinist.-Biography:Marriner was born in Lincoln and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra, playing with the...
(second), Simon Streatfeild
Simon Streatfeild
Simon Streatfeild is a British-Canadian violist, conductor and teacher.Simon Nicholas Streatfeild was born in Windsor, Berkshire England in 1929. He studied viola with Frederick Riddle at the Royal College of Music from 1946 to 1950...
(viola), Kenneth Heath (cello), Stuart Knussen (double-bass), Alex Murray (flute), Roger Lord (oboe), Gervase de Peyer
Gervase de Peyer
Gervase Alan de Peyer is an English clarinetist and conductor.-Professional career:Gervase de Peyer was born in London and attended Bedales School. He was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he studied clarinet with Frederick Thurston and piano with Arthur Alexander...
(clarinet), William Waterhouse (bassoon), Barry Tuckwell
Barry Tuckwell
Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell AC, OBE , is an Australian horn player who has spent most of his professional life in the United Kingdom and the United States.- Early life and education :...
(horn), Alan Stringer (trumpet) and Denis Wick
Denis Wick
Denis Wick is Britain's most influential orchestral trombonist of the 20th century. He is also an internationally respected brass teacher and designer of brass mutes and mouthpieces...
(trombone)."
Through the LSO 1960 and 1961 International Series and Festival Tours, Maguire led the orchestra under Sir Arthur Bliss
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, CH, KCVO was an English composer and conductor.Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army...
(President), Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux was an orchestra conductor. Born in Paris, France, Monteux later became an American citizen.-Life and career:Monteux was born in Paris in 1875. His family was descended from Sephardi Jews who came to France in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition. He studied violin from an early age,...
, Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
, Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Jean Martinon
Jean Martinon
Jean Martinon was a French conductor and composer.-Biography:Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire de Paris to study under Albert Roussel for composition, under Charles Munch and Roger Désormière for conducting, under Vincent d'Indy for harmony,...
, Colin Davis
Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
, Peter Maag
Peter Maag
-Life:He was born on 10 May 1919 in St. Gallen, Switzerland and died on 16 April 2001 in Verona, Italy.His father, Otto, was a Lutheran minister and his mother, Nelly, a violinist who performed in the Capet Quartet as second violinist. His great uncles were conductors Emil and Fritz Steinbach. ...
, Josef Krips
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.-Biography:Krips was born in Vienna and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as répétiteur and chorus master...
and Antal Dorati, under Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
in Vienna 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...
at Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
. In 1962 he handed over leadership of the LSO to Eric Gruenberg and became Leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, until succeeded there by Trevor Williams in 1967. Maguire played the solo violin in a recording of Strauss' Don Quixote
Don Quixote (Strauss)
Don Quixote, Op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
, recorded in 1964 in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
. The May 1965 BBCSO tour to USA was joined by Jacqueline du Pré
Jacqueline du Pré
Jacqueline Mary du Pré OBE was a British cellist. She is particularly associated with Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor; her interpretation has been described as "definitive" and "legendary." Her career was cut short by multiple sclerosis, which forced her to stop performing at 28 and led to her...
, with whom Maguire played in trio for several months.
Following the foundation of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields by Neville Marriner in 1959, Maguire became closely associated with its work at the solo violin desk. His pre-eminence as a teacher and pedagogue for soloists and chamber music ensemble groups was also then developing, not least through his pupil Iona Brown
Iona Brown
Iona Brown, OBE was a British violinist and conductor.Elizabeth Iona Brown was born in Salisbury. Her parents Antony and Fiona were both musicians...
who afterwards became Director of the Academy of St Martin's. Maguire led the Cremona Quartet with Iona Brown, Cecil Aronowitz
Cecil Aronowitz
Cecil Aronowitz was a British viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music.-Biography:...
and Terence Weil
Terence Weil
Terence Weil was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music.-Biography:Terence Weil was trained as a cellist under Herbert Walenn at the...
, recording Luigi Boccherini
Luigi Boccherini
Luigi Rodolfo Boccherini was an Italian classical era composer and cellist whose music retained a courtly and galante style while he matured somewhat apart from the major European musical centers. Boccherini is most widely known for one particular minuet from his String Quintet in E, Op. 11, No...
's Quintet for Guitar and Strings with Julian Bream
Julian Bream
Julian Bream, CBE is an English classical guitarist and lutenist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century. He has also been successful in renewing popular interest in the Renaissance lute....
. From 1974 he led the Melos Ensemble, heading that group's renewal after it had been temporarily disbanded following the death of Ivor McMahon
Ivor McMahon
Ivor McMahon was an English violinist. He played with notable orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra and is best known for playing second violin in the Melos Ensemble.-Professional career:...
. In that capacity he recorded Mozart's flute quartets with Richard Adeney
Richard Adeney
Richard Gilford Adeney was a British flautist who played principal flute with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, was a soloist and a founding member of the Melos Ensemble.-Biography:...
, Cecil Aronowitz
Cecil Aronowitz
Cecil Aronowitz was a British viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music.-Biography:...
and Terence Weil
Terence Weil
Terence Weil was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music.-Biography:Terence Weil was trained as a cellist under Herbert Walenn at the...
in 1981. His teaching became centred at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies, where as Director of String Studies he drew many distinguished string players to give seminars, including the inspirational series by Norbert Brainin
Norbert Brainin
Norbert Brainin, , was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets....
in the sonatas and concerti of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.
He was also the leader of the Allegri Quartet
Allegri Quartet
The Allegri Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and William Pleeth.It is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers....
with David Roth, Patrick Ireland and Bruno Schrecker, recording the string quartet no. 2 of Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
and the string quartets no. 3 & 4 of Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge was an English composer and violist.-Life:Bridge was born in Brighton and studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford and others...
. Sir Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
dedicated his string quartet no. 2 (1975) to him, first performed by the Allegri Quartet in Dublin Castle in June 1976, the British premiere three days later at Snape Maltings
Snape Maltings
Snape Maltings is part of Snape, Suffolk, U.K., best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival....
, as part of the Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
. On the occasion of the quartet's 40th birthday, he played the Concerto for piano, violin and quartet by Ernest Chausson
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
with the new formation, with Peggy Gray at the piano.
In 1982 he participated in a recording of Octet Op.67 of Egon Wellesz
Egon Wellesz
Egon Joseph Wellesz was an Austrian-born British composer, teacher and musicologist, notable particularly in the field of Byzantine music.- Life :...
with the members of the Melos Ensemble Nicholas Ward (violin), Patrick Ireland (viola), Terence Weil (cello), William Waterhouse (bassoon), Peter Graeme
Peter Graeme
Peter Graeme is an English oboist and academic teacher. He is best known as the principal oboist of the Melos Ensemble.-Professional career:Peter Graeme studied the oboe with Léon Goossens...
(oboe), Thea King
Thea King
Dame Thea King DBE FRCM FGSM was a British clarinettist.Thea King was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the daughter of Henry Walter Mayer King, the manager of a family engineering business, George. W. King Ltd., based in Hitchin then Stevenage, Hertfordshire, and his wife, Dorothea...
(clarinet), and Timothy Brown
Timothy Brown (hornist)
Timothy Brown is a British horn player, a leading chamber musician and co-principal of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He was a member of the Melos Ensemble in its second phase...
(horn).
He is professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and artistic director of the Irish Youth Orchestra, as well as violin tutor to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He teaches master classes at Aldeburgh Music and is on the coaching staff of the ensemble training at the Leiston Abbey
Leiston Abbey
Leiston Abbey, in Suffolk, England, was formerly known as St Mary's Abbey. It was founded in 1182 at Minsmere by Ranulf de Glanville, Lord Chief Justice to Henry II...
music school.
External links
- Entries for recordings by Hugh Maguire on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...