1948 in British music

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This is a summary of 1948 in music in the United Kingdom.

Events

10 January – The Amadeus Quartet (formed as the Brainin Quartet in 1947) gives its first recital under this name, at the Wigmore Hall in London, underwritten by Imogen Holst.^[1]
16 January – The day after her New York concert debut, Kathleen Ferrier writes to her sister: "Some of the critics are enthusiastic, others unimpressed".^[2]
17 April – The death of Alice, Viscountess Wimborne, lover of William Walton, ends their 14-year affair.
21 April
- Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 6 is premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult at the Royal Albert Hall in London and broadcast on the BBC Home Service.^[3]
- The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain gives its first concert.^[4]
5 June – Opening of the first Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears.
13 October – Kathleen Ferrier joins Sir John Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra in a broadcast performance of Mahler's song cycle Kindertotenlieder.
October – The Duke of Edinburgh is introduced to musical comedy star Pat Kirkwood in her dressing room after a show. They are seen together at a restaurant, creating a scandal in the newspapers.^[5]
13 October – William Walton marries Susana Gil Passo.^[6]
date unknown
- Steuart Wilson becomes head of music at the BBC; the appointment will result in the forced retirement of Sir Adrian Boult as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.^[7]
- Harman Grisewood replaces George Barnes as controller of the BBC Third Programme.
- The National School of Opera is founded by Joan Cross.^[8]

Popular music

Anne Shelton – "If You Ever Fall in Love Again" (Dick Farrelly)
Dorothy Squires – "A Tree in the Meadow" (Billy Reid)

Classical music: new works

Malcolm Arnold – The Smoke (Overture), Op. 21
Arnold Bax – Magnificat^[9]
Benjamin Britten – Saint Nicolas, for tenor soloist, children's chorus, chorus, and orchestra^[10]
Michael Tippett – Suite in D for the Birthday of Prince Charles^[11]
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Partita for Double String Orchestra^[12]

Opera

Arthur Bliss – The Olympians^[13]
Norman Demuth – Le Flambeau^[14]

Film and Incidental music

William Alwyn – The Fallen Idol directed by Carol Reed, starring Ralph Richardson.^[15]
Arnold Bax – Oliver Twist directed by David Lean, starring Alec Guinness.
Brian Easdale – The Red Shoes directed and produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Constant Lambert – Anna Karenina, starring Vivien Leigh and Ralph Richardson.
Elisabeth Lutyens – Penny and the Pownall Case (the first feature film to be scored by a female British composer).
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Scott of the Antarctic, starring John Mills.
William Walton – Hamlet, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier.
John Wooldridge – The Guinea Pig, starring Richard Attenborough.

Musical theatre

10 March – Carissima, starring Ginger Rogers and David Hughes, opens at the Palace Theatre and runs for 488 performances.
22 December – High Button Shoes (Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn) opens at the Hippodrome and runs for 291 performances.

Musical films

A Date with a Dream, starring Terry-Thomas, Jeannie Carson and Wally Patch.^[16]
Bless 'Em All, starring Max Bygraves.^[17]
One Night with You, directed by Terence Young and starring Nino Martini, Patricia Roc and Bonar Colleano.^[18]

Births

17 January – Mick Taylor, guitarist
19 January – Amanda Holden, English playwright, lyricist and composer
3 February – Gavin Henderson, English trumpet player and conductor
28 February – Geoff Nicholls, keyboardist (Black Sabbath) (died 2017)
4 March – Chris Squire, guitarist and singer-songwriter
11 March – Jan Schelhaas, keyboard player
22 March – Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer
16 April – Robert Kirby, arranger (died 2009)^[19]
28 April – Scott Fitzgerald (William McPhail), singer
12 May – Steve Winwood, R&B singer
15 May – Brian Eno, synthesizer virtuoso and composer
21 May – Leo Sayer, singer-songwriter
29 May – Michael Berkeley, composer
6 June – Richard Sinclair, bass player (Caravan, The Wilde Flowers, Camel and Hatfield and the North)
1 July – John Ford, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Strawbs, The Monks and Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera)
4 July – Jeremy Spencer, English guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
5 July – Alan Hazeldine, pianist and conductor (died 2008)
21 July – Cat Stevens (Steven Demetre Georgiou), singer-songwriter^[20]
2 August – Andy Fairweather Low, guitarist, songwriter, producer and vocalist
26 September – Olivia Newton-John, singer and actress
3 October – Ian MacDonald (Ian MacCormick), music critic (died 2003)^[21]
11 October – David Rendall, operatic tenor
24 October
- Dale Griffin, rock drummer and producer (died 2016)
- Barry Ryan, singer-songwriter
- Paul Ryan, singer-songwriter and producer (died 1992)
22 November – Mick Rock, rock photographer (died 2021)
3 November – Lulu (Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie), singer and actress
1 December – Colin Sell, pianist
3 December – Ozzy Osbourne, singer-songwriter
20 December – Alan Parsons, engineer and record producer

Deaths

9 January – Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, harpsichordist and clavichordist, 75^[22]
21 February – Frederic Lamond, pianist, 80
17 May – David Evans, composer, 74^[23]
14 June – John Blackwood McEwen, composer, 80
8 July – Reginald Somerville, composer and actor, 81
20 August – David John de Lloyd, composer, 65
12 September – Rupert D'Oyly Carte, impresario, 70
20 November – Robert Carr, baritone, 67
24 November – Nellie Wallace, music hall star, actress, comedian, dancer and songwriter, 78^[24]
14 December – R. O. Morris, British composer and teacher, 62
31 December – Ethel Barns, violinist, pianist and composer, 74
date unknown – Euphemia Allen, composer best known for "Chopsticks"

References

^ "Siegmund Nissel". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
^ Fifield, Christopher (ed.) (2003). Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-012-4. p. 49.
^ Doctor, Jenny (2013). "Vaughan Williams, Boult, and the BBC". In Frogley, Alain; Thomson, Aidan J. (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams. Cambridge University Press. pp. 249–274. doi:10.1017/CCO9781139043243.017.
^ "Dame Ruth King". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2001-02-28. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
^ Edge, Simon (2007-12-27). "The prince and the showgirl | Express Yourself | | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
^ Friedrich Blume (1968). Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (in German). Bärenreiter-Verlag.
^ Kennedy, Michael (1987). Adrian Boult. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-333-48752-4. p. 215.
^ Brook, Donald (1958). Singers of Today (Rev. ed.). London: Rockliff. pp. 55–60.
^ Maggie Humphreys; Robert Evans (1 January 1997). Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland. A&C Black. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7201-2330-2.
^ Eric Walter White (1983). Benjamin Britten, His Life and Operas. University of California Press. pp. 63. ISBN 978-0-520-04894-2.
^ Michael Kennedy; Tim Rutherford-Johnson; Joyce Kennedy (15 August 2013). The Oxford Dictionary of Music. OUP Oxford. p. 857. ISBN 978-0-19-957854-2.
^ Ryan Ross (17 March 2016). Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-317-64616-7.
^ Stewart R. Craggs (1996). Arthur Bliss: a source book. Scolar Press. ISBN 978-0-85967-940-4.
^ Enciclopedia dello spettacolo. Unedi-Unione editoriale. 1975.
^ Adrian Wright (2008). The Innumerable Dance: The Life and Work of William Alwyn. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-84383-412-0.
^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | DATE WITH A DREAM (1948)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
^ "Bless 'Em All / BFI Most Wanted". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | One Night With You (1948)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
^ Irwin, Colin (7 October 2009). "Robert Kirby obituary". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
^ "Prince goes pop to praise school". BBC News. 10 May 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
^ Williams, Richard (2003-09-08). "Obituary: Ian MacDonald". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ Jessica Douglas-Home (1996). Violet: The Life and Loves of Violet Gordon Woodhouse. Harvill Press. ISBN 978-1-86046-269-6.
^ "Evans, David (1874-1948)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. 2001. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
^ "Wallace, Nellie [Eleanor]", The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Cambridge University Press, 2000

[1] "Siegmund Nissel". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2008-05-23. Retrieved 2020-06-21.

[2] Fifield, Christopher (ed.) (2003). Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-012-4. p. 49.

[3] Doctor, Jenny (2013). "Vaughan Williams, Boult, and the BBC". In Frogley, Alain; Thomson, Aidan J. (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams. Cambridge University Press. pp. 249–274. doi:10.1017/CCO9781139043243.017.

[4] "Dame Ruth King". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2001-02-28. Retrieved 2019-04-07.

[5] Edge, Simon (2007-12-27). "The prince and the showgirl | Express Yourself | | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-07.

[6] Friedrich Blume (1968). Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (in German). Bärenreiter-Verlag.

[7] Kennedy, Michael (1987). Adrian Boult. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-333-48752-4. p. 215.

[8] Brook, Donald (1958). Singers of Today (Rev. ed.). London: Rockliff. pp. 55–60.

[9] Maggie Humphreys; Robert Evans (1 January 1997). Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland. A&C Black. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7201-2330-2.

[10] Eric Walter White (1983). Benjamin Britten, His Life and Operas. University of California Press. pp. 63. ISBN 978-0-520-04894-2.

[11] Michael Kennedy; Tim Rutherford-Johnson; Joyce Kennedy (15 August 2013). The Oxford Dictionary of Music. OUP Oxford. p. 857. ISBN 978-0-19-957854-2.

[12] Ryan Ross (17 March 2016). Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge. p. 294. ISBN 978-1-317-64616-7.

[13] Stewart R. Craggs (1996). Arthur Bliss: a source book. Scolar Press. ISBN 978-0-85967-940-4.

[14] Enciclopedia dello spettacolo. Unedi-Unione editoriale. 1975.

[15] Adrian Wright (2008). The Innumerable Dance: The Life and Work of William Alwyn. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-84383-412-0.

[16] "BFI | Film & TV Database | DATE WITH A DREAM (1948)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2012-02-12.

[17] "Bless 'Em All / BFI Most Wanted". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.

[18] "BFI | Film & TV Database | One Night With You (1948)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2014-06-07.

[19] Irwin, Colin (7 October 2009). "Robert Kirby obituary". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2011.

[20] "Prince goes pop to praise school". BBC News. 10 May 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2012.

[21] Williams, Richard (2003-09-08). "Obituary: Ian MacDonald". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-02-25.

[22] Jessica Douglas-Home (1996). Violet: The Life and Loves of Violet Gordon Woodhouse. Harvill Press. ISBN 978-1-86046-269-6.

[23] "Evans, David (1874-1948)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. 2001. Retrieved 2014-06-07.

[24] "Wallace, Nellie [Eleanor]", The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Cambridge University Press, 2000

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Events

Popular music

Classical music: new works

Opera

Film and Incidental music

Musical theatre

Musical films

Births

Deaths

See also

References