Robert Simpson (composer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Simpson (2 March 1921 – 21 November 1997) was an English
composer
and long-serving BBC
producer and broadcaster.
He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music (including 11 symphonies
and 15 string quartet
s), and for his writings on the music of Beethoven
, Bruckner
, Nielsen
and Sibelius
. He studied composition under Herbert Howells
. Remarkably for a composer who was still alive, a Robert Simpson Society was formed in 1980 by individuals concerned that Simpson's music was unfairly neglected. The Society works to bring Simpson's music to a wider public by sponsoring recordings and live performances of his work, by issuing a journal and other publications, and by maintaining an archive.
. His father, Robert Warren Simpson, was a descendent of Sir James Young Simpson
, the Scottish pioneer of anaesthetics; his mother, Helena Hendrika Govaars, was the daughter of Gerrit Govaars
, founder of the , the Dutch arm of The Salvation Army. Simpson studied at Westminster School
. He was intended for a medical career and studied in London for two years before his determination to be a musician gained the upper hand. A conscientious objector
in World War II
, he served with an A.R.P. mobile surgical unit during the London Blitz
, while taking lessons from Herbert Howells
. Howells persuaded him to take the Durham University
Bachelor of Music
degree and in 1952 he gained the further degree of Doctor of Music
from that university, the submitted work being his First Symphony. After the war Simpson lectured extensively and founded the Exploratory Concerts Society; in 1951 he joined the music staff of the BBC and became one of its best-known and most respected music producers, remaining with the Corporation for nearly three decades. Simpson was a great champion of Havergal Brian
's music and under the BBC's auspices he produced many broadcasts featuring Brian's works. These included the mammoth "Gothic" Symphony
in 1966 under Sir Adrian Boult
, and in 1973 the 28th Symphony under Leopold Stokowski
who, at the age of 91, was premiering a work written by a 91-year-old composer.
Simpson married Bessie Fraser in 1946; she died in 1981 and the following year he married Angela Musgrave, a fellow BBC employee and relative of composer Thea Musgrave
.
In the latter part of his career as a BBC producer Simpson frequently clashed with the management of the organization. In the 1970s he was one of those – Hans Keller
and Deryck Cooke
were others – who started the (unsuccessful) revolt against the report Broadcasting in the Seventies and its plan for "generic broadcasting" (i.e. separate networks for pop, classical and speech). A decade later Simpson was energetic in his opposition to a cost-cutting reorganisation that ultimately proposed the decommissioning of five of the eleven BBC orchestras. During the ensuing musicians' strike (which caused the cancellation of the first several weeks of the 1980 BBC Promenade Concerts
) Simpson chose to disregard BBC staff regulations and discuss the matter with a national newspaper; he then resigned from the Corporation, publicly alleging a "degeneration of traditional BBC values in the scramble for ratings" (Hans Keller
later described these criticisms as "demonstrable fact") . Had Simpson remained silent for a few more months he would have been able to retire with a full pension, but his feeling was that such a course would have compromised his principles. Abominating the ethos of Thatcherite
Britain, in 1986 he moved to Ireland
, settling on Tralee Bay
in Kerry
. In 1991 he suffered a severe stroke during an English lecture tour, which caused damage to the thalamus
that left him in debilitating pain for the remaining six years of his life. He died in Tralee in 1997.
Simpson's other great passions were astronomy
(he was a member of the British Astronomical Association
and – unusually for an amateur – was made a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
) and pacifism
, specifically addressed in the title of his Tenth String Quartet, For Peace. He was awarded many honours, including the Carl Nielsen
Gold Medal, 1956 (for his book Carl Nielsen, Symphonist, published 1952), and the Medal of Honor of the Bruckner
Society of America, 1962. He refused appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
.
tradition of a dynamic musical architecture built on the gravitational power of tonality
, Simpson wrote very few small or occasional works and concentrated on large-scale genres. He wrote 11 symphonies as well as concertos for violin, piano, flute
and cello. (The Violin Concerto was subsequently withdrawn.) His extensive output of chamber music comprised 15 string quartets, 2 string quintets, a clarinet quintet, piano trio
, clarinet trio, horn trio, violin sonata
and a number of non-standard chamber ensemble works as well as works for piano, a sonata for 2 pianos, and a major organ work entitled (after the famous remark attributed to Galileo
). He tended to avoid vocal music but his output includes two motets. Variation form
was important to him, and in addition to variation-movements on his own themes he composed orchestral variations on themes of Nielsen and Johann Sebastian Bach
, as well as a set of piano variations on a palindromic theme by Haydn
to which he returned in his large-scale String Quartet No. 9
, which is a series of 32 variations and a fugue on the same Haydn theme. String Quartets Nos. 4-6 can be regarded as variations upon the compositional processes, rather than the themes, of Beethoven
's three Rasumovsky Quartets
, Op.
59.
Two significant features of Simpson's oeuvre are his ability to write long works entirely based on a single basic pulse, with faster or slower tempi being suggested by smaller or larger note-values, and the establishment of a dynamic tension between competing tonalities or intervals.
Simpson's works are consistently logical, thoroughly well thought out and organized, and are of considerable intellectual interest.
Robert Simpson is said to have written and destroyed four symphonies (one of which even used serial
procedures) before his first published symphony. The official, published symphonies include the following:
Piano Concerto (1967): A one-movement twenty-minute work, falling into several sections and written for the pianist John Ogdon
. The only one of Simpson's concerti to receive a commercial recording, it is one of his most big-hearted and instantly accessible scores.
Flute Concerto
(1989): A one movement work of twenty-five minutes duration, commissioned by and dedicated to the flautist Susan Milan
. The work embraces a calmness in the manner of Symphony No. 11
.
Cello Concerto (1991): A one-movement variation-form work of twenty-three minutes duration, commissioned by and dedicated to the cellist Raphael Wallfisch
. The work begins vigorously and ends in an atmosphere of contemplative mystery.
In programme notes for a recital consisting of quartets nos. 1–3 at the Arts Council of Great Britain
building in London SW1 on 11 February 1955, Simpson wrote that "although they were not consciously designed as a group, they nevertheless seem to fall into a natural sequence". In construction and tonality there are elements of an overall symmetry encompassing the three works.
String Quartet No. 1 (1951–52): is in two movements, quick and slow; the second movement is a set of variations on a palindromic theme stated by the viola. There is a power-struggle by the opposed tonal centres of E flat and A: E flat is the focus of the first movement and beats off the challenge of A, the second movement theme starts and ends in E flat with a central climax in A; the variations work round to A major, in which key the work ends. The quartet is dedicated to George Enescu
.
String Quartet No. 2 (1953): is the shortest of all Simpson's quartets, playing for about 15 minutes. It is cast in a single movement and a single metronome mark, within which three themes (and three tempi) contest for dominance.
String Quartet No. 3 (1953–54): is in two movements, slow and quick: an Adagio in C major and a pulsing Allegro deciso that works round to an affirmative E major. (Simpson made a transcription of this movement as an independent piece for full string orchestra.)
Simpson stated that String Quartets Nos. 4–6, which are on a much larger scale than Nos. 1–3, constituted "a close study of Beethoven's three Rasumovsky quartets, Op. 59; that is to say, the attempt to understand those great works resulted in, not a verbal analysis, but music". The three Simpson quartets offer, in his own idiom, "musical analogies" to the procedures of Beethoven's three quartets, but they can be performed without reference to the Beethoven and indeed without reference to each other.
String Quartet No. 4 (1973)
String Quartet No. 5 (1974)
String Quartet No. 6 (1975)
Quartets Nos. 7 and 8 both explore the possibilities of the perfect fifth in shaping their themes, harmonies and tonalities.
String Quartet No. 7
(1977)
String Quartet No. 8
(1979)
String Quartet No. 9
String Quartet No. 10 (1983)
String Quartet No. 11 (1984)
String Quartet No. 12 (1987)
String Quartet No. 13 (1989)
String Quartet No. 14 (1990)
String Quartet No. 15
Violin Sonata (1984)
String Trio (1987)
String Quintet No. 1 (1987)
String Quintet No. 2 (1995)
's ability to discuss a composer's sophisticated treatment of forms and keys in a manner that was accurate and incisive without ever alienating the non-specialist reader. His earliest published writings were as a reviewer and critic; but before long his focus had shifted towards being an advocate for widely unappreciated or misunderstood composers like Anton Bruckner
, Carl Nielsen
and Jean Sibelius
, as well as to the analysis of better-known figures (such as Beethoven
) whenever he felt able to illuminate their work from a composer's perspective. His writings can usefully be divided into five categories: (i) books written by Simpson; (ii) books edited by Simpson; (iii) contributions to other books and collections; (iv) posthumous collections of articles; (v) individual articles, programme- and sleeve-notes, etc.
’s music. Symphonies Nos. 10 and 21, conducted by James Loughran
and Eric Pinkett
respectively, were recorded at the De Montfort Hall
, Leicester
in 1972. The music was performed by the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
and the LP was released by Unicorn Records
to great critical acclaim in 1973. A special edition of the television programme Aquarius called The Unknown Warrior gave considerable coverage to the recording session and a camera crew also joined Robert Simpson and members of the orchestra during a visit they made to the composer's home in Shoreham
(see video links below). Following the success of the Unicorn issue, a second Brian album, also produced by Robert Simpson, was recorded by the LSSO in 1974 at Hove
Town Hall and Leicester
De Montfort Hall
with the conducting being shared by Laszlo Heltay and Eric Pinkett. This CBS release included the 22nd Symphony, Brian’s setting of the 23rd Psalm (which clearly belongs to the mainstream British choral tradition of Vaughan Williams and Parry) and the English Suite Rustic Scenes which contains some highly original music.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and long-serving 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...
producer and broadcaster.
He is best known for his orchestral and chamber music (including 11 symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
and 15 string quartet
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...
s), and for his writings on the music of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
, Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
and Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
. He studied composition under Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
. Remarkably for a composer who was still alive, a Robert Simpson Society was formed in 1980 by individuals concerned that Simpson's music was unfairly neglected. The Society works to bring Simpson's music to a wider public by sponsoring recordings and live performances of his work, by issuing a journal and other publications, and by maintaining an archive.
Biography
Simpson was born in Leamington, WarwickshireWarwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. His father, Robert Warren Simpson, was a descendent of Sir James Young Simpson
James Young Simpson
Sir James Young Simpson was a Scottish doctor and an important figure in the history of medicine. Simpson discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and successfully introduced it for general medical use....
, the Scottish pioneer of anaesthetics; his mother, Helena Hendrika Govaars, was the daughter of Gerrit Govaars
Gerrit Govaars
Gerrit Jurriaan Govaars was a Dutch teacher who was instrumental in setting up the Salvation Army in Holland, and in engineering its spread through the various Dutch territories. In Dutch-speaking areas, the Salvation Army is called the 'Leger des Heils'.Govaars Gerrit Jurriaan Govaars (19 April...
, founder of the , the Dutch arm of The Salvation Army. Simpson studied at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
. He was intended for a medical career and studied in London for two years before his determination to be a musician gained the upper hand. 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....
in 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...
, he served with an A.R.P. mobile surgical unit during the London Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, while taking lessons from Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
. Howells persuaded him to take the 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...
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
degree and in 1952 he gained the further degree of Doctor of Music
Doctor of Music
The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
from that university, the submitted work being his First Symphony. After the war Simpson lectured extensively and founded the Exploratory Concerts Society; in 1951 he joined the music staff of the BBC and became one of its best-known and most respected music producers, remaining with the Corporation for nearly three decades. Simpson was a great champion of Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian
Havergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart...
's music and under the BBC's auspices he produced many broadcasts featuring Brian's works. These included the mammoth "Gothic" Symphony
Symphony No. 1 (Havergal Brian)
The Symphony No. 1 in D minor by Havergal Brian was composed between 1919 and 1927, and partly owes its notoriety to being perhaps the largest symphony ever composed...
in 1966 under Sir Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
, and in 1973 the 28th Symphony under 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...
who, at the age of 91, was premiering a work written by a 91-year-old composer.
Simpson married Bessie Fraser in 1946; she died in 1981 and the following year he married Angela Musgrave, a fellow BBC employee and relative of composer Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
.
In the latter part of his career as a BBC producer Simpson frequently clashed with the management of the organization. In the 1970s he was one of those – 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 Deryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke was a British musician, musicologist and broadcaster.-Life:Cooke was born in Leicester to a poor and working class family; his father died when he was a child, but his mother was able to afford piano lessons. Cooke acquired a brilliant technique and began to compose...
were others – who started the (unsuccessful) revolt against the report Broadcasting in the Seventies and its plan for "generic broadcasting" (i.e. separate networks for pop, classical and speech). A decade later Simpson was energetic in his opposition to a cost-cutting reorganisation that ultimately proposed the decommissioning of five of the eleven BBC orchestras. During the ensuing musicians' strike (which caused the cancellation of the first several weeks of the 1980 BBC Promenade Concerts
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
) Simpson chose to disregard BBC staff regulations and discuss the matter with a national newspaper; he then resigned from the Corporation, publicly alleging a "degeneration of traditional BBC values in the scramble for ratings" (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...
later described these criticisms as "demonstrable fact") . Had Simpson remained silent for a few more months he would have been able to retire with a full pension, but his feeling was that such a course would have compromised his principles. Abominating the ethos of Thatcherite
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
Britain, in 1986 he moved to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, settling on Tralee Bay
Tralee Bay
Tralee Bay is located in on the west coast of County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated between Kerry Head on the north side and the Maharees on the west and extends eastwards as far as the bridge at Blennerville. Several small rivers feed into the bay through the town of Tralee...
in Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. In 1991 he suffered a severe stroke during an English lecture tour, which caused damage to the thalamus
Thalamus
The thalamus is a midline paired symmetrical structure within the brains of vertebrates, including humans. It is situated between the cerebral cortex and midbrain, both in terms of location and neurological connections...
that left him in debilitating pain for the remaining six years of his life. He died in Tralee in 1997.
Simpson's other great passions were astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
(he was a member of the British Astronomical Association
British Astronomical Association
The British Astronomical Association is the senior national association of amateur astronomers in the UK.-Function:It encourages observational astronomy by non-professionals in areas which cannot be covered by professional observatories...
and – unusually for an amateur – was made a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
) and pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, specifically addressed in the title of his Tenth String Quartet, For Peace. He was awarded many honours, including the Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
Gold Medal, 1956 (for his book Carl Nielsen, Symphonist, published 1952), and the Medal of Honor of the Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
Society of America, 1962. He refused appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
Music
Dedicated as he was to renewing the classicalClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
tradition of a dynamic musical architecture built on the gravitational power of tonality
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
, Simpson wrote very few small or occasional works and concentrated on large-scale genres. He wrote 11 symphonies as well as concertos for violin, piano, flute
Flute Concerto (Simpson)
The Flute Concerto by Robert Simpson was composed in 1989 and dedicated to Susan Milan, the flautist who commissioned the work and gave its premiere in May 1992 at the Malvern Festival with the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox.-Form:...
and cello. (The Violin Concerto was subsequently withdrawn.) His extensive output of chamber music comprised 15 string quartets, 2 string quintets, a clarinet quintet, piano trio
Piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
, clarinet trio, horn trio, violin sonata
Violin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.-A:*Ella Adayevskaya**Sonata Greca for Violin or Clarinet and Piano...
and a number of non-standard chamber ensemble works as well as works for piano, a sonata for 2 pianos, and a major organ work entitled (after the famous remark attributed to Galileo
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
). He tended to avoid vocal music but his output includes two motets. Variation form
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
was important to him, and in addition to variation-movements on his own themes he composed orchestral variations on themes of Nielsen and Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, as well as a set of piano variations on a palindromic theme by Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
to which he returned in his large-scale String Quartet No. 9
String Quartet No. 9 (Simpson)
The String Quartet No. 9 by Robert Simpson was written in response to a commission by the Delme Quartet in 1982 to mark their 20th anniversary, one which coincided with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Haydn...
, which is a series of 32 variations and a fugue on the same Haydn theme. String Quartets Nos. 4-6 can be regarded as variations upon the compositional processes, rather than the themes, of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's three Rasumovsky Quartets
String Quartets Nos. 7 - 9, Opus 59 - Rasumovsky (Beethoven)
The three "Rasoumovsky" string quartets, opus 59, are the quartets Ludwig van Beethoven wrote in 1806, as a result of a commission by the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count Andreas Razumovsky:*String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1...
, Op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
59.
Two significant features of Simpson's oeuvre are his ability to write long works entirely based on a single basic pulse, with faster or slower tempi being suggested by smaller or larger note-values, and the establishment of a dynamic tension between competing tonalities or intervals.
Simpson's works are consistently logical, thoroughly well thought out and organized, and are of considerable intellectual interest.
Symphonies
"People who write symphonies do it because they feel able to: a lot of those who don't tell everyone else the symphony is dead ... The trouble is that the symphony as an abstraction does not exist: there may be exhausted symphonies and exhausted composers, but the response to a challenge to one's capacity for large-scale organisation and development – that can be exhausted only in individuals"Robert Simpson is said to have written and destroyed four symphonies (one of which even used serial
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
procedures) before his first published symphony. The official, published symphonies include the following:
- Symphony No. 1Symphony No. 1 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 1 by Robert Simpson was completed in 1951 and submitted as his doctorate thesis for the University of Durham.It is scored with a fairly standard orchestra with the exception that high D trumpets are used instead of the standard B flat trumpets.The work is in three connected...
(1951), doctorate thesis for the University of Durham - Symphony No. 2Symphony No. 2 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 2 by Robert Simpson was completed in 1956 and dedicated to Anthony Bernard, conductor of the London Chamber Orchestra, though the first performance was in fact given by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli in 16 July 1957 at the Cheltenham Festival.This is one of...
(1955–1956), dedicated to Anthony BernardAnthony BernardAnthony Bernard was an English conductor, organist, pianist and composer.-Early life:He was born Alan Charles Butler, the son of a Thames lighterman and changed his name by deed poll in 1919 according to the National Archives.... - Symphony No. 3Symphony No. 3 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 3 by Robert Simpson was written in 1962 and dedicated to veteran composer Havergal Brian. The premiere was given by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 14 March, 1963 under the conductor Hugo Rignold....
(1962), dedicated to Havergal BrianHavergal BrianHavergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart... - Symphony No. 4Symphony No. 4 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 4 by Robert Simpson was written between 1970 and 1972 and commissioned by the The Hallé who gave the premiere, conducted by James Loughran, at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, on 6 April 1973....
(1970–1972), commissioned by the Hallé OrchestraThe HalléThe Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI... - Symphony No. 5Symphony No. 5 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 5 by Robert Simpson was written in 1972 and "dedicated in admiration" to the London Symphony Orchestra, who gave the premiere on May 3, 1973, conducted by Andrew Davis. The second performance in England didn't take place until 1984....
(1972), dedicated to the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe 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:... - Symphony No. 6Symphony No. 6 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 6 by Robert Simpson was completed in 1977 and dedicated to the renowned gynaecologist Ian Craft. It was commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra who gave the premiere under Sir Charles Groves on 8th of April, 1980....
(1977), dedicated to the renowned gynaecologist Ian Craft - Symphony No. 7Symphony No. 7 (Simpson)Robert Simpson composed his Seventh Symphony in 1977, the same year he completed his Sixth Symphony. The work is dedicated to Hans Keller and his wife, Milein Keller, and was first performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Brian Wright at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool...
(1977), dedicated to Hans KellerHans KellerHans 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 his wife, the artist 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.... - Symphony No. 8Symphony No. 8 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 8 by Robert Simpson was completed in 1981 and commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society. The first performance was given at the Royal Festival Hall on 10 November, 1982 by the Royal Danish Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Semkow. The work employs a large orchestra which includes...
(1981), dedicated to the painter Anthony Dorrell - Symphony No. 9Symphony No. 9 (Simpson)The Symphony No. 9 by Robert Simpson was composed between 1985 and 1987 and commissioned by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra who gave the premiere under Vernon Handley at the Poole Arts Centre on 8 April, 1987. The work was dedicated to his second wife, Angela...
(1985–1987), dedicated to his wife, Angela - Symphony No. 10Symphony No. 10 (Simpson)Robert Simpson composed his Symphony No. 10 in 1988 and dedicated it to the conductor Vernon Handley who gave the premiere of the work in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, on 16 January, 1991 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra...
(1988), dedicated to Vernon HandleyVernon HandleyVernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his... - Symphony No. 11Symphony No. 11 (Simpson)Robert Simpson composed his Symphony No. 11 in 1990, dedicating the work to the conductor and composer Matthew Taylor, who was scheduled to give the premiere at Cheltenham Town Hall with the City of London Sinfonia on 15 July 1991...
(1990), dedicated to Matthew TaylorMatthew Taylor (composer)-Biography:Taylor was born in London in 1964. He attended the Junior Royal Academy of Music. He studeid composition with Robin Holloway at Queens' College, Cambridge University and later at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and at the Royal Academy of Music. He later continued his composition...
Concerti
Violin Concerto (1959): A work of some forty minutes, dedicated to the violinist Ernest Element, withdrawn by the composer late in his life.Piano Concerto (1967): A one-movement twenty-minute work, falling into several sections and written for the pianist John Ogdon
John Ogdon
John Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
. The only one of Simpson's concerti to receive a commercial recording, it is one of his most big-hearted and instantly accessible scores.
Flute Concerto
Flute Concerto (Simpson)
The Flute Concerto by Robert Simpson was composed in 1989 and dedicated to Susan Milan, the flautist who commissioned the work and gave its premiere in May 1992 at the Malvern Festival with the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox.-Form:...
(1989): A one movement work of twenty-five minutes duration, commissioned by and dedicated to the flautist Susan Milan
Susan Milan
Susan Milan ARCM PG, GSMD, FRCM, is an English Professor of flute of the Royal College of Music, classical performer, recording artiste, composer, author and entrepreneur.-Biography:...
. The work embraces a calmness in the manner of Symphony No. 11
Symphony No. 11 (Simpson)
Robert Simpson composed his Symphony No. 11 in 1990, dedicating the work to the conductor and composer Matthew Taylor, who was scheduled to give the premiere at Cheltenham Town Hall with the City of London Sinfonia on 15 July 1991...
.
Cello Concerto (1991): A one-movement variation-form work of twenty-three minutes duration, commissioned by and dedicated to the cellist Raphael Wallfisch
Raphael Wallfisch
Raphael Wallfisch is a British cellist.Wallfisch was born into a family of distinguished musicians, his father the pianist Peter Wallfisch and his mother the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who is one of the last known surviving members of the Girl orchestra of Auschwitz...
. The work begins vigorously and ends in an atmosphere of contemplative mystery.
Quartets
Simpson composed 15 numbered string quartets; a quartet preceding this sequence was written as part of his course at Durham University and may still exist there. He regarded Quartets Nos. 1-3 as forming a natural sequence, and Nos. 4-6 are a clearly distinct group related to three Beethoven quartets, though they can all be performed as entirely independent compositions. The second movement of No. 8 has the label Eretmapodites gilletti, and the quartet is dedicated to two people including the discoverer of the mosquito with that scientific name; the ninth quartet, from 1982, is a one-movement (but subdivided, with slow and scherzando sections) palindromic 32 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Haydn; Number 10 is entitled "For Peace". (See the article by Malcolm MacDonald in the External Links.)In programme notes for a recital consisting of quartets nos. 1–3 at the Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
building in London SW1 on 11 February 1955, Simpson wrote that "although they were not consciously designed as a group, they nevertheless seem to fall into a natural sequence". In construction and tonality there are elements of an overall symmetry encompassing the three works.
String Quartet No. 1 (1951–52): is in two movements, quick and slow; the second movement is a set of variations on a palindromic theme stated by the viola. There is a power-struggle by the opposed tonal centres of E flat and A: E flat is the focus of the first movement and beats off the challenge of A, the second movement theme starts and ends in E flat with a central climax in A; the variations work round to A major, in which key the work ends. The quartet is dedicated to George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
.
String Quartet No. 2 (1953): is the shortest of all Simpson's quartets, playing for about 15 minutes. It is cast in a single movement and a single metronome mark, within which three themes (and three tempi) contest for dominance.
String Quartet No. 3 (1953–54): is in two movements, slow and quick: an Adagio in C major and a pulsing Allegro deciso that works round to an affirmative E major. (Simpson made a transcription of this movement as an independent piece for full string orchestra.)
Simpson stated that String Quartets Nos. 4–6, which are on a much larger scale than Nos. 1–3, constituted "a close study of Beethoven's three Rasumovsky quartets, Op. 59; that is to say, the attempt to understand those great works resulted in, not a verbal analysis, but music". The three Simpson quartets offer, in his own idiom, "musical analogies" to the procedures of Beethoven's three quartets, but they can be performed without reference to the Beethoven and indeed without reference to each other.
String Quartet No. 4 (1973)
- is dedicated to Basil LamBasil LamBasil Lam was an English early music scholar and harpsichordist. A producer for the Third Programme of the BBC since its inception in September 1946, Lam eventually became head of the classical musical division of the BBC in the 1960s...
. The four movements – an Allegro, a Presto scherzoScherzoA scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
, an Andante sosteunto slow movement joining on without a break to an Assai vivace finale – correspond to the layout of Beethoven's op.59 no.1.
String Quartet No. 5 (1974)
- is dedicated to Angela Musgrave, who became the composer's second wife. The four movements – an Allegro molto with a written-out literal repeat of the exposition, an Adagio, sempre semplice, an Allegretto vivace and a whirlwind Prestissimo finale – correspond to the layout of Beethoven's Op. 59, No. 2.
String Quartet No. 6 (1975)
- is dedicated to the film-maker Barrie GavinBarrie Gavin-Early years:He studied history at the University of Cambridge from 1954 to 1957.He joined the BBC as an assistant film editor in 1961. With the opening of BBC Two in 1964 he began to direct principally programmes about music....
and his wife Jamila. Of the four movements, the first begins with an Adagio introduction exploring an enigmatic harmony, prefacing a large-scale Vivacissimo; the second is an intermezzo-like Con moto; grazioso ed intensivo, the third a complex CanonCanon (music)In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
marked Molto tranquillo with an Allegretto grazioso middle section, and the finale is marked Molto rapido – these correspond to the layout of Beethoven's op.59 no.3, which begins with a slow introduction exploring a particular harmony and includes an archaic form (a MinuetMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
) as its third movement.
Quartets Nos. 7 and 8 both explore the possibilities of the perfect fifth in shaping their themes, harmonies and tonalities.
String Quartet No. 7
String Quartet No. 7 (Simpson)
The String Quartet No. 7 by Robert Simpson was composed during 1977 and was dedicated to Lady Jeans who requested the work. The Gabrieli String Quartet gave the first performance at a concert in Jeans’ home, Cleveland Lodge, Dorking, during a concert celebrating the centenary of her husband, the...
(1977)
- is dedicated to the organist Susi JeansSusi JeansSusi Jeans , otherwise Lady Jeans, was an Austrian-born organist, musicologist and noted teacher. Born in Vienna, she was the oldest child of Oscar and Jektaterina Hock. Initially, she trained as a ballet dancer by the modernist teacher Gertrud Bodenwieser, but growing rather rapidly, switched to...
and written in celebration of the birth-centenary of her husband, the astronomer Sir James Jeans. The work is in a single movement and makes much use of the open strings of the instruments, whose tuning Simpson likened to the forces of gravitation. This leads the work to revolve around the circle of fifths. The slow opening Tranquillo and closing Tempo primo enclose a fast section, Vivace, intended to represent the pulsing energy of the universe.
String Quartet No. 8
String Quartet No. 8 (Simpson)
The String Quartet No. 8 by Robert Simpson was composed in 1979 in response to a commission by the Brunel Philharmonic Society with funds made available from the Greater London Arts Association. The work is dedicated to Professor Gillett, who was the director of Biological Sciences at Brunel...
(1979)
- is dedicated to the biologist and entomologist J.D. Gillett and his wife. There are four movements, the tonality of each being a fifth higher than that of its predecessor. The first is a large-scale fugue, Grave, molto intensivo, the second is a brief scherzo (Molto vivace), 'suggesting the formidable delicacy' of the mosquito Eretmapodites Gilletti. The third is an intermezzo, Allegretto grazioso, played with mutes. The finale is a strenuous Risoluto e concentrato to balance the first movement.
String Quartet No. 9
String Quartet No. 9 (Simpson)
The String Quartet No. 9 by Robert Simpson was written in response to a commission by the Delme Quartet in 1982 to mark their 20th anniversary, one which coincided with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Haydn...
- (1982) is subtitled 32 Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Haydn and was dedicated to the Delmé Quartet, who commissioned it, on their 20th anniversary, which was also the 250th anniversary of the birth of Haydn. At about 57 minutes' duration is one of the longest continuous movements for string quartet ever written. The theme is the palindromicPalindromeA palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
minuetMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
which Haydn used in his Symphony No. 47 and Piano Sonata No.26. Simpson had already composed a set of piano variations on this minuet in 1948, and three of those variations are transcribed as variations I-III of the quartet. The 32 quartet variations take Simpson's fascination with formal symmetry to a new extreme, though they are grouped to correspond to first movement, scherzo and slow movement. The free-form fugue forms the finale, gaining energy and speed as it proceeds.
String Quartet No. 10 (1983)
- bears the title For Peace and was composed for the tenth anniversary of the Coull QuartetCoull QuartetThe Coull Quartet is an English string quartet that was founded at the Royal Academy of Music, London in 1974.The Coull Quartet premiered some of the later string quartets by the composer Robert Simpson, who before his retirement and emigration to the Irish Republic lived close to the University of...
. Simpson said that the title "refers to its generally pacific character ... The music ... tries to define the condition of peace. This excludes aggression but not strong feeling." The three movements are a serene Allegretto, a very short Prestissimo scherzo and a concluding Molto adagio, longer than the other two movements combined, which climaxes in a fugue and ends in a peaceful epilogue.
String Quartet No. 11 (1984)
- was also written for the Coull Quartet and shares some material with No. 10, but is much more turbulent and intense in character: Simpson said he was conscious of the influence of Beethoven's F minor Quartet, Op.95 in this work. Quartet No. 11 is in a single large movement and is concerned with salient intervals including the tritone and the major third. An opening Allegro molto is followed by a polyphonic Adagio, a large-scale Scherzo (Presto) and a concluding Molto adagio played pianissimo throughout.
String Quartet No. 12 (1987)
- was commissioned for the 1988 Nottingham Festival. This work is in two large movements, a meditative and polyphonic Adagio and a Molto vivace combining the characters of scherzo and finale.
String Quartet No. 13 (1989)
- was commissioned for the 1990 CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
Festival and was premiered there by the Delmé Quartet. It is dedicated to the BBC producer Graham Melville-Mason and his wife Alex. This is the shortest of Simpson's later quartets (only No. 2 is shorter) and is in four concise movements, played without any break, in a fast-slow-fast-slow pattern.
String Quartet No. 14 (1990)
- is a large-scale work in the traditional four movements. The slow movement has been particularly praised for its meditative beauty.
String Quartet No. 15
String Quartet No. 15 (Simpson)
The String Quartet No. 15 by Robert Simpson was composed quickly in the summer of 1991 and dedicated to the Vanbrugh Quartet who had developed growing association with Simpson's later chamber music....
- (1991) is a shorter work in one movement with three contrasting sections, an Adagio introduction and an Allegretto finale framing a large central scherzo, marked Severo. The character of this quartet is turbulent and granitic, rather in the manner of String Quartet No. 11.
Other Chamber Music
Clarinet Quintet (1968)- This is a large-scale work in five movements forming an arch shape – a central scherzo of some 800 bars is framed by two slow movements, which themselves are framed by two outer fast movements. The arch shape is completed by a slow introduction and a slow coda. The entire basis of the material for the work is outlined in the opening introduction, with the main theme having some sort of parallel with Beethoven's C sharp minor quartet. It is one of Simpson's more subtle and enigmatic scores, with an epilogue of almost naive, diatonic fluidity and rising scales.
Violin Sonata (1984)
- This is a two movement structure, the first movement a vigorous Allegro, and the second combining the characters of a slow movement, scherzo and finale. Throughout there is a conflict between G major and G minor – particularly guided by the intervals of a major third and a minor third, which are often combined and pushed against each other to create strange resonances – for example G to B flat in the low register of the piano, and B natural to D in the upper register.
String Trio (1987)
- A three movement work. An opening Prelude (Presto) and a concluding Fugue (Volante) are separated by a central Adagio. It is dedicated to Jillian White of BBC Bristol.
String Quintet No. 1 (1987)
- A long one-movement work alternating slow and fast sections. It contains some of the most peaceful music the composer ever wrote.
String Quintet No. 2 (1995)
- This was Simpson's final work. Most of it was completed in 1991, before Simpson was paralysed with a stroke that left him in permanent pain, but the final coda was dictated to his wife several years later. It is one of Simpson's most severe and dark scores, its structure is built on a very minimal amount of material and there is an alternation between two tempo types – an austere, lyrical moderato and a knotty allegro. The slow, final coda is one of the darkest endings in all string chamber music literature.
Compositions for brass band
- Energy (1971), Test Piece, Brass Band World Championships
- Volcano (1979), Test Piece, National Brass Band Championships of Britain
- The Four Temperaments, Suite for Brass Band (1983). The composer also re-orchestrated this work for orchestral brass.
- Introduction and Allegro on a Bass of Max Reger (1987)
- Vortex (1989)
Compositions for keyboard instruments
- Piano Sonata (1946)
- Variations and Finale on a Theme of Haydn for solo piano (1948)
- Michael Tippett, His Mystery for solo piano (1984)
- Eppur si muove, Ricercar and Passacaglia for organ (1985)
- Variations and Finale on a Theme by Beethoven for solo piano (1990)
Books and articles
As a writer on music (he would have disavowed the title 'musicologist'), Simpson was guided by his deep admiration for ToveyDonald Francis Tovey
Sir Donald Francis Tovey was a British musical analyst, musicologist, writer on music, composer, conductor and pianist...
's ability to discuss a composer's sophisticated treatment of forms and keys in a manner that was accurate and incisive without ever alienating the non-specialist reader. His earliest published writings were as a reviewer and critic; but before long his focus had shifted towards being an advocate for widely unappreciated or misunderstood composers like Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
, Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
and Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, as well as to the analysis of better-known figures (such as Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
) whenever he felt able to illuminate their work from a composer's perspective. His writings can usefully be divided into five categories: (i) books written by Simpson; (ii) books edited by Simpson; (iii) contributions to other books and collections; (iv) posthumous collections of articles; (v) individual articles, programme- and sleeve-notes, etc.
Authored by Simpson
- Carl Nielsen: Symphonist (1952, rev. 1979).
- Bruckner and the Symphony (1963).
- Sibelius and Nielsen: a Centenary Essay (1965).
- The Essence of Bruckner: An Essay Towards the Understanding of his Music (1966; revised edition, 1992).
- Beethoven Symphonies (1970).
- The Proms and Natural Justice: A Plan for Renewal (With Foreword by Sir Adrian Boult; 1980).
- Simpson on Beethoven: Essays, Lectures and Talks by R. Simpson, Selected and Edited by Lionel Pike (1996)
Edited by Simpson
- The Symphony (2 Vols; Ed. R. Simpson; 1966). Besides writing the 'Introduction' to the first volume and the preludial essay 'Stravinsky, Hindemith and Others' of the second, Simpson added several pithy editorial footnotes to the chapters of his contributors. In addition, he wrote the essay on Rachmaninoff found in Volume 2.
Contributions
- 'Ianus Germinus: Music in Scandinavia' (1960), in Twentieth Century Music – an International Symposium of Essays on Current Trends in Music, Ed. R. Meyers. (1960; reissued 1968).
- Foreword to: Beethoven, Sibelius and the 'Profound Logic': Studies in Symphonic Analysis", by Lionel Pike (1978).
- 'Beethoven Concertos', in A Guide to the Concerto, Ed. Robert Layton (1988)
- 'Carl Nielsen Now: A Personal View', in The Nielsen Companion, Ed. Mina Miller (1995).
- Foreword to: Experiencing Music (Musicians on Music, No. 5), by Vagn Holmboe, Ed. and Trans. Paul Rapoport (1991).
Various pieces
- 'The Seventh Symphony of Bruckner: An Analysis' Music Review (1947): 178-187.
- 'More Reflections (After Composition)', Tempo No 144 (1983).
- Programme note for British première of original 1873 edition of Bruckner's Symphony No 3, Royal Philharmonic SocietyRoyal Philharmonic SocietyThe Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
(9 December 1987). - Program Notes for the Vanbrugh Quartet's Beethoven String Quartet cycle (19??).
- Sleeve notes for the Delme Quartet's recording of Bach's 'Die Kunst der Fuge' arr. R. Simpson (19??).
Work as record producer
Robert Simpson was also the producer for the first commercially available recordings of Havergal BrianHavergal Brian
Havergal Brian , was a British classical composer.Brian acquired a legendary status at the time of his rediscovery in the 1950s and 1960s for the many symphonies he had managed to write. By the end of his life he had completed 32, an unusually large number for any composer since Haydn or Mozart...
’s music. Symphonies Nos. 10 and 21, conducted by James Loughran
James Loughran
James Loughran CBE, DMus., FRNCM, FRSAMD is a Scottish conductor.-Early life:Educated at St Aloysius' College in Glasgow, Loughran conducted at school and afterwards, while studying economics and law...
and Eric Pinkett
Eric Pinkett
Eric Pinkett O.B.E. , was the founder of the internationally famous Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra. He established the Leicestershire County School of Music in 1948 and continued to conduct the orchestra until his retirement in 1976.His memoirs were published in 1969 by way of a 21st...
respectively, were recorded at the De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall is a music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.-History:...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in 1972. The music was performed by the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra is a youth orchestra based in Leicester, England. The players, aged between 15 and 18, are all drawn from secondary schools in the county of Leicestershire and the City of Leicester.-History:...
and the LP was released by Unicorn Records
Unicorn-Kanchana
Unicorn-Kanchana was a British independent record label. Originally known as Unicorn Records, the name Kanchana was added later to distinguish the company from Unicorn Records of Montréal, Canada...
to great critical acclaim in 1973. A special edition of the television programme Aquarius called The Unknown Warrior gave considerable coverage to the recording session and a camera crew also joined Robert Simpson and members of the orchestra during a visit they made to the composer's home in Shoreham
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
(see video links below). Following the success of the Unicorn issue, a second Brian album, also produced by Robert Simpson, was recorded by the LSSO in 1974 at Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
Town Hall and Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall is a music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.-History:...
with the conducting being shared by Laszlo Heltay and Eric Pinkett. This CBS release included the 22nd Symphony, Brian’s setting of the 23rd Psalm (which clearly belongs to the mainstream British choral tradition of Vaughan Williams and Parry) and the English Suite Rustic Scenes which contains some highly original music.
External links
- Robert Simpson Society discography, bibliography and biographical information with a members' forum
- Article about Robert Simpson by Malcolm MacDonald
- Robert Simpson interview by Bruce Duffie