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Sir Philip Ledger a Musician's Legacy

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Sir Philip Ledger a Musician's Legacy Sir Philip Ledger A Musician’s Legacy Philip Ledger with the Alberni Quartet NI6220 Sir Philip Ledger Royal Conservatoire of Scotland A Musician’s Legacy At the Royal Conservatoire we are creating the Philip Ledger with the Alberni Quartet future for performance. We provide vocational education at the highest Alberni String Quartet professional level in dance, drama, music, production, Howard Davis Violin and screen. We offer an extraordinary blend of intensive Peter Pople Violin tuition, world-class facilities, a full performance Matthew Souter Viola schedule, the space to collaborate across the disciplines, teaching from renowned staff and industry practitioners, David Smith Cello and unrivalled professional partnerships. Philip Ledger Piano We have over 900 students from around the world studying on our specialist undergraduate and SIR EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934) postgraduate degree programmes. Alongside, we offer Quintet in a minor for piano evening and weekend classes, short courses, summer and string quartet, Op.84 35.23 schools, and a programme of continuing professional 1 Moderato – Allegro 13.54 development. Our Junior Conservatoire for 7-18 year olds nurtures young musical talent and we also organise 2 Adagio 11.12 the Royal Conservatoire Music Centres programme, 3 Andante – Allegro 10.18 bringing music education to over 1000 young people throughout Scotland. ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841-1904) Elgar recorded 07.11.2001 / Dvořák recorded 09.11.2001 Piano Quintet No.2 in A major, Op.81 32.36 live in the Matt Thomson Concert Hall at the Our partners include the BBC, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Opera, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal 4 Allegro, ma non tanto 9.41 Recorded by Graham Kennedy Scottish National Orchestra, Celtic Connections, 5 Dumka: Andante con moto 12.03 Produced by Bob Whitney Shakespeare’s Globe, Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and 6 Scherzo (Furiant): molto vivace 3.53 Cover image Reg Wilson of Reg Wilson Photography (London) Classic FM, amongst others. 7 Finale: Allegro 7.04 © 2013 Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Issued under exclusive license to Wyastone Estate Limited We are one of the most prolific performance producers Total 68.05 in Scotland. We create around 600 music, drama, dance, Design by www.0427.co.uk and film events every year featuring our students, staff, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and world-leading artists, in our own and external 100 Renfrew Street professional venues, including the Theatre Royal, Glasgow Glasgow, Festival Theatre Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal G2 3DB Concert Halls, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Eden Court +44 (0)141 332 4101 Inverness, Horsecross Perth, Shakespeare’s Globe, the www.rcs.ac.uk Traverse, and the Tron. Philip Ledger’s career as a phenomenal pianist, Alberni String Quartet Sir Philip Ledger - It was therefore quite a surprise when he told conductor, church musician, and composer A Personal Memoir me he had been appointed to succeed David inspired us all. He could have concentrated Howard Davis Violin by Christopher Bishop Willcocks as Director of Music at King’s College, on any one of these areas and been hugely Peter Popl Violin Cambridge. I’d been producing David’s records successful, but it is clear that each influenced Matthew Souter Viola I knew Philip for fifty years, and we were rather with the famous choir since 1964, and was and strengthened the other and made him the David Smith Cello like two trains on tracks which sometimes ran slightly worried at the change. Philip told me unique musician that he was. parallel, sometimes lost sight of each other, but years later that he was also rather worried, and The Alberni String Quartet is one of the never actually crashed. I had the pleasure of told David he wasn’t sure he could keep up the William Owen longest established ensembles in the United engaging him as a performer, in all four periods wonderful standard of his psalms. David replied Kingdom. For more than a third of a century of his career. “Of course you can”. And of course he did. Reprinted with kind permission of the Journal of the it has maintained the highest standard of That was my first lesson about the versatility Association of Anglican Musicians performance, and is now recognised as one of Our friendship began in 1961 when he had of Philip. the outstanding chamber music groups of our just been appointed organist of Chelmsford time. Their tours have taken them to all parts of Cathedral. I invited him, through Cambridge The first record he conducted at King’s, in the world, including the Americas, Australasia connections, to give a recital with the March 1974, was of Britten, coupled with and China, where they have been described as clarinettist Gervase de Peyer at the school the first male-voice recording of Leonard “Reflecting the best of British musical tradition”. where I was teaching. The recital was a great Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. It was a bold success, and the boy who reviewed it for the departure, but one he achieved with great The many recordings made by the Alberni have school magazine wrote: “Mr Ledger deserves panache. The Britten included a version of over the years gained some of the finest critical a great deal of credit for his very sensitive Rejoice in the Lamb with a timpani part which accolades, and they are regular contributors to and beautifully balanced accompaniment had been composed for a performance at the the broadcasting networks. throughout.” He was absolutely right. In spite of Aldeburgh Festival, and Philip told me he had Philip’s great achievements in other fields, it has telephoned Britten to get his approval. I was Parallel with their concert giving they always been as a pianist that I think of him first. most impressed. have gained a unique reputation for their educational work with string players of all ages. I saw Philip and his wife Mary from time to While he was at King’s we recorded twelve They are professors at the Royal Academy of time when he was in charge of music at the more LPs, including his brilliant performance Music, Wells Cathedral School and Chetham’s University of East Anglia, while my family had of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with starry School of Music in Manchester. a cottage in north Norfolk. I was by then at soloists: Elly Ameling, Janet Baker, Robert Tear EMI, and the first record I produced with him and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who sent me a They were resident quartet at the then Royal was in January 1973, with the tenor Robert telegram just before the December sessions Scottish Academy of Music and Drama for a Tear. He sang three song cycles by Benjamin which read “Please make sure Cambridge is period of ten years from 1980, giving concerts, Britten, with whom both of them had worked warm”. I knew how Hercules felt. classes and working with the students and extensively. Philip’s playing on that record members of staff. This culminated in their being confirmed my view of him as one of the very My favourite of Philip’s records at King’s was of awarded Fellowships of the Academy. finest accompanists of his generation. Elgar’s Coronation Ode, with the King’s Choir, CUMS chorus, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Kneller Hall Brass, all making a glorious noise, which I think we managed to capture on disc. Mary for some years, but that was happily Opera was flourishing at the Academy, and He wrote several, and one, Loving Shepherd It was the greatest sadness to me that he was to change in 1988 when I went to Glasgow to Ledger saw the need for a new building for the of thy Sheep, has become especially popular. not well enough to conduct that work again in manage the Scottish National Orchestra, which Opera School. His good friend, Sir Alexander Tim Rogers at Encore Publications encouraged what turned out to be his final visit to King’s in the Queen graciously also made Royal, which Gibson, who had been the conductor of the him to write more anthems, including his March 2012. removed any feelings of jealousy on my part. Scottish National Orchestra and the founder best-selling setting of This Joyful Eastertide, and It was a joy for me to have Philip and Mary of Scottish Opera, had died in 1995 and Ledger suggested to Ledger that he write a requiem. Philip soon became an established EMI artist, in the same city, and to be able to enjoy their raised five million pounds for this new building, Ledger was dubious, but was so inspired by and not all the records he made while he hospitality. He would also conduct the RSNO, which opened in 1998 and bears Gibson’s name. the poems of Thomas Traherne (1636/7-1674) was at King’s were with the Chapel Choir. He particularly in his very popular Christmas These wonderful new facilities enabled Ledger that he wrote the very moving Requiem—A conducted the first recording of The Hills by concerts which he introduced with charming to attract more foreign students to the Academy Thanksgiving for Life in 2007. He conducted the Patrick Hadley with the Cambridge University informality and humour. and to give it a more international reputation. first performance at my church, Christ Church Musical Society Chorus and the London The Academy was not a degree-granting Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, Delaware, Philharmonic Orchestra, and Britten’s Little The fact that Philip had turned his hand to institution, and many schools like it were being on All Saints’ Sunday and at King’s College, Sweep, in which Mary sang the main part of administration with such success should not absorbed into large universities.
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