108-662: The World Record Club Ltd. was the name of a company in the United Kingdom which issued long-playing records and reel-to-reel tapes , mainly of classical music and jazz , through a membership mail-order system during the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to titles imported from recording companies like Everest Records and Westminster Records , which it obtained on franchise, it made a series of recordings of international artists using its own engineers. Although often of great musical interest and very acceptable technical quality, these recordings do not appear in shop catalogues of
216-750: A Knight Bachelor in 1937 and was created a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 1969. He received the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1944 and the Harvard Glee Club medal (jointly with Vaughan Williams) in 1956. He received honorary degrees and fellowships from 13 universities and conservatoires. In 1951 he was invited to be the first president of the Elgar Society . In 1959 he
324-545: A background design to the overprinted label text. The album covers were often striking – innovative, colourful and modern, although some were criticised as being too drab. The WRC set up its own artistic studio at its offices at 330 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and the sleeves are still regarded as a high point in Australian graphic design of the 1960s. They occasionally won awards, although some subscribers preferred more traditional record covers, and made their opinions known in
432-513: A bit of wood. He spoke very little". This style was in accord with Boult's opinion that "all conductors should be clad in an invisible Tarnhelm which makes it possible to enjoy the music without seeing any of the antics that go on". He sang in choral festivals and at the Leeds Festival of 1913, where he watched Nikisch conduct. There he made the acquaintance of George Butterworth , and other British composers. Later that year Boult joined
540-500: A copy of the World Record News, a slim magazine which provided interesting articles on music, its history, composers, artists and records. It also contained additional information about the next month's releases, supplementary catalogues with order forms, and special promotions. Readers' technical queries about music reproduction were dealt with by Eric Cleburne in a regular column, "Sound Advice". Any possible perceptions that
648-525: A few miles away. From 1962 to 1966 he again taught at the Royal College of Music. In later life, he made time for young conductors who sought his counsel. Among those who studied with or were influenced by Boult were Colin Davis , James Loughran , Richard Hickox and Vernon Handley . The last was not only a pupil of Boult, but acted as his musical assistant on many occasions. Boult was created
756-486: A full-page advertisement (offering monthly releases at between 22s 6d and 24s 9d per disc, only one needing to be chosen per year) on the inside front cover of all the individual concert programmes, facing the actual music listing for the evening – a competitive space, placing it on equal footing with Electric Audio Reproducers, EMI Records , Decca Records , Grundig Tape Recorders, Ferguson Radiograms. A full-priced record then cost around 40 shillings (£2). Key artists at
864-566: A growing conviction that the orchestra would be "seriously jeopardized financially" if Russell remained in post. A later writer, Richard Witts , suggests that Boult sacrificed Russell because he believed doing so would enhance the LPO's chance of being appointed resident orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall . In 1953 Boult once again took charge of the orchestral music at a coronation, conducting an ensemble drawn from UK orchestras at
972-1042: A magazine listing the upcoming monthly releases for that year, which had to be ordered in advance. The magazine featured a classical music column "The Golden Road" by World Record Club editor-in-chief Harvey Blanks. This was published in book form in 1968 by Rigby in Australia and Angus and Robertson in the UK and was offered for sale through the magazine. Five years in the making, it remains a highly readable and informative handbook for classical music devotees. The WRC had showrooms in Wellington (in Farish Street), in Christchurch (in Cashel Street) and Auckland (in Albert Street), with sound booths where it
1080-482: A new subscriber to the club were rewarded with a free record, which they could select from a list of a dozen. In the first five years the record labels were a plain aqua colour, with the WRC logo and text in black. Around the circumference was a stroboscopic pattern to assist in checking turntable speed. Later records had a mid blue-green label, with an 18th-century image of a military trumpeter or fanfare-player in livery, as
1188-546: A paper to an Oxford musical group, the Oriana Society, entitled Some Notes on Performance , in which he laid down three precepts for an ideal performance: observance of the composer's wishes, clarity through emphasis on balance and structure, and the effect of music made without apparent effort. These guiding principles lasted throughout his career. He was president of the University Musical Club for
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#17327808404441296-420: A rare probity to everything he undertook." Boult's biographer, Kennedy, gave this summary: "In the music he admired most, Boult was often a great conductor; in the rest, an extremely conscientious one. ... If from behind he seemed unexciting and unemotional, the players could see the animation in his face – and he was capable of frightening outbursts of temper at rehearsals. Tall and erect, with something of
1404-444: A schoolboy, Boult met the composer Edward Elgar through Frank Schuster , a family friend. At Christ Church college at Oxford , where he was an undergraduate from 1908 to 1912, Boult studied history but later switched to music, in which his mentor was the musical academic and conductor Hugh Allen . Among the musical friends he made at Oxford was Ralph Vaughan Williams , who became a lifelong friend. In 1909, Boult presented
1512-523: A small number of core players were recruited before negotiations foundered. Beecham withdrew, and with Malcolm Sargent soon established the rival London Philharmonic Orchestra . In 1930 Boult returned to London to succeed Percy Pitt as director of music at the BBC. On taking up the post, Boult and his department recruited enough musicians to bring the complement of the new BBC Symphony Orchestra to 114. A substantial number of these players performed at
1620-545: A spare recording session in August 1970 Boult recorded the Third Symphony of Brahms. This was well received and led to a series of recordings of Brahms, Wagner, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven. His repertoire in general was much wider than his discography might suggest. It was a disappointment to him that he was rarely invited to conduct in the opera house, and he relished the opportunity to record extensive excerpts from
1728-538: A special franchise in Australia, and operated from 1957 to 1976. The registered office was in Hartwell, a suburb of Melbourne , Victoria , with the postal address being P.O. Box 76, Burwood. Stores were provided in central Melbourne, Sydney , Brisbane , Adelaide and Perth , where records could be auditioned and picked up. Subsidiary clubs under its control in the early years were the Light Music Club and
1836-527: A thorough knowledge of the work, he was content to let it speak for itself without having recourse to those aids to success which are a constant temptation to conductors." Sixty-five years later, in an obituary tribute, Peter Heyworth wrote in the same newspaper: "From Nikisch he had early acquired an immaculate stick technique and was quietly scathing about conductors who used their anatomy to indicate their artistic requirements. ... In an occupation ridden with inflated egos and circus tricksters Boult brought
1944-1039: A very short list of composers whose works Boult refused to conduct, "but it would be difficult to deduce who they were." Boult's pioneering work with the BBC included an early performance of Schoenberg 's Variations, Op. 31, British premières, including Alban Berg 's opera Wozzeck and Three Movements from the Lyric Suite , and world premières, including Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 4 in F minor and Bartók 's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra. He introduced Mahler's Ninth Symphony to London in 1934, and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra in 1946. Boult invited Anton Webern to conduct eight BBC concerts between 1931 and 1936. The excellence of Boult's orchestra attracted leading international conductors. In its second season guest conductors included Richard Strauss , Felix Weingartner and Bruno Walter , followed, in later seasons, by Serge Koussevitzky , Beecham and Willem Mengelberg . Arturo Toscanini , widely regarded at
2052-529: A wide variety of conducting jobs in the years following the war. In 1919, he succeeded Ernest Ansermet as musical director of Sergei Diaghilev 's ballet company. Although Ansermet gave Boult all the help he could in his preparations, there were fourteen ballets in the company's repertory – none of which Boult knew. In only a short period, Boult was required to master such scores as Petrushka , The Firebird , Scheherazade , La Boutique fantasque and The Good-Humoured Ladies . In 1921, Boult conducted
2160-585: A wider audience. Just before the Armistice, Gustav Holst burst into my office: "Adrian, the YMCA are sending me to Salonika quite soon and Balfour Gardiner , bless his heart, has given me a parting present consisting of the Queen's Hall, full of the Queen's Hall Orchestra for the whole of a Sunday morning. So we're going to do The Planets , and you've got to conduct." Adrian Boult In 1918, Boult conducted
2268-491: A woodwind player has to complain that he has already been blowing 'fit to burst' there is trouble for somebody." The trombonist Raymond Premru wrote forty years later, "One of the old school, like Boult, is so refreshing because he will reduce the dynamic level – 'No, no, pianissimo, strings, let the soloist through, less from everyone else.' That is the old idea of balance." As an educator, Boult influenced several generations of musicians, beginning with his conducting class at
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#17327808404442376-804: The BBC Symphony Orchestra and became its chief conductor. The orchestra set standards of excellence that were rivalled in Britain only by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), founded two years later. Forced to leave the BBC in 1950 on reaching retirement age, Boult became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra had declined from its peak of the 1930s, but under his guidance its fortunes were revived. He retired as its chief conductor in 1957, and later accepted
2484-751: The Bach Choir in London, a position he held until 1931. Visits to London by the Hallé Orchestra and particularly the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1929, had highlighted the relatively poor standards of London orchestras. Sir Thomas Beecham and the director general of the BBC Sir John Reith were keen to establish a first-class symphony orchestra, and they agreed in principle to do so jointly. Only
2592-636: The Bolshoi Opera and were guests at the composer Dmitri Shostakovich 's 50th birthday party. After the Russian tour, Boult told the LPO that he wished to step down from the principal conductorship. He continued to be the orchestra's main conductor until his successor William Steinberg took up the post in 1959. After the sudden resignation of Andrzej Panufnik from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Boult returned as principal conductor of
2700-462: The Cold War began some influential members of the LPO felt that Russell's private political affiliations compromised the orchestra, and pressed for his dismissal. Boult, as the orchestra's chief conductor, stood up for Russell, but when matters came to a head Boult ceased to protect him. Deprived of that crucial support, Russell was forced out. Kennedy speculates that Boult's change of mind was due to
2808-624: The Frederick Delius and Samuel Barber violin concerti (CM 59, Westminster), Hermann Scherchen 's Mahler 7th Symphony (CM 63-64, Westminster), the Bruckner 8th of Hans Knappertsbusch (CM 71-72, Westminster), and the Richard Strauss memorial album with Clemens Krauss and Kurt List (CM 73-74, Amadeo). This small but very interesting series had not reached 100 records by 1966. The pressings and presentation of this series
2916-531: The London Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts that included important recent British works. Among them was the première of a revised version of Vaughan Williams's A London Symphony , a performance which was "rather spoilt by a Zeppelin raid". His best-known première of this period was Holst's The Planets . Boult conducted the first performance on 29 September 1918 to an invited audience of about 250. Holst later wrote on his copy of
3024-507: The Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic orchestras. Although he had worked extensively in the studio for the BBC, Boult had, up to this point, recorded only a part of his large repertoire for the gramophone. With the LPO he began a series of commercial recordings that continued at a varying rate for the rest of his working life. Their first recordings together were Elgar's Falstaff , Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with
3132-469: The mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom , and Beethoven's First Symphony . The work of the new team was greeted with approval by the reviewers. Of the Elgar, The Gramophone wrote, "I have heard no other conductor approach [Boult's] performance. ... His newly adopted orchestra responds admirably". In The Manchester Guardian , Neville Cardus wrote, "Nobody is better able than Sir Adrian Boult to expound
3240-453: The 'Viewpoint' page of the Club magazine. Many of the texts were written by James Murdoch . In the early years, multi-disc opera sets were lavish productions, the records in each set being presented in a red leatherette case with a folded silk ribbon opening tab. The discs in their plastic sleeves were separated by heavy sheets of gold card, bound into the box. A full libretto of nearly A4 size
3348-527: The 1930 Promenade Concerts under Sir Henry Wood, and the full BBC Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert on 22 October 1930, conducted by Boult at the Queen's Hall. The programme consisted of music by Wagner, Brahms , Saint-Saëns and Ravel . Of the 21 programmes in the orchestra's first season, Boult conducted nine and Wood five. The reviews of the new orchestra were enthusiastic. The Times wrote of its "virtuosity" and of Boult's "superb" conducting. The Musical Times commented, "The boast of
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3456-755: The 1930s affected Wilson's career but not Boult's: Wilson was barred from performing in English cathedrals at the Three Choirs Festival but Boult was invited to conduct the orchestra at Westminster Abbey for the coronation of George VI in 1937. During the Second World War the BBC Symphony Orchestra was evacuated first to Bristol , where it suffered from bombing, and later to Bedford . Boult strove to maintain standards and morale as he lost key players. Between 1939 and
3564-399: The 1930s the BBC Symphony Orchestra became renowned for its high standard of playing and for Boult's capable performances of new and unfamiliar music. Like Henry Wood before him, Boult regarded it as his duty to give the best possible performances of a wide range of composers, including those whose works were not personally congenial to him. His biographer, Michael Kennedy, writes that there was
3672-406: The B.B.C. that it intended to get together a first-class orchestra was not an idle one" and spoke of "exhilaration" at the playing. The Observer called the playing "altogether magnificent" and said that Boult "deserves an instrument of this fine calibre to work on, and the orchestra deserves a conductor of his efficiency and insight." After the initial concerts Reith was told by his advisers that
3780-470: The BBC Symphony Orchestra, giving concerts in Brussels, Paris, Zurich, Budapest and Vienna, where they were especially well received. During his BBC years, Boult did not entirely lose contact with the world of opera and his performances of Die Walküre at Covent Garden in 1931 and Fidelio at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1930 were considered outstanding. For many years, Boult had been a close friend of
3888-407: The BBC in 1938 and his promise carried no weight with his successors. In 1948 Steuart Wilson was appointed head of music at the BBC, the post previously occupied by Boult and Bliss. He made it clear from the start of his appointment that he intended that Boult should be replaced as chief conductor, and he used his authority to insist on Boult's enforced retirement. The director general of the BBC at
3996-640: The Birmingham Festival Choral Society. This led to his becoming musical director of the City of Birmingham Orchestra , where he remained in charge for six years, attracting widespread attention with his adventurous programmes. The advantage of the Birmingham post was that for the first time in his life Boult not only had his own orchestra, but sole control of programming as well; the only time in his life, he later said, when that
4104-621: The British Symphony Orchestra for Vladimir Rosing 's Opera Week at Aeolian Hall. He also took on an academic post. When Hugh Allen succeeded Sir Hubert Parry as principal of the Royal College of Music , he invited Boult to start a conducting class along the lines of Leipzig – the first such class in England. Boult ran the classes from 1919 to 1930. In 1921 he received a Doctorate of Music. When Raymond Roze ,
4212-469: The British premiere of Mahler's Third Symphony . The Times later said of this period, "The Third Programme could not possibly have had the scope which made it world-famous musically without Boult." Nevertheless, Boult's BBC days were numbered. When he was appointed in 1930, Reith had informally promised him that would be exempt from the BBC's rule that staff must retire at age 60. However, Reith had left
4320-657: The CBSO for the 1959–60 season. That was his last chief conductorship, though he remained closely associated with the LPO as its president and a guest conductor until his retirement. After stepping down from the chief conductorship of the LPO, Boult was, for a few years, less in demand in the recording studio and the concert hall. Nevertheless, he was invited to conduct in Vienna, Amsterdam and Boston. In 1964 he made no recordings, but in 1965 he began an association with Lyrita records, an independent label specialising in British music. In
4428-402: The Club magazine as a feature "The Golden Road" from mid-1963. These were later incorporated into his book "The Golden Road – a Record Collector's Guide to Music Appreciation" (Rigby, 1968). Mr Blanks, chief executive officer John Day and director of repertoire Alex Berry were responsible for which records were selected for release, and many Australians owe their enduring love of classical music to
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4536-589: The EMI International Classical Division to work on Karajan recordings, but also expanded his work on historical transfers. It was during the mid to late 1970s that the Retrospect series came to prominence under the WRC label. These records were dedicated to re-issues of material mostly from 78rpm records, mainly old Columbia and His Master's Voice material from the 1920s to 1940s. There were several major projects, including
4644-469: The LPO negotiated a five-year contract with Decca Records , which was unusually rewarding for the orchestra, giving it a 10 per cent commission on most sales. On top of this, Boult always contributed his share of the recording fees to the orchestra's funds. In the same year, the LPO survived a crisis when Russell was dismissed as its managing director. He was an avowed member of the Communist party ; when
4752-681: The RMC were also printed in red, and after some experiments with a more ornamental sleeve, a uniform style of red lettering on a background of simulated wood-grain became the uniform sleeve design. Once again the series mixed in-house and franchised recordings. It included 'strong' material such as Ralph Kirkpatrick playing the Mozart K570 sonata (CM30); Rudolf Schwarz conducting Mahler 's 5th Symphony (LSO - CM 39-40, Everest); Pierre Monteux conducting Berlioz 's Romeo and Juliet (CM 57-58, Westminster); Robert Gerle (violin) and Robert Zeller with
4860-496: The Record Society, but both were later absorbed into the WRC itself. Each year a selection of LPs would be made available, and subscribers needed to order them in advance. A catalogue listed the proposed records with descriptions, initially one per month but soon increasing to four and by 1970 to eight or more, for the forthcoming six months or year. Supplementary catalogues also appeared, listing additional releases to widen
4968-544: The Retrospect series, the sleeves of which were deliberately given some 'Deco' styling. At this time, for instance in the transfers of Alfred Cortot 's Chopin (e.g. SH 326, 327), the original WRC recording manager Anthony Griffith was still bringing his expertise to the high-quality transfers. He retired in 1979, but continued to act as consultant, notably for the CD transfers of the Elgar Edition. The World Record Club had
5076-444: The Royal College of Music, London, which he ran from 1919 to 1930. As no such classes had been held before in Britain, Boult "created its curriculum from out of his own experience. ... From that first small class has come all the later formal training for conductors throughout Britain." In the 1930s Boult ran a series of "conferences for conductors" at his country house near Guildford , sometimes helped by Vaughan Williams who lived
5184-823: The Sinfonia of London in performances of Mozart 's Symphonies 29 and 39 (TZ 130). The Mozart oboe concerto (Leon Goossens, oboe; Colin Davis, conductor, T59), issued c.1961, was a big technical and artistic success, the sleeve featuring photographs of studio sessions and playbacks. The Label also produced a strong hand in English music, especially in Vaughan Williams ' 9th Symphony and Greensleeves and Thomas Tallis Fantasias, and in music by Elgar , conducted by Adrian Boult and George Weldon , and in works of Sir Arthur Bliss. Important solo records of Sviatoslav Richter , Jorge Bolet and Shura Cherkassky were produced, and classical singers were not neglected. By 1958
5292-869: The Wagner operas in the 1970s. Having conducted several ballets at Covent Garden during the 1970s, Boult gave his last public performance conducting Elgar's ballet The Sanguine Fan for the London Festival Ballet at the London Coliseum on 24 June 1978. His final record, completed in December 1978, was of music by Hubert Parry. Boult formally retired from conducting in 1981. He died in London in 1983, aged 93, leaving his body to medical science . A review in The Observer of Boult's second London concert, in 1918, said, "Having, apparently,
5400-400: The astute recommendations of these three gentlemen. The selections were particularly perspicacious – many are still regarded nearly fifty years later as first-choice performances. A large number have been re-released on CD by the parent companies. Recordings of outstanding technical quality, as from the catalogue of Everest, were also released, if their artistic merit justified their inclusion in
5508-499: The cheap prices of the records meant a lower overall quality were dealt with in another regular column, "Don't quote us – quote the critics!" in which reviews of WRC releases from independent sources were reprinted. The Editor-in-Chief of the magazine was a New Zealander, Harvey Blanks, who was responsible for most of the content. This was always of a very high standard, erudite, informative, enthusiastic and reliable. He wrote many articles on music and composers which appeared regularly in
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#17327808404445616-581: The company's business address had changed to Parkbridge House, Little Green, Richmond, Surrey , where it remained thereafter. The 'Treasures' terminology was soon dropped, so that the title 'World Record Club' became the main label feature, written on ribbons wrapped about a globe. The WRC catalogue numbers were prefixed by the letter T (and sometimes ST to denote a stereo version, using the same number, and also TP), and ran from 1 to about 50 by 1962, to 500 by 1966 (and continued) to well over T1000. These were in red or green labels, with silver overprinting, and there
5724-455: The composer wrote to him: "With the sounds ringing in my ears I send a word of thanks for your splendid conducting of the Sym. ... I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands." Elgar's friend and biographer, the violinist W. H. Reed , wrote that Boult's performance of Elgar's neglected work brought "the grandeur and nobility of the work" to wider public attention. Boult took
5832-482: The coronation of Elizabeth II . During the proceedings, he conducted the first performances of Bliss's Processional and Walton's march Orb and Sceptre . In the same year he returned to the Proms after a three-year absence, conducting the LPO. The notices were mixed: The Times found a Brahms symphony "rather colourless, imprecise and uninspiring", but praised Boult and the orchestra's performance of The Planets . In
5940-515: The end of the war Boult "found a changed attitude to the orchestra in the upper echelons of the BBC". Reith was no longer director general, and without his backing Boult had to fight hard to restore the orchestra to its pre-war glory. On 29 September 1946 Boult conducted Britten 's new Festival Overture , to inaugurate the BBC Third Programme . For this innovative cultural channel, Boult was concerned in pioneering ventures including
6048-482: The end of the war, forty players left for active service or other activities. In 1942 Boult resigned as the BBC's director of music, while remaining chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. This move, made as a favour to the composer Arthur Bliss to provide a suitable war-time job for him, later came to be Boult's undoing at the BBC. Meanwhile, he made recordings of Elgar's Second Symphony, Holst's The Planets and Vaughan Williams's Job, A Masque for Dancing . At
6156-500: The ending of copyright in the works. By this time the World Record Club was also releasing pre-recorded spool tapes of their LPs. These were mainly produced in mono half-track at 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 ips . The quality of the tapes was very high and the price reasonable. They appealed to enthusiasts who had tape recorders for making their own recordings, because at that time broadcast sound quality (for off-air recordings)
6264-533: The final and most glorious period of his career developed." He ceased to accept overseas invitations, but conducted in the major British cities, as well as at the Festival and Albert Halls and began what is frequently called his "Indian Summer" in the concert hall and recording studio. He was featured in a 1971 film The Point of the Stick , in which he illustrated his conducting technique with musical examples. At
6372-811: The founder of the British Symphony Orchestra died in March 1920, Boult took over. He conducted the orchestra, made up of professional musicians who had served in the Army during the First World War, in a series of concerts at the Kingsway Hall . In 1923 Boult conducted the first season of the Robert Mayer concerts for children, but his participation in the following season was prevented by his appointment in 1924 as conductor of
6480-479: The limelight, Boult felt as comfortable in the recording studio as on the concert platform, making recordings throughout his career. From the mid-1960s until his retirement after his last sessions in 1978 he recorded extensively for EMI . As well as a series of recordings that have remained in the catalogue for three or four decades, Boult's legacy includes his influence on prominent conductors of later generations, including Sir Colin Davis and Vernon Handley . Boult
6588-599: The metropolitan outlets. Most of the selections were from the catalogues of companies in the EMI or Decca groups. Whereas some were re-issues, for example the Decca Der Ring des Nibelungen 19-LP set, many were issued in Australia exclusively by the WRC. The club also recorded local artists, bands and orchestras, particularly in light music or shows such as "The Maid of the Mountains". One of their more unusual releases
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#17327808404446696-405: The military in his appearance ... he seemed the personification of the English gentleman. But recipients of his cutting wit and occasional sarcasm knew that this was not the whole picture." Grove's Dictionary similarly said of him: Of the leading British conductors of his time, Boult was the least sensational but not the least remarkable. He made no attempt to cultivate a public image. He
6804-402: The music as a whole, produced results equally satisfying in the classics and the British music he understood so well. Boult, unlike many of his contemporaries, preferred the traditional orchestral layout , with first violins on the conductor's left and the seconds on the right. Of the modern layout with all violins on the left, he wrote, "The new seating is, I admit, easier for the conductor and
6912-800: The musical staff of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden , where his most important work was to assist with the first British production of Wagner 's Parsifal , and do "odd jobs with lighting cues" while Nikisch conducted the Ring cycle. Boult made his début as a professional conductor on 27 February 1914 at West Kirby Public Hall, with members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra . His programme comprised orchestral works by Bach , Butterworth, Mozart , Schumann , Wagner and Hugo Wolf , interspersed with arias by Mozart and Verdi sung by Agnes Nicholls . Boult
7020-421: The new management was the complete cycle of Beethoven piano concerti with Emil Gilels (piano) and George Szell (conductor). Anthony C. Griffith remained with the company under the new ownership, and, since there were fewer new recording projects, he and Gadsby Toni began to explore and transfer to LP parts of the historical archives of EMI, producing some of the finest transfers ever achieved. In 1971 he joined
7128-487: The orchestra had played better for Boult than anyone else. Reith asked him if he wished to take on the chief conductorship, and if so whether he would resign as director of music or occupy both posts simultaneously. Boult opted for the latter. He later said that this was a rash decision, and that he could not have sustained the two roles at once without the efforts of his staff in the music department, which included Edward Clark , Julian Herbage and Kenneth Wright . During
7236-640: The post of president. Although in the latter part of his career he worked with several other orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra , the Philharmonia Orchestra , the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , and his former orchestra, the BBC Symphony, it was the LPO with which he was primarily associated, conducting it in concerts and recordings until 1978, in what was widely called his " Indian summer ". Boult
7344-403: The post of principal conductor of the LPO in succession to Eduard van Beinum . In the 1930s the LPO had flourished, but since Beecham's departure in 1940, it had struggled to survive. Boult was well known to the orchestra, having been among the musicians who came to its aid in 1940. He took over as chief conductor of the LPO in June 1950, immediately after leaving the BBC, and threw himself into
7452-428: The prefix was SH. The technical quality of these transfers reflected a desire to preserve the tonal qualities of the originals even if it meant keeping a certain amount of surface noise (though at HMV, Len Petts and others were assiduous in finding masters and producing vinyl pressings for dubbing ). The advent of digital recording in the 1980s, and the wane of the 1970s Art Deco revival, turned attention away from
7560-429: The price per disc had actually fallen slightly to $ 3.39, plus 30 cents packing and postage. These prices were made possible by the policy of pre-ordering – the club had only sufficient records pressed to cover the orders received, and so there was no overstock nor wastage. They were produced at the manufacturing plant of EMI (Australia) Ltd. in Sydney, although some esoteric discs were pressed elsewhere. An LP of sitar music
7668-404: The programme. The WRC operated in New Zealand between 1960 and the mid-1970s and provided a valuable service to music lovers in provincial towns, which lacked the record shops and selections available to collectors in the main centres. The Club took full-page advertisements in the New Zealand Listener magazine offering a choice of any three LPs for ten shillings to new members. Members received
7776-543: The reissue of the early Thomas Beecham Delius Society recordings, and welcome returns such as the Albert Sammons / Henry Wood Elgar concerto recording of 1929, or the Gerhard Hüsch lieder recordings. However, the series was wide-ranging and included a large amount of show music and dance music of the 1920s and 1930s. The record labels were a distinctive pale green with a lettered ribbon surround, and
7884-590: The repertoire expected by the regular concert-goers depressed the box-office takings, requiring subsidies from private benefactors, including Boult's family. While at Birmingham Boult had the opportunity to conduct a number of operas, chiefly with the British National Opera Company , for which he conducted Die Walküre and Otello . He also conducted a diverse range of operas from such composers as Purcell , Mozart and Vaughan Williams. In 1928 he succeeded Vaughan Williams as conductor of
7992-539: The repertoire. One of these was the Connoisseur Series , which made available classic performances from the past. Others were The Basic Library series and All-time Best Sellers (which enabled new members to fill gaps in their collections), The Living Bible narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier , and 24 Great Plays of Shakespeare . Subscribers would send in their order forms and, as the records became available, they would be mailed out or could be picked up at
8100-505: The sale of cartridges, the Club ran a promotion whereby a member could purchase five 8-track cartridges of their choice plus a car stereo cartridge player for $ 98.50. The Club at that stage was also selling mini hi-fi systems which ranged in price from $ 355 to $ 608. These were assembled for them in Australia by Bang and Olufsen, a Danish company. The quality components used included Labcraft turntables, B&O pick-up arms, B&O amplifiers and Beovox speakers. Each month subscribers received
8208-425: The same year he resumed recording for EMI after a six-year break. Celebrations for his eightieth birthday in 1969 also raised his profile in the musical world. After the death of his colleague Sir John Barbirolli in 1970, Boult was seen as "the sole survivor of a great generation" and a living link with Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Holst. In the words of The Guardian , "it was when he reached his late seventies that
8316-631: The same year the orchestra celebrated its 21st birthday, giving a series of concerts at the Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in which Boult was joined by guest conductors including Paul Kletzki , Jean Martinon , Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt , Georg Solti , Walter Susskind and Vaughan Williams. In 1956 Boult and the LPO visited Russia. Boult had not wished to go on the tour because flying hurt his ears, and long land journeys hurt his back. The Soviet authorities threatened to cancel
8424-473: The score, "This copy is the property of Adrian Boult who first caused The Planets to shine in public and thereby earned the gratitude of Gustav Holst." Elgar was another composer who had cause to be grateful to Boult. His Second Symphony had, since its premiere nine years earlier, received few performances. When Boult conducted it at the Queen's Hall in March 1920 to "great applause" and "frantic enthusiasm",
8532-563: The second violins, but I firmly maintain that the second violins themselves sound far better on the right. ... When the new fashion reached us from America somewhere about 1908 it was adopted by some conductors, but Richter, Weingartner, Walter, Toscanini and many others kept what I feel is the right balance." This care for balance was an important feature of Boult's music-making. Orchestral players across decades commented on his insistence that every important part should be heard without difficulty. His BBC principal violist wrote in 1938, "If
8640-401: The start of 1959, a series devoted mainly to chamber music was created, under a new logo with an eagle in a circle, with 'R.M.C.' above it and 'World Record Club. Recorded Music Circle' beneath. The labels were attractively printed in light blue, showing a classical scene of two musicians wearing togas beside a stone column or altar, with the text details overprinted in red. The sleevenotes of
8748-457: The start were conductors Hans Swarowsky and Muir Mathieson , often with the Sinfonia of London , or Viennese orchestras. The development of new recordings was a special interest, under the celebrated recording engineer Anthony C. Griffith (1915–2005), who became recording manager for WRC in 1958. The Brahms violin concerto ( Endre Wolf , violin, Sir Anthony Collins , conductor, WRC TP30)
8856-514: The subtly mingled contents of this master work." In January 1951 Boult and the LPO made a tour of Germany, described by Kennedy as "gruelling", with 12 concerts on 12 successive days. The symphonies they played were Beethoven's Seventh , Haydn's London , No 104 , Brahms's First , Schumann's Fourth and Schubert's Great C major . The other works were Elgar's Introduction and Allegro , Holst's The Perfect Fool ballet music, Richard Strauss's Don Juan , and Stravinsky's Firebird . In 1952
8964-497: The task of rebuilding it. In the early years of his conductorship, the finances of the LPO were perilous, and Boult subsidised the orchestra from his own funds for some time. The need to earn money obliged the orchestra to play many more concerts than its rivals. In the 1949–50 season, the LPO gave 248 concerts, compared with 55 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, 103 by the London Symphony Orchestra, and 32 apiece by
9072-593: The tenor Steuart Wilson and his wife Ann, née Bowles. When, in the late 1920s, Wilson began to mistreat his wife, Boult took her side. She divorced Wilson in 1931. In 1933, Boult astonished those who knew his notorious shyness with women by marrying her and becoming a much-loved stepfather to her four children; the marriage lasted for the rest of his life. The enmity it provoked in Wilson had repercussions in Boult's later career. The stigma attached to divorce in Britain in
9180-492: The time as the world's leading conductor, conducted the BBC orchestra in 1935 and said that it was the finest he had ever directed. He returned to conduct the orchestra in 1937, 1938 and 1939. During this period, Boult accepted some international guest conductorships, appearing with the Vienna Philharmonic , Boston Symphony , and New York Philharmonic orchestras. In 1936 and 1937 he headed European tours with
9288-484: The time as they were not available new through record shops. The label was taken over by EMI in 1965 but continued to be used as a sub-label for mail order, covering a wide range of musical genres, and distributing in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. World Record issues were certainly in production by mid-1956. The World Record Treasures records were promoted as a series from which 'members' (membership
9396-425: The time, Sir William Haley , was unaware of Wilson's animus against Boult and later acknowledged, in a broadcast tribute to Boult, that he "had listened to ill-judged advice in retiring him." By the time of his retirement in 1950, Boult had made 1,536 broadcasts. After it became clear that Boult would have to leave the BBC, Thomas Russell, the managing director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), offered him
9504-626: The tour if he did not lead it, and he felt obliged to go. The LPO gave nine concerts in Moscow and four in Leningrad . Boult's assistant conductors were Anatole Fistoulari and George Hurst . Boult's four Moscow programmes included Vaughan Williams's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, Holst's The Planets , Walton's Violin Concerto (with Alfredo Campoli as soloist), and Schubert's Great C major Symphony. While in Moscow, Boult and his wife visited
9612-542: The year 1910, but his interests were not wholly confined to music: he was a keen rower, stroking his college boat at Henley , and all his life he remained a member of the Leander Club . Boult graduated in 1912, with a basic "pass" degree. He continued his musical education at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1912–13. Musician Hans Sitt was in charge of the conducting class, but Boult's main influence
9720-578: Was "15 Australian Christmas Carols" by William G. James . For this they used the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the New South Wales State Conservatorium Choir, conducted by Sir Bernard Heinze. In 1963, WRC records sold for 35 shillings (Aus$ 3.50) or 37 shillings and sixpence (Aus$ 3.75) if posted. Equivalent discs in commercial record stores sold for 57 shillings and sixpence ($ 5.75). By 1970
9828-463: Was Nikisch. He later recalled, "I went to all his [Nikisch's] rehearsals and concerts in the Gewandhaus. ... He had an astonishing baton technique and great command of the orchestra: everything was indicated with absolute precision. But there were others who were greater interpreters." Boult admired Nikisch "not so much for his musicianship but his amazing power of saying what he wanted with
9936-465: Was a 1958 landmark for them, as technical details were published on the sleeve, recorded both in stereo and mono using Ampex equipment and Neumann microphones. Griffith made recordings of Colin Davis , Leon Goossens , Arthur Bliss , Reginald Jacques , Imogen Holst , the Melos Ensemble and Aeolian Quartet . WRC had the distinction of producing Colin Davis' first recording, conducting
10044-515: Was a British 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 conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1924. When the British Broadcasting Corporation appointed him director of music in 1930, he established
10152-645: Was a later form in which the label edge was printed with many short radial lines so that the correct speed could be obtained by stroboscopic 'standstill' effect. There was also an OH series, with purple labels, for the WRC Opera Highlights series, often taken from interesting recordings or specially-made abridgements, and again presented in a uniform sleeve. From 1960 various recordings of musicals were made, and also three Gilbert and Sullivan operas, recorded for copyright reasons in Hamburg in 1961 ahead of
10260-544: Was always good, usually with sleeve-notes by Malcolm Rayment, Stephen Dodgson or Peter Gammond (now author of numerous musical books). One very famous recording that was released on WRC before any other label was the Finzi Dies natalis with Wilfred Brown . From about 1965, when World Record Club was bought by EMI, the label lost its characteristic green or red design and acquired a completely new look, minimalist, with blocks of grey. An important early enterprise under
10368-517: Was born in Chester , Cheshire , the second child and only son of Cedric Randal Boult (1853–1950), and his wife, Katharine Florence ( née Barman; d. 1927). Cedric Boult was a Justice of the Peace and a successful businessman connected with Liverpool shipping and the oil trade; Cedric and his family had "a Liberal Unitarian outlook on public affairs" with a history of philanthropy. When Boult
10476-537: Was declared medically unfit for active service during the First World War , and until 1916 he served as an orderly officer in a reserve unit. He was recruited by the War Office as a translator (he spoke good French, German and Italian). In his spare time he organised and conducted concerts, some of which were subsidised by his father, with the aims of giving work to orchestral players and bringing music to
10584-584: Was first based at 125 Edgware Road, London, with a display centre at 49 Edgware Road. The main UK rival in similar business was the Concert Hall label. Membership was encouraged by such methods as using sleeve designs contributed by members and as these improved they obtained photographic services of Erich Auerbach . By 1958 there was a membership of at least 150,000. In the Promenade Concerts season of July to September 1958, World Records had
10692-455: Was free) were required to select a given number of purchases per year. These were sold at lower prices than usual (21s 6d, equivalent to £1. 07 + 1 ⁄ 2 ) and distributed in cheap wrappers (originally logo-printed Fablothene , and then card covers with stickers naming the selection). A monthly Club magazine ( Record Review ) was launched in late 1956, featuring the existing artists and recordings and announcing future selections. The company
10800-418: Was included. A golden metal medallion was set into the middle of the front cover of the case, adding a touch of luxury and quality. By 1970, the club was making its musical offerings also available as tapes, either on reels or as 8-track cartridges. Subscribers ordering reels needed to specify the tape speed required – 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 inches per second or 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches per second. To promote
10908-417: Was known for his championing of British music. He gave the first performance of his friend Gustav Holst 's The Planets , and introduced new works by, among others, Elgar , Bliss , Britten , Delius , Rootham , Tippett , Vaughan Williams and Walton . In his BBC years, he introduced works by foreign composers, including Bartók , Berg , Stravinsky , Schoenberg and Webern . A modest man who disliked
11016-674: Was made president of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music . In the north choir aisle of Westminster Abbey is a small memorial stone to Boult which was unveiled on 8 April 1984. Boult's old school, Westminster, has a music centre named in his honour, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire included in its home building the Adrian Boult Hall . The hall was used for classical concerts, other musical performances, and conferences. The hall
11124-420: Was neither oracle, orator nor professional wit, but he expressed himself with trenchancy, and his gentlemanly self-control was occasionally ruffled by storms of anger. ... [T]here were nights when the physical impact of his conducting was low, and there was little beyond faithfulness to the notes. There were others when precise, sensitive stick technique, loyalty to the composer, selflessness and ability to see
11232-434: Was not very high. These tapes were released with the prefix TT. Although in mono, they are half-track, which gives a very high and gratifying signal-to-noise ratio . A number of 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 ips half track stereo tapes were also released under the WRC label, in plain white boxes with a historical sculpture in orange on the front. At least 8 were produced, one of which is of Scheherezade with Eugene Goossens . About
11340-684: Was possible to listen to LPs from the club's catalogue. LPs were pressed at a factory in Lower Hutt . Gramophone records Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 223942547 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:00:40 GMT Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult , CH ( / b oʊ l t / ; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983)
11448-541: Was released in 1968 that was made in India. Some 7-inch discs for children were also produced. Subscribers were encouraged to order multiple records per month, with bonus Dividend LPs being offered at a rate of one per three monthly pre-selections. Though the Dividend LPs were offered at a bargain price of only 15 shillings each (Aus$ 1.50), their quality was equivalent to that of the regular issues. Members who introduced
11556-582: Was so. The disadvantages were that the orchestra was inadequately funded, the available venues (including the Town Hall) were unsatisfactory, the Birmingham Post ' s music critic, A. J. Symons, was a constant thorn in Boult's side, and the local concert-going public had conservative tastes. Despite this conservatism, Boult programmed as much innovative music as was practical, including works by Mahler , Stravinsky and Bruckner . Such departures from
11664-679: Was two years old the family moved to Blundellsands , where he was given a musical upbringing. From an early age he attended concerts in Liverpool, conducted mostly by Hans Richter . He was educated at Westminster School in London, where in his free time he attended concerts conducted by, among others, Sir Henry Wood , Claude Debussy , Arthur Nikisch , Fritz Steinbach , and Richard Strauss . His biographer, Michael Kennedy , writes, "Few schoolboys can have attended as many performances by great artists as Boult heard between 1901 and October 1908, when he went up to Christ Church, Oxford." While still
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