Page 187 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2023. Glasbena društva v dolgem 19. stoletju: med ljubiteljsko in profesionalno kulturo ▪︎ Music societies in the long 19th century: Between amateur and professional culture. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 6
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the philharmonic society of london and its nineteenth-century contribution ...
many years. The veteran Cipriani Potter who died in 1871 was celebrated
with performances of two symphonies and an overture. Other British com-
posers, whose names are now largely forgotten, included the careful Julius
Benedict and the bold romantic symphonist Frederic Cliffe whose music is
now staging a revival. The appearance of excellent orchestral works by Ar-
thur Sullivan were often overshadowed by his brilliant operettas composed
mostly to librettos by the equally talented W. S. Gilbert. On the serious side,
though, Sullivan’s Symphony in E major and Cello Concerto (both were
performed at the Philharmonic concerts) are still very impressive 150 years
later. This is the period that British music had begun to regain its stature
and was clearly the time that British composers would begin to thrive. In
his statistical summary of the two decades, 1863–1872 and 1873–1882, Fos-
ter in his History counted over twice as many British works performed in
the second decade.28
All was not well, however. The Philharmonic Society consisted of
a small number of wealthy amateur subscribers, but did not increase its
membership substantially partly because it was using small and often un-
suitable halls, notably The Argyll Rooms and Hanover Rooms which could
accommodate only a few hundred members of the audience. A warning
came in 1868 from the society’s conductor, William Cusins:
The Society’s conductor pointed out how the Crystal Palace29 con
certs, under Mr August Manns, were competing with the Philhar
monic and warned the Directors that they must engage a larger
hall, and must advertise in a more imposing manner, or they would
be fairly elbowed off by their rivals.30
This problem was not solved until the 1893 opening of the new pur-
pose-built Queen’s Hall in Central London which the Philharmonic used
from 28 February 1894.
28 Foster, History [1912], 336, 389. The numbers are respectively 31 and 66.
29 The Crystal Palace was a huge construction, mostly of glass, designed for the Great
Exhibition of 1851 and located in Hyde Park in central London. It was only a tem-
porary structure, but to keep it the building was removed to a site in Sydenham in
South London being reassembled and extended for a grand opening in 1854. It was
not used for musical events to start with, but its size proved excellent for large-scale
concerts with popular appeal. It remained for over 80 years until it was destroyed
by fire in 1936. See: Michael Musgrave, The Musical Life of the Crystal Palace (Cam-
bridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995).
30 Foster, History [1912], 298.
185
many years. The veteran Cipriani Potter who died in 1871 was celebrated
with performances of two symphonies and an overture. Other British com-
posers, whose names are now largely forgotten, included the careful Julius
Benedict and the bold romantic symphonist Frederic Cliffe whose music is
now staging a revival. The appearance of excellent orchestral works by Ar-
thur Sullivan were often overshadowed by his brilliant operettas composed
mostly to librettos by the equally talented W. S. Gilbert. On the serious side,
though, Sullivan’s Symphony in E major and Cello Concerto (both were
performed at the Philharmonic concerts) are still very impressive 150 years
later. This is the period that British music had begun to regain its stature
and was clearly the time that British composers would begin to thrive. In
his statistical summary of the two decades, 1863–1872 and 1873–1882, Fos-
ter in his History counted over twice as many British works performed in
the second decade.28
All was not well, however. The Philharmonic Society consisted of
a small number of wealthy amateur subscribers, but did not increase its
membership substantially partly because it was using small and often un-
suitable halls, notably The Argyll Rooms and Hanover Rooms which could
accommodate only a few hundred members of the audience. A warning
came in 1868 from the society’s conductor, William Cusins:
The Society’s conductor pointed out how the Crystal Palace29 con
certs, under Mr August Manns, were competing with the Philhar
monic and warned the Directors that they must engage a larger
hall, and must advertise in a more imposing manner, or they would
be fairly elbowed off by their rivals.30
This problem was not solved until the 1893 opening of the new pur-
pose-built Queen’s Hall in Central London which the Philharmonic used
from 28 February 1894.
28 Foster, History [1912], 336, 389. The numbers are respectively 31 and 66.
29 The Crystal Palace was a huge construction, mostly of glass, designed for the Great
Exhibition of 1851 and located in Hyde Park in central London. It was only a tem-
porary structure, but to keep it the building was removed to a site in Sydenham in
South London being reassembled and extended for a grand opening in 1854. It was
not used for musical events to start with, but its size proved excellent for large-scale
concerts with popular appeal. It remained for over 80 years until it was destroyed
by fire in 1936. See: Michael Musgrave, The Musical Life of the Crystal Palace (Cam-
bridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995).
30 Foster, History [1912], 298.
185
