1948 in British music
| 1940s in music in the UK |
| Events |
|---|
This is a summary of 1948 in music in the United Kingdom.
Events
- 16 January – The day after her New York concert debut, Kathleen Ferrier writes to her sister: "Some of the critics are enthusiastic, others unimpressed".[1]
- April – The death of Alice, Viscountess Wimborne, lover of William Walton, ends their 14-year affair.
- 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.[2]
- date unknown
- Steuart Wilson becomes head of music at the BBC; the appointment results in the retirement of Sir Adrian Boult as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.[3]
- Harman Grisewood replaces George Barnes as controller of the BBC Third Programme.
- The National School of Opera is founded by Joan Cross.[4]
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
- Benjamin Britten – Saint Nicolas, for tenor soloist, children's chorus, chorus, and orchestra
- Ralph Vaughan Williams – Partita for Double String Orchestra
Opera
- Arthur Bliss – The Olympians
- Norman Demuth – Le Flambeau
Film and Incidental music
- William Alwyn – The Fallen Idol directed by Carol Reed, starring Ralph Richardson.
- 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.[5]
- One Night with You, directed by Terence Young and starring Nino Martini, Patricia Roc and Bonar Colleano.[6]
Births
- 17 January – Mick Taylor, guitarist
- 19 January – Amanda Holden, English playwright, lyricist and composer
- 29 January – Mel Pritchard, drummer (died 2004)
- 3 February – Gavin Henderson, English trumpet player and conductor
- 4 March – Chris Squire, guitarist, singer and songwriter
- 22 March – Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer
- 16 April – Robert Kirby, arranger (died 2009)[7]
- 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[8]
- 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)[9]
- 11 October – David Rendall, operatic tenor
- 3 November – Lulu (Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie), singer and actress
- 1 December – Colin Sell, pianist
- 20 December – Alan Parsons, engineer and record producer
Deaths
- 9 January – Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, harpsichordist and clavichordist, 75
- 21 February – Frederic Lamond, pianist, 80
- 17 May – David Evans, composer, 74[10]
- 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[11]
- 14 December – R. O. Morris, British composer and teacher, 62
- 31 December – Ethel Barns, violinist, pianist and composer, 74
See also
References
- ^ Fifield, Christopher (ed.) (2003). Letters and Diaries of Kathleen Ferrier. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-012-4. p. 49
- ^ Edge, Simon (2007-12-27). "The prince and the showgirl | Express Yourself | | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
- ^ Kennedy, Michael (1987). Adrian Boult. London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 0-333-48752-4. p215
- ^ D. Brook, Singers of Today (Revised Edition – Rockliff, London 1958), 55–60.
- ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | DATE WITH A DREAM (1948)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | ONE NIGHT WITH YOU (1948)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 2009-04-16. 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. "Obituary: Ian MacDonald". The Guardian, 8 September 2003. Retrieved on 25 February 2008.
- ^ "The National Library of Wales :: Dictionary of Welsh Biography". Wbo.llgc.org.uk. 1948-05-17. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
- ^ "Wallace, Nellie [Eleanor]", The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Cambridge University Press, 2000