North West BranchNewsletterAugust 2017

Another year has passed and we have once more been presented with an excellent season of very interesting programmes and events in our North West Branch. We are very grateful to our programme organiser, Geoff Scargill, who has engaged our speakers, and to all those members who have taken an active role in a variety of ways in ensuring a series of successful meetings.We have witnessed a few changes in our executive officers, as mentioned on the back page, and we sincerely thank our retiring officers for their services and welcome our newcomers. We have also lost some of our long-standing members for a variety of reasons, but our numbers have actually increased slightly this year as we welcomed several newcomers, and we have other potential new members in our sights also - thanks to a positive and continuing publicity drive.

I would like to personally thank those members who have contributed articles and photographs for this issue of the newsletter and they are all given due credit at various points within the text. It is thanks to their efforts that we have a meaningful newsletter and I do encourage anyone who is able to make a contribution in this way in the future to come forward with reports, etc.The newsletter provides a permanent record of our activities during the year and in an era where much of our communication is done by digital means, it is particularly important that we have a written record of our activities and our experiences. The newsletter is one means of having a record for our archives and it provides a retrospective look at what we have achieved during the season for those who have attended our meetings. It also provides information for those members who, for whatever reason, have been unable to attend a particular meeting or indeed those who may not have attended any meetings at all. I hope it will be of interest to them also.Paper copies of the newsletter are sent out to all paid-up members during the summer months.It is my intention to place a digital copy of the complete newsletter on our NW Branch webpage of the Elgar Society’s website at elgar.org so that non-members or any other interested people will have a chance to read it. Some paper copies will be also made available at branch meetings.

Copies of the 2017-2018 season’s programme are being printed at the time of my writing this and members and friends of the branch will already have received their pdf file copy by email.I send out regular communications by group email to all those who have supplied me (or the parent Society) with an email address. If you are not receiving my group email at intervals, it means that I do not have a current email address from you. The solution is in your hands! Currently, the branch has 127 members (including joint subscriptions at the same address). About two-thirds of members have supplied an email address through which we can communicate.I shall reproduce much of what I have said here in my letter for the benefit of non-members. David L Jones (editor)

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Elgar, Richter and the building of the Hallé Tradition: Eleanor Roberts, Saturday 8 October 2016

The speaker for the first meeting of the new season was Eleanor Roberts, Archivist of the Hallé Orchestra. She began by “warning” us that during the course of the talk she would be playing three versions of Nimrod and challenged us to name the conductor and put them in chronological order. Having played the first version, Eleanor gave us a brief background to her experience and career. She admitted she was not an expert on classical music but did grow up in Worcestershire and could see the Malvern Hills from her bedroom window! Although a flautist and singer she read History at University. She became interested in archive work after studying for a Masters’ degree. She still remembers the thrill she had (and has) when having her “hands on the past”. Her first work experience was in Oxford but came to the North West in 1998 working in Pilkington Glass archives, Lancashire Record Office and John Rylands Library. In 2002 she was given an 18-month contract to work in the Hallé archives – and she is still there today!

Eleanor reminded us that the Hallé is the only symphony orchestra to be named after its founder and is the oldest professional orchestra in existence. The Hallé archive contains complete programmes from 1848 for Manchester concerts, a lot of programmes for other concerts and their foreign tours, and many recordings including all the Bridgewater Hall ones. It also has photographs (formal and informal), press cuttings, and Business and Planning documents. In addition to all this it possesses many scores including those used by Richter, as well as letters sent between Richter and Elgar, and Richter and Wagner. It is an incredibly varied archive and we were privileged that Eleanor had brought with her some examples for us to closely examine during the interval - as long as we didn’t have cups of tea in our hands!

Images downloaded from the Internet

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Eleanor Roberts, Saturday 8th October 2016 (continued)

The first piece of Elgar that the Hallé produced was “By the wayside” from the Apostles. It was recorded in 1927 and this was played to us. Eleanor then listed Elgar’s works performed by the Hallé in Manchester:

1st December 1898 King Olaf conducted by Frederick Cowans18th January 1900 Sea Pictures conducted by Elgar18th February 1900 Enigma Variations conducted by Richter

After this it became evident that Elgar was so happy and confident in Richter’s conducting abilities that future programmes were all conducted by him:

1901 Cockaigne1903 Dream of Gerontius1904 In the South and The Apostles1905 Introduction and Allegro1908 Symphony No. 1 (dedicated to “Hans Richter true artist and true friend”)

Eleanor couldn’t let this pass without playing an excerpt from the first movement. When Richter left the UK and the Hallé in 1911 (due to failing eyesight) Elgar was devastated and he was absolutely distraught when, 5 years later, Richter died in Bayreuth. The Hallé Orchestra played at its first Promenade Concert in 1905, a sign of their reputation as a top rate orchestra. It is interesting to note that smoking was allowed at Prom Concerts in those days! During World War One Elgar stepped in to conduct the Hallé – the players went on half pay and the conductor charged no fee, just expenses! Beecham took on the role of Music Advisor and Elgar’s music featured prominently. At the end of the War, Hamilton Harty became principal conductor [in autumn 1920].

The final performance of a work by Elgar during his lifetime was The Dream of Gerontius in 1933. On 1st March 1934, just days after his death, John Barbirolli conducted the Elegy for Strings as a memorial to Elgar. Barbirolli became the Hallé’s permanent conductor and Elgar’s music featured in 221 concerts from 1934 to 1970 (in Manchester). The most popular work was the Enigma Variations and the most recorded were the two symphonies. In 1948, during a tour in Austria, Elgar was referred to as “the English Brahms” – fame indeed and at last.

During her talk Eleanor played many extracts from Elgar’s works. The final piece was the wonderful final section of The Dream of Gerontius “Softly and Gently” recorded by the Hallé Orchestra in 1964 with the two JB’s - Janet Baker and John Barbirolli!There were about 50 in the audience for this enthralling talk and it was truly marvellous to hear about the links between composer, conductor and orchestra. We are so grateful to Eleanor for bringing along so many items from the Hallé archives for us to see. Without her talk we would never have had the opportunity to see these mementoes. Thank you, Eleanor.

Geoff Hill4

‘Reminiscences’: Diana McVeagh, Saturday 19 November 2016

To have written a book about the life and music of Sir Edward Elgar in the 1950s when appreciation was at a low ebb was a wonderful thing. To have written another over 50 years later is truly remarkable. And so, to be able to welcome Diana McVeagh to the branch and hear her reflections on how the perception of Elgar’s music has changed over that half century was therefore a very special event indeed.

When she was first asked to consider writing a book about Elgar, his reputation was most certainly in a trough. Diana began with a survey of earlier biographies, remarking that W H Reed’s arises from possibly the only case of a musician making music with his biographer. (About this time, she met Dorabella and rather wished she had been bold enough to ask more questions!) Separate consideration of the life and the works was then the typical format. Now the norm is for integration, attempting to gauge how far the life and the music are intertwined. So, for example, consideration of the Violin Concerto requires consideration of the various ‘Alices’ that were germane to its composition. Diana’s challenge though was to ask if in the end the historical facts really mattered as much as a final judgement as to whether the music stands on its own feet.

Diana delivers her talk - photograph courtesy of Darren Niman

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Violin and Piano Sonatas in Elgar’s Day: Harvey Davies and Sarah Ewins, Saturday 14th January 2017

The December meeting, because of illness, had to be postponed to January and took place immediately after the branch AGM. So two events for the price of one!

Sarah Ewins is well known to Manchester audiences as the Associate Leader of the Hallé Orchestra and Harvey Davies is a staff pianist and Teaching Fellow in Historical Performance at the RNCM. Both are members of the Pleyel Chamber Ensemble. When Harvey was approached with a view to performing the Elgar Sonata and perhaps giving a talk, he suggested including an overview of violin sonatas composed around the same time, i.e. World War I.

With a PowerPoint presentation of the essential points, photos of the composers, and “live” music examples he began with Delius. His first published sonata was begun in 1905 but was not completed until 1914, receiving its first performance in Manchester in 1915. The manuscript was lost for a while so we are lucky to have this rich, chromatic music. Soon after its completion, Delius and his wife moved away from the turmoil of war in France to England for a while. The next work discussed was Janacek’s 3rd Sonata, written just after Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and the only one of his sonatas to survive. Composed in 1914 (and first performed in 1923) Janacek wrote of hearing “the sound of steel clashing in my head” as the Russian forces arrived. We heard the opening of the 2nd movement, Ballade, a beautiful melody clearly influenced by folk music.

Harvey Davies giving his presentation - photograph courtesy of Darren Niman

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Much has happened in the musical world in the last 50 years – the rise and fall of the 2nd Viennese School, for example. Diana paid tribute to Michael Kennedy, Jerrold Northrop Moore, Ken Russell’s film, and the work of the Society (she was a founder member of the London branch), such that Elgar’s music is now heard in a different context. Scholars can now study Elgar seriously without being taken up with ‘who he was’ or indeed how he was (mistakenly?) perceived to be.

Diana McVeagh, Saturday 19 November 2016 (continued)

What a wonderful afternoon! In my closing thanks, I ventured to suggest that we had been “dining with history”. John Knowles

Audience photographs courtesy of Darren Niman

Trevor and

JaquelineDavies

and in thebackground

Jane Ellmanand

Fae Jones

Diana McVeagh talks to

Joyce Kennedy

and in thebackground

Michael Derbyshire

photo: John Mawbey

Cravendale

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Sarah Ewins & Harvey Davies, 14th January 2017 (continued)

The third composer was probably new to most of us, Robert Fuchs (1847-1927.) A self-effacing man, best known as a teacher, his students included Mahler, Korngold, Wolf & even Sibelius. We heard an example from his 6th and last sonata composed in 1915. I would certainly like to hear more of his music. Gabriel Fauré, on the other hand, is very well known. Many of us were struck by the similarity between him and the mature Elgar when Harvey showed a photo of Fauré, aged in his 60s. Just compare the moustaches! We were treated to an extended passage from the first movement of his Sonata No. 2 of 1916. Elgar liked his music and tried unsuccessfully to have Fauré’s Requiem performed at the Three Choirs Festival in 1925, the year after the Frenchman’s death. The last two extracts played were from the sonatas by Debussy (of 1916-1917) and by John Ireland (of 1915-1917). The first performance of the Debussy, his last major work, was not well attended but it is now frequently heard. In contrast the delightful 2nd sonata by the somewhat neglected Ireland (born in Bowdon!) is rarely heard.

Following the refreshment interval, Harvey gave a short talk about the Elgar Violin Sonata, written in 1918 at Brinkwells in West Sussex. We heard a short extract from the recording made by Albert Sammons in 1945, the first complete recording, though there are some differences from the published score. We were reminded that the 2nd. movement is “the beating heart of the work...the sadness and the ache in the music”. WWI deeply disturbed Elgar, but it stirred him to compose three major chamber works, the Violin Sonata, the String Quartet and the Piano Quintet.

To end a most informative and interesting afternoon, the large audience was treated to a complete performance of the Elgar Violin Sonata that went well beyond the already high expectations. The applause was long and loud; Harvey and Sarah stated that the Elgar is one of their all-time favourite works. Clive Holland

Sarah Ewins and Harvey Davies - photograph courtesy of Darren Niman

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Annual Branch Luncheon, Sunday 12 February 2017

The North West Branch’s annual luncheon was held this year at the Alma Lodge Hotel in Stockport. The occasion was, as always, a great success with one of the largest ever number of members and friends enjoying each other’s company, good food and an excellent talk by Elgar’s great-nephew, Paul Grafton.

The branch’s new chairman, John Knowles, hosted the event and in addition played to us extracts from a forthcoming CD which he and a group of friends, including David Jones, have sponsored. They included a previously unpublished recording of Elgar’s Elegy, conducted by the composer, and a wonderful description by May Grafton of Sonatina, a piece which Elgar dedicated to her. We also heard her play the Sonatina in a privately recorded performance which is included on the new CD. Hearing May’s voice was particularly moving for Paul and his wife, Angela, and the Elgar family was the subject of Paul’s fascinating talk. His warm anecdotes of ‘Uncle Edward’ brought the composer to life for us.

All our luncheon photographs are courtesy of Darren Niman

our guest speaker

PaulGrafton

andhis wife

AngelaGrafton

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My Friend Michael Kennedy: Andrew Neill, Saturday 18 March 2017

We were most fortunate to secure a return visit by Andrew Neill for our meeting at the Friends’ Meeting House in Liverpool on 18 March following the unavoidable withdrawal of our scheduled speaker Andrew Keener because of recording commitments. It was a meeting of much poignancy for many with the memory of Michael our Branch Patron fresh in all our minds, not least for Joyce who had not heard the sound of his voice since his passing on the last day of 2014. Introduced by our new branch chairman and old friend and colleague, John Knowles, Andrew recalled that they had first met Michael in May 1981 when Secretary and Treasurer of the Society respectively and had the photograph from the archives to prove it.

Andrew chose to highlight a number of aspects of Michael’s life with appropriate musical illustrations and writings rather than concentrate exclusively on Elgar. Nevertheless, it was not possible to ignore the seminal importance of his book ‘Portrait of Elgar’ (first published in 1968 and never out of print since) which opened the door to understanding the composer like no other and was sure to be found on every Elgarian’s bookshelf. This revealed Michael’s original research and his facility with words which remained with him to the end whether in full length biographies or the pithiest paragraph reviewing a new CD. Not having a university education or any musical training, like Elgar, he nevertheless commanded respect from musicians. Indeed, music permeated his whole being.

He mentioned Michael’s long association with the RNCM on whose board of governors he had sat for many years and his constant encouragement of its students. This had been manifested in one particular way with the establishment of an award for the singing of Richard Strauss. In this connection he drew attention to the presence of Kathryn Rudge, a previous winner, in the audience. This gave Michael and Joyce especial pleasure as they had felt this to be an overlooked part of the repertoire, encouraged young singers and indulged Michael’s love of this composer. One of his last projects had been the festival of ‘Strauss’s Voice’ at the Bridgewater Hall in January-March 2014 when all the orchestral songs had been performed. Here his programme notes exemplified his style, always elegant but never fastidious, as were his talks, even extending on this occasion to his short play about Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Andrew illustrated this section with the 1950 recording of ‘Four Last Songs’ with Flagstad and Furtwangler and the 1958 recording of the love duet from ‘Arabella’ with Lisa Della Casa and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau.

Andrew remarked on Michael’s willingness to change his mind, as he had with Mahler, and paused on Britten’s assessment of Elgar, dismissing the 2nd Symphony as boring, though he did record ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ eventually in 1971. However, it was the quality of Michael’s reviews and criticism that commanded such respect, being understanding even when critical. Andrew read an extract from his review of ‘The Ring’ as if addressed to Wagner as one illustration of his versatility and then played the father and daughter love music from the 1953 recording of ‘Die Walküre’ for his and Joyce’s love of Wagner.

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Annual Luncheon, Sunday, 12 February 2017 (continued)

It was good to see our patron, Joyce Kennedy, restored to health and she was delighted to receive an additional cheque from the sale of the branch’s Michael Kennedy/Lady Barbirolli CD. She told us that this extra donation would go to the Kennedy Strauss fund for promising singers at the RNCM.

Another feature of the afternoon was a presentation to the present writer of a lovely unique painting of Elgar’s home in Hereford, Plas Gwyn, to commemorate his 20 years as branch chairman. A great and pleasurable surprise, now hanging in pride of place at Plas Scargill.

The lunch had been planned as ever by John Mawbey and John K thanked his namesake for his usual top class organisation. The main courses, individually chosen on the day, were excellent with the sweet trolley as a highlight! Geoff Scargill

Paul Grafton talking to us

Geoff Scargillreceives his painting

Plas Gwyn

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Andrew Neill, Saturday 18 March 2017 (continued) We were most fortunate to secure a return visit by Andrew Neill for our meeting at the Friends’ Meeting House in Liverpool on 18 March following the unavoidable withdrawal of our scheduled speaker Andrew Keener because of recording commitments. It was a meeting of much poignancy for many with the memory of Michael our Branch Patron fresh in all our minds, not least for Joyce who had not heard the sound of his voice since his passing on the last day of 2014. Introduced by our new branch chairman and old friend and colleague, John Knowles, Andrew recalled that they had first met Michael in May 1981 when Secretary and Treasurer of the Society respectively and had the photograph from the archives to prove it.

If anything, Andrew felt that Michael was almost too humble in his achievements as his perspective and insights were so illuminating, not least in his percipient assessment of Elgar’s character, helping the reader to understand for him/herself rather than telling us what to think. He illustrated this with an extract of Michael talking about Elgar in a Central TV programme of 1984. More recently he had contributed insights to John Bridcut’s films on Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Britten and others. Andrew said there was no more fitting way to conclude his tribute in the present location than to share joy in a song as he played his own private recording of Kathryn Rudge accompanied by Christopher Glynn singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Ken Swallow made a fitting vote of thanks.

Richard Hall

Andrew Neill interviews Michael Kennedy (Desert Island Discs) NW Branch, Feb. 2007

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Memories for Pleasure: Joyce Kennedy, Saturday 22 April 2017

At our April meeting, our Branch Patron, Joyce Kennedy, was interviewed by Geoff Scargill in a modified format of the BBC’s popular ‘Desert Island Discs’ programme. It proved to be a revealing insight into her rich and productive life. Geoff’s probing but sensitive style of interviewing drew from Joyce a fascinating and detailed account of her early life in Hull, Yorkshire, and then the war years spent in Sunninghill, Berkshire; her early interest in music despite a non-musical family background; a decision to make a career in Medicine and her time in studying at and graduation from Manchester Medical School (since when, as she told us, she had become an adopted Mancunian).

We then heard about her first marriage and her extremely busy life as a General Practitioner and Anaesthetist; her first meeting and subsequent developing relationship with Michael Kennedy; her eventual marriage to Michael and their life together with an emphasis on a staggering amount of involvement in and attendance at musical events throughout the world (including many operas). She revealed, for instance, how they had attended thirteen complete performances of Wagner’s ‘Ring Cycle’ and a staggering total of forty-nine performances of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. But her involvement was certainly not all passive since Joyce was involved with Michael in co-authorship of the Oxford Dictionary of Music and had herself written several important books on Opera as well as a vast amount of work, over many years, in typing and proof-reading many of Michael’s published works and his programme notes.

John Knowles introduces our speakers - photograph courtesy of Darren Niman

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Our North West Branch Outing: Saturday 13 May 2017

Our annual outing this year had a railway theme. In homage to Sir Edward Elgar, himself a lover of train travel, we boarded a train hauled by the Great Western Railway steam engine 7802, Bradley Manor (named after the 13th century manor house in North Devon) at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway and, with the special-named headboard made by John Mawbey, it was re-named ‘The Elgarians Express’ for the duration of the steam train journey to Kidderminster. Severn Valley Railway staff were very helpful in attaching and detaching the headboard, and it was a memorable journey for all.

After a lunch break at Kidderminster Station we had intended to call at Bewdley but due to the train journey being longer than anticipated, we took the decision to ask our coach driver Steve (who was waiting at Kidderminster) to drive straight to Bridgnorth where we spent a couple of hours in warm sunshine in this lovely market town. From the feedback then and since, it was a most successful day out and one which members and friends will remember for a long time.

John Mawbey

GWR No.7802 Bradley Manor is being prepared at Bridgnorth

Photographs courtesy of David Jones

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Joyce Kennedy, Saturday 22 April 2017 (continued)

At intervals throughout the interview we heard relevant excerpts of the music which held a special significance for her – not only relating to the compositions themselves but also with respect to the performing artists, many of whom were or had become personal friends and acquaintances, and we also heard some intriguing anecdotes. Joyce also revealingly told us how, after slowly picking herself up after the shock and grief of Michael’s death at the end of 2014, she has again begun to take up an active role in proof-reading and lecturing to music groups on various subjects including Opera. She tellingly explained how she now specifically avoids talking on subjects which were Michael’s particular field of interest. Joyce continues to be actively involved in the Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the singing of Strauss at the Royal Northern College of Music and she is again attending many live musical events.

The nine excerpts from the recorded music items which Joyce chose and which we heard were as follows: Wagner: Lohengrin – Introduction to Act 3; Walton: Façade; Beethoven: Archduke Trio; Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony; Wagner: Die Walküre - ‘Wotan’s Farewell’; Elgar: Sospiri; Mozart: Cosi fan tutte – ‘Trio’; Mahler: Symphony No. 2 – Finale; Strauss: Four Last Songs – ‘Im Abendrot’. I know just how much time and effort both Joyce and Geoff put into preparing for this branch event and it showed in what turned out to be, by general consent of those present, a truly enjoyable and memorable occasion. David L Jones

Joyce in conversation with Geoff - photograph courtesy of Darren Niman

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More Images of The Elgarians Express, Saturday 13 May 2017

(top right)Marjorie Darlington

and Wendy Hodkinsonenjoying the ride

Photographscourtesy of

David Jonesand

Peter Taylor(bottom right)

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Changes in Officers of The North West Branch

Officers of the North West Branch

Patron: Dr. Joyce Kennedy

Chairman: Revd John Knowles 15 Clare Avenue, Handforth, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 3EQ john.knowles92@btinternet.com Tel: 01625 526 531 Hon. Secretary & Vice Chairman: David L Jones Willowbrook House, Spath Lane East, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire SK8 7NL DavidLJones@saqnet.co.uk (SAQ in lower case) Tel: 0161 439 7176

Treasurer: Geoff Hill 28 Queen Anne Court, Macclesfield Rd, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 1BY grh49@btinternet.com Tel: 01625 522 629

Please send copy items: articles, photos, etc., to:-Newsletter Editor: David L. Jones

Email: DavidLJones@saqnet.co.uk (SAQ) Telephone: 0161 439 7176Willowbrook House Spath Lane East, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire SK8 7NL

At the AGM in January 2017, Geoff Scargill stood down as branch chairman after twenty years of dedicated service. We warmly thank him for all the sterling work that he has done for the branch throughout his time as chairman and I, for one, am grateful for the fact that he is now fulfilling the important role of programme organiser. We extend an equally warm welcome to our new chairman, John Knowles (who has held high office in the Elgar Society in the past).At the end of May our branch treasurer, John Mawbey, also stood down after almost thirty years in office and we thank him also for all that he has done for the branch during his time in office, as well as the valuable work which he has done in organising our NW branch outings over many years. We are delighted that Geoff Hill has agreed to become out branch treasurer.