Page 189 - 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
P. 189
the philharmonic society of london and its nineteenth-century contribution ...
new music. The first performance in 1889 of Parry’s Symphony No. 3 (“The
English”) indicates this well. With the successful performance of his choral
Blest Pair of Sirens in St James’s Hall in London (conducted by Stanford) in
1887 and his oratorio Judith in Birmingham in 1888, much was expected of
this symphony and the public were not disappointed.
Stanford’s Third and Fifth Symphonies, performed in 1893 and 1895 re-
spectively, added to the impressive range of new British music, while the ar-
rival of the music of Edward Elgar in London in the early years of the 20th
century, especially the impressive Enigma Variations in 1908 and the out-
standing Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, conducted at a Philharmonic con-
cert by no less than Arthur Nikisch in 1909 and then by the composer him-
self in 1910.32 It was hardly surprising that the word “Royal” was added to
the society’s name on its centenary in 1913, to become the Royal Philhar-
monic Society, the name by which it is known today.
The Development of the British Musical Renaissance
The activities of the Philharmonic Society cannot really be said solely to
dictate or reflect musical taste in England. There were other societies and
groups in the earlier part of the 19th century, but they were not especially
influential. Certainly in the earlier part of the 19th century the Society and
particular the amateurs, rather than the professional performers, were able
to influence the choice of music to be performed. There were conflicting
aims involved here, however, as there was great enthusiasm for attracting
famous composers and performers from the European continent and a lack
of desire to promote the interests of British composers. An additional prob-
lem was the fact that those native composers with the ability to produce
impressive new works were being drawn in a number of other directions.
In the first instance they were performers, particularly pianists, who had
the ability to play solo parts in concertos, as well as to direct performanc-
es which involved performing works by Beethoven, Spohr, Mendelssohn
32 In fact, it had already received its first performance in Manchester on 3 December
1908, conducted by Hans Richter and then four days later in London again conduct-
ed by Richter. It achieved nearly one hundred performances in the first year, and in
1909 and 1910 performances all over Europe (Diana McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His
Life and Music (London: Dent, 1955), 50). There had been great expectation in ad-
vance of its first appearance, something indicated in the article by H. C. Colles, a
leading critic and musicologist, editor of two editions of the Grove Dictionary of
Music: H. C. Colles, “Sir Edward Elgar’s Symphony,” The Musical Times 49, no. 790
(1908): 778–80, https://doi.org/10.2307/907822.
187
new music. The first performance in 1889 of Parry’s Symphony No. 3 (“The
English”) indicates this well. With the successful performance of his choral
Blest Pair of Sirens in St James’s Hall in London (conducted by Stanford) in
1887 and his oratorio Judith in Birmingham in 1888, much was expected of
this symphony and the public were not disappointed.
Stanford’s Third and Fifth Symphonies, performed in 1893 and 1895 re-
spectively, added to the impressive range of new British music, while the ar-
rival of the music of Edward Elgar in London in the early years of the 20th
century, especially the impressive Enigma Variations in 1908 and the out-
standing Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, conducted at a Philharmonic con-
cert by no less than Arthur Nikisch in 1909 and then by the composer him-
self in 1910.32 It was hardly surprising that the word “Royal” was added to
the society’s name on its centenary in 1913, to become the Royal Philhar-
monic Society, the name by which it is known today.
The Development of the British Musical Renaissance
The activities of the Philharmonic Society cannot really be said solely to
dictate or reflect musical taste in England. There were other societies and
groups in the earlier part of the 19th century, but they were not especially
influential. Certainly in the earlier part of the 19th century the Society and
particular the amateurs, rather than the professional performers, were able
to influence the choice of music to be performed. There were conflicting
aims involved here, however, as there was great enthusiasm for attracting
famous composers and performers from the European continent and a lack
of desire to promote the interests of British composers. An additional prob-
lem was the fact that those native composers with the ability to produce
impressive new works were being drawn in a number of other directions.
In the first instance they were performers, particularly pianists, who had
the ability to play solo parts in concertos, as well as to direct performanc-
es which involved performing works by Beethoven, Spohr, Mendelssohn
32 In fact, it had already received its first performance in Manchester on 3 December
1908, conducted by Hans Richter and then four days later in London again conduct-
ed by Richter. It achieved nearly one hundred performances in the first year, and in
1909 and 1910 performances all over Europe (Diana McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His
Life and Music (London: Dent, 1955), 50). There had been great expectation in ad-
vance of its first appearance, something indicated in the article by H. C. Colles, a
leading critic and musicologist, editor of two editions of the Grove Dictionary of
Music: H. C. Colles, “Sir Edward Elgar’s Symphony,” The Musical Times 49, no. 790
(1908): 778–80, https://doi.org/10.2307/907822.
187
