News

In this issue ...

Page Page Address for Communications 2 Elgar Works 22 Keep in touch 2 LSO Discovery Day; Elgar 24 Letter from the Chairman 2 Re–dedication of the organ From the Editor 5 at St Wulstan’s 26 The 2018 Birthday Weekend 6 Elgar and Brockhampton Court 28 Proposed Amendment An Elgar Leaf Lost and Found 32 to the Constitution 9 Elgar the Imperialist? 35 Elgar Day at the Three Choirs 11 Brief Items 36 A Growing Passion for Elgar: Holst Society 38 Karl–Heinz Steffens in Scotland 12 Branch Events 40 Membership Matters 17 Dates for your Diary 44 Delius Society 21 Crossword 53 Trustees’ Annual Report T1

No. 64 – April 2018 Address for Communications

Contributions for the August 2018 edition of the Elgar Society News should be e–mailed to the Editor:

Peter James: [email protected]

Full contact details can be found on the back cover. The latest date for submissions for the August 2018 issue is 25 June 2018.

Keep in Touch

Remember: you can keep up to date with the latest Elgarian news online at

Facebook: www.facebook.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com

London Branch Account: https://twitter.com/ElgarLondon

YouTube: www.youtube.com

or, search for ‘Elgar’ or ‘Elgar Society’ or ‘Elgar Birthplace’.

Letter from the Chairman

Dear Friends,

How events can move on between editions of the News! In time for last December’s edition, I wrote ‘the SOMM disc called The Art of the Military Band will have been launched by the time you read this, and Dutton Epoch recorded in September with the BBC Concert Orchestra under David Lloyd–Jones some of the short orchestral works featured in Volume 23 of the Elgar Complete Edition, edited by David Lloyd–Jones himself.’ The SOMM disc has come out and I have enormously enjoyed it, studded as it is with arrangements of works by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Sir Thomas Beecham and Bertram Walton O’Donnell.

2 Elgar Society News Letter from the Chairman

As if The Art of the Military Band was not enough, the indefatigable Siva Oke, who owns and runs SOMM Records, has issued a further Elgar disc: Ecce Sacerdos Magnus – Elgar’s music for chorus and orchestra, performed by the Brighton Festival Chorus and BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth. This is a splendid recording and I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the eponymous first track (unknown to me) and the recording of the Benedictus of Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, which shares the opening notes with Ecce Sacerdos Magnus. Overall there is an interesting juxtaposition of the secular Spanish Serenade and Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands with the big religious works that spanned 26 increasingly successful years of the composer’s life. As I write this in very early March, the snow has just caused us to cancel a meeting of Council on 3 March and I have just approved the proofs of the booklet for the Dutton disc. I look forward to learning the release date, and I have already heard great things from those who attended the recording sessions. Mentioning the Dutton repertoire, since writing to you last I had a delightful visit to Winchester last November to talk on the shorter orchestral works to Branch colleagues In The South. I greatly enjoyed renewing friendships at the Southern Branch, particularly as I find the topic a fascinating one. The prospect of talking on this subject to further friends in the Eastern and West Midlands Branches fills me with pleasant anticipation even though my visits are not until July. That same month sees me visiting one of Winchester’s even lovelier neighbours, Salisbury, on the occasion of the Southern Cathedrals Festival when I shall introduce and supplement what I know will be fine performances of Elgar’s Violin Sonata and Piano Quintet. Mentioning Branches and chamber music in the paragraph above reminds me how much I enjoyed my visit to Leicester in February to talk on the Brinkwells music to the East Midlands Branch, and I thank them for their hospitality. Mind you, despite the warm welcome, it’s always a nervy Branch to visit when the omniscient Barry Collett is in the audience, all too aware of any faults in the narrative! The result of the consultation on defining the term of the President was an overwhelmingly favourable mandate for change; 80 out of the 84 of us who responded to the consultation were in favour of the principle. This all started with a hypothetical discussion in Council

No. 64 – April 2018 3 Letter from the Chairman

which led to the consultation just completed. In the consultation five people did query the need for change and among them was Sir Anthony Evans, a former Lord Justice of Appeal. One crosses a lawyer at one’s peril! Sir Anthony did helpfully point out to me that it would be appropriate to secure the endorsement of the AGM to the extension of the term of office of an incumbent President, and I was happy to concede this because it is currently the AGM that endorses a recommendation from Council to elect a President. Sir Anthony pointed out that there isn’t in fact anything in the Constitution at the moment that stipulates that the President holds office for life or would prevent a President being elected for a limited term. Very true but until now a President’s term has only been ended by death and the Council have proceeded on the basis that, if this is to change, it is appropriate for it to be spelled out. Members will now get the opportunity to vote on this matter by means of the ballot paper enclosed with this mailing. Just as my own position as Chairman and that of the Society’s other officers is subject to annual renewal of our mandate, so a five–year term, extendable for a further five years, seems reasonable for a Presidency.1 Less obvious progress was made on the Education side. Last time I reported that ‘Philip Petchey’s suggestions were duly published in the August edition of the News; Executive will consider this and any responses in October and Council in November’. The unfortunate thing was I missed the last Council meeting, having a pre–arranged trip to Brussels that had to take precedence over a trip to York where, for the first time, a Council meeting was combined with a Branch meeting. Worse, I failed to ensure that Education was on the Council agenda so, alas, the reporting mechanism has not been in action. Let’s hope there will be some progress outside of Council meetings that is reported elsewhere in this edition. In signing off, I send my best wishes to you all and look forward to seeing you in the summer.

1 See also George Smart’s item on the proposed amendment to the Constitution on page 9. 4 Elgar Society News From the Editor

December’s News devoted much space to the question of musical education in schools, so it only seems appropriate now to mention Julian Lloyd Webber’s impassioned article which appeared in January’s Classical Music magazine. Apart from being our Society’s President, Julian is of course the principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, which has an outreach programme aimed at bringing music to children in the West Midlands. ‘Increasingly,’ he wrote, ‘it falls to music colleges to plug the gaps which have been created by our government’s obsession with the English Baccalaureate … which has removed all arts subjects from the core school curriculum.’ In the Far East it is the norm for children to play an instrument, not ‘the quirky add–on for rich kids which it is fast becoming in the UK’. And he concluded: ‘Music should no longer be perceived as an add–on, a luxury, the icing on the cake. Music is the cake itself – and we have never needed its sustenance more than now.’

Meanwhile in France, where culture is apparently considered to be more than a quirky add–on, a joint initiative was announced between the ministries of education and culture to introduce choirs into every school by 2019, at a cost of 20 million euros. In secondary schools two hours of optional choral singing a week were proposed. ‘We need the best of both worlds,’ said education minister Jean– Michel Blanquer, ‘effort and pleasure. Every child must be given a basic foundation, and a good general culture: these are the best tools for life.’ Rarely have Laurence Sterne’s words at the start of A Sentimental Journey seemed more appropriate: ‘They order, said I, this matter better in France.’

One matter they don’t order quite so well in France is performances of Elgar. Daniel Harding, principal conductor of the Orchestre de Paris, started to put that right when he mounted a performance of The Dream of Gerontius in Paris in December – said to be its first performance in France since 1905! The soloists were Andrew Staples (tenor), Magdalena Koená (mezzo) and John Relyea (bass). One critic noted how incomprehensible it is that a Catholic composer’s oratorio to words by a future cardinal remains an absolute rarity in Catholic France. Another regretted the unadventurousness of concert programmers in depriving French audiences of British and Scandinavian music. He found echoes of Liszt’s symphonic poems

No. 64 – April 2018 5 From the Editor

in the Prelude, then the emergence of ‘Debussyan post–romanticism … peppered advantageously with the completely personal style of the native of Worcestershire’.

The performance is freely available to watch on the Arte website until 21 June 2018. Go to:

www.arte.tv/fr/

then, search for ‘Gerontius’. Peter James Richard Hickox

I am reminded that March 2018 would have seen the 70th birthday of Richard Hickox. His early death from a heart attack in November 2008 deprived us of a prodigiously talented and prolific conductor, a devoted champion of Elgar, Vaughan Williams and others, and, of course, a former President of the Elgar Society. In her tribute to him for the News, Dame Janet Baker wrote: He was a completely rounded musician, broad of mind and outlook; there was a sense of urgency about him as though in some deep, unconscious place a part of him knew his time was limited and he did not waste a moment of it. The Editor

Birthday Weekend and AGM

This year the Birthday weekend includes a full programme of events. Some of these have limited spaces and members are advised to book as early as possible. Where space is limited tickets will be allocated on a first–come–first–served basis. A reserve list will work on the same basis. The booking form is enclosed with this mailing and should be returned to the Vice–Chairman, 6 Carriage Close, St John’s, Worcester, WR2 6AE, together with a cheque made out to The Elgar Society and a stamped addressed envelope.

6 Elgar Society News Birthday Weekend and AGM

Fri 1 June, 7.30pm Pomp and Poetry Too The Firs, Lower Broadheath A presentation of Elgar’s music interposed with poems read by Society member Peter Sutton. This is the second of three programmes compiled by Stella and Stuart Freed. It is a free event, open to the public, and is restricted to 50 people. Entry is by ticket only. Sat 2 June, 10.30am The Elgar Quiz The Elgar School of Music, Worcester Hosted by Peter Avis and Andrew Keener. Open to Society members only. Maximum 50 people. Sat 2 June, 2pm Afternoon Tea Honeypot Farm, Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, WR8 0AH A return visit to Linda Tolchard’s home and garden for tea, cake and chat. This is a free event; there will be a retiring collection. Restricted to 40 people. Sat 2 June, 6pm The A.T. Shaw Lecture Abbot’s Kitchen, The Old Palace, Deansway, Worcester WR1 2JE This year the lecture will be delivered by composer David Mathews, whose arrangement of Elgar’s String Quartet is to be played in the concert later in the evening. David is a widely respected composer whose works include symphonies and concertos, instrumental, chamber and vocal music, as well as arrangements of music by composers ranging from Mahler to Irving Berlin. This evening’s lecture is entitled ‘Elgar’s Voice’. The event is open to Society members and concert ticket holders. Those wishing to attend, but who are not concert ticket holders, should present a membership card. Restricted to 110 people. Sat 2 June, 7.30pm Elgar Festival Concert Worcester Cathedral Elgar Introduction and Allegro Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto Elgar arr. Fraser Songs for strings Elgar arr. Matthews String Quartet English String Orchestra Kenneth Woods, conductor (continued overleaf...)

No. 64 – April 2018 7 Birthday Weekend and AGM

(continued from overleaf...) This is an Elgar Festival event. Tickets will be available from Worcester Live at £25, £17.50, £12.50 and £10 (restricted view). A 10% discount is available to Society members. Box office: 01905 611427; http://www.worcesterlive.co.uk Sun 3 June, 10.30am River Severn Cruise A 90–minute river cruise hosted by Dr John Harcup, including a rare opportunity to hear The Fifteenth Variation, a 1957 BBC broadcast featuring the voices of people who knew Elgar. Assemble outside Browns Restaurant, 24 Quay St, Worcester, at 10am. Tickets £8. Restricted to 40 people. For those wishing to attend the wreath–laying at St Wulstan’s Church, Malvern Wells, Mass will take place at 10.30am, with coffee in the Parish Rooms at 11.30 and the wreath–laying at 12.30. Sun 3 June, 12.30pm Lunch Zizzi’s Restaurant, Cathedral Square, Worcester Two courses £10.95 Sun 3 June, 2pm AGM and Evensong The Chapter House, Worcester Cathedral Sunday 3 June at 5pm Birthday Tea The Firs, Lower Broadheath The final event of the weekend, to include the Elgar toast. This year’s Elgar Birthday weekend sees the launch of the Elgar Festival, a major new cultural initiative showcasing the legacy of Worcestershire’s greatest cultural icon through the collaborative efforts of a team of international artists and local arts organisations. This inaugural festival includes an array of recitals, chamber music concerts, choral performances, lectures and seminars. The highlight of the festival promises to be a gala concert of Elgar’s string music by the renowned English String Orchestra in Worcester Cathedral on Saturday 2 June at 7.30pm. Details of all events and artists are available at: www.elgarfestival.org Stuart Freed

8 Elgar Society News Annual General Meeting

The Elgar Society AGM will take place in the Chapter House of Worcester Cathedral on Sunday 3 June 2018 at 2pm. Tea/coffee and biscuits will be available before and after the meeting. The AGM will be followed by Evensong at 4pm and subsequently the laying of the chaplet at the Elgar window. George Smart Proposed Amendment to the Constitution Background Following the decision of Council at the meeting in York on 25 November 2017, a consultation of members was initiated in the early New Year by e–mail, and by post for those members not using e–mail. Some 192 letters were sent by post. Replies were requested by 3 February 2018. Response to Consultation There were 84 responses to the consultation, either by post or e–mail, offering a view in favour or against. Proposal agreed: 80 Proposal disagreed: 4 One member voted in agreement and disagreement with an explanation. Consideration In correspondence with Sir Anthony Evans, a Society member and retired Lord Justice of Appeal, Steven Halls agreed an addition to the proposed amendment whereby the extension of the term of office of the President for a further five years should be subject to the approval of the AGM. The sentence in bold below, added to the proposed amendment as it now stands, is intended to achieve this: Revised Amendment The term of office of the President shall be five years, save that, by agreement between the President and the Council, the term may (on one occasion only) be extended for a further period of five years. Any such extension shall be subject to the approval of the Society at the Annual General Meeting.

No. 64 – April 2018 9 Amendment to the Constitution

The Council had been due to consider the proposed amendment and the revision to it at a meeting scheduled for 3 March 2018. Unfortunately, the weather and traffic conditions at that time meant the meeting had to be postponed. Accordingly, the revised proposal was circulated by e–mail and agreed by a majority of the members of the Council. Reasons for the Change These remain unchanged and are set out below: • We take it as axiomatic that there is value in a President representing the Society at a high level and publicly. In appointing a President, the Society cannot specify the tasks that the new incumbent may undertake over an undefined period and this may inhibit acceptance of the office. There is therefore merit in both sides limiting their outlook to a period of five years, hence this motion to change the Constitution. • The second advantage of the proposed change would be that the Constitution would provide the means to replace the President for whatever reason, without rancour or recrimination. If the fixed term were enshrined in the appointment process, a President who ceased to be an asset to the Society is less likely to become a long–term problem. • The third advantage is that the circumstances leading to a particular appointment might later change and the President cease to be a suitable holder of the office. There is therefore merit in the Society having the ability to change the appointment and have a variety of post–holders over a 20–year period. Ballot on the Revised Proposal In accordance with the Constitution of the Society, the second stage in consideration of proposed amendments is a ballot of all members of the Society. Accordingly a ballot paper is included with this edition of the News for completion by members. Completed and signed ballot papers should be returned to the Honorary Secretary, either by post or e–mail as indicated below, by the closing date of Wednesday 16th May 2018. Post: George Smart, Hon. Sec. Elgar Society, 10 Cullin Park Grove, Strathaven, ML10 6EN E–mail: [email protected] George Smart, Hon. Secretary

10 Elgar Society News Elgar Day at the Three Choirs Festival

Monday 30 July 2018 The Elgar Society Lecture will be given by Roger Judd, assistant organist for over twenty years at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, who has played for many royal occasions and has worked as a recitalist and recording artist in the UK, Europe, the USA and Canada. He will talk at 11am on ‘One man and his dog … Elgar and G.R. Sinclair – an enduring friendship’. This will be followed by the Elgar Society Lunch at 12.30pm. Both events will be held at The Left Bank, Hereford. In the evening, at 7.45pm, there will be a performance of Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf with Judith Howarth (soprano), Andrew Staples (tenor), David Shipley (bass), the Three Choirs Festival Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Tickets for all three events are only available from the Three Choirs Festival Booking Office. Richard Smith

Photograph, above: Roger Judd

No. 64 – April 2018 11 A Growing Passion for Elgar

Karl–Heinz Steffens in Scotland The ubiquitous German conductor Karl–Heinz Steffens made his first visit to Scotland, and debut conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), in February, when I took the opportunity to interview him for the Elgar Society News. For his two concerts, in Edinburgh then Glasgow, the main work was Elgar’s First Symphony. This might seem a surprising choice until you discover how passionate Steffens is about Elgar’s music and this work in particular. His love for the work dates back to his early days as a music student when a colleague, Lorenz Luyken (now a musicologist), played him a recording of the work without telling him what it was. Steffens recalls being ‘totally overwhelmed’ by the opening motto theme and eager to hear and find out more of the rest of the work and Elgar’s other compositions. The Elgar First Symphony has formed such an important element of his recent work with orchestras because Steffens ‘chose’ it.

Tom Kelly (left) presenting the revised Elgar Complete Edition of the Concertos to Karl–Heinz Steffens after his Usher Hall performance of Elgar’s First Symphony on 9 February 2018 [Photo: Maureen Kelly]

12 Elgar Society News A Growing Passion for Elgar

In the Edinburgh concert, Steffens showed an instinctive feel for the music and an ability to get the qualities he values of ‘lucidity’ and balance. The Adagio was particularly affecting and beautiful with breathtaking control of dynamics and phrasing in the final bars. The RSNO has a long and strong tradition of performances of Elgar and a particularly strong wind section. The RSNO ensemble was warm and vigorous (if a little shaky at first in the Allegro exposition of the first movement), but revealing of all those inner parts and little solos for unlikely wind instruments and back desks of the strings. All in all, this was a memorable and passionately felt performance.

Steffens does not have any fixed view about the pace of performances. He emphasises the need for pulse and phrasing to bring out the detail as well as the overall shape of the composer’s conception, and points to Brahms’s praise for the slow, broad performances by Hans Richter of his Fourth Symphony but also for the much quicker ones of Hermann Levi. The timings of Steffens’s Edinburgh performance of the Elgar First Symphony (I–20’58”, II– 7’23”, III–12’45”, and IV–10’02”– total 53’06”) confirm a feel for the pulse of the music closer to the broad Richter/Barbirolli tradition than the brisker Elgar/Boult pacing.

Despite having conducted Elgar’s First Symphony nearly a dozen times, Steffens says that he ‘does not dare to conduct it without a score’. He does conduct other large–scale works from memory but says that Elgar’s music is not easy to play well unless you pay constant and close attention to his detailed markings. He regards the Elgar Violin Concerto as ‘the most difficult of the violin concertos to conduct’.

Steffens is a very busy guest conductor with many German and British orchestras, in addition to being Music Director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland–Pfalz based in Ludwigshafen. His commercial recordings have concentrated so far on relatively unfamiliar repertoire such as Ginastera, Zimmermann and Szymanowski. But they do include a complete cycle of the Schumann symphonies and a widely praised album of lesser–known pieces by Vaughan Williams. Steffens was principal clarinettist with both the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio

No. 64 – April 2018 13 A Growing Passion for Elgar

Symphony Orchestra before concentrating on conducting. He still performs on the clarinet: in March, for example, he was the soloist in the Brahms Clarinet Quintet before taking the rostrum for Brahms’s Requiem in the final concert of his Brahms series with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall.

Steffens has taken the Elgar First Symphony to Munich (where it was played for the first time ever by the Munich Philharmonic), to Halle in 2015, and in May 2017 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra to Poole and Bristol. Steffens has also conducted many other performances in England with the Philharmonia, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony and Bournemouth Symphony orchestras.

Asked about differences between German and British orchestras, he says Elgar is difficult to do in Germany as the orchestras tend to approach it with the ‘same emotional attitude as they would Brahms’. German orchestras have strong performance traditions and like to give ‘emotional feeling’ and rich sound to their playing. But this makes it difficult to bring the players back to the detailed markings in the scores of less familiar composers such as Elgar. Steffens says that you can rely on a German orchestra to ‘play the crescendo’ as marked by the composer but ‘not to observe so well the diminuendo that follows’ – definitely a problem when trying to capture Elgar’s very detailed markings in his scores.

Steffens is very appreciative of the alertness of British orchestral players ‘to the composer’s notes and markings’. British orchestras, he says, are ‘more serious about playing what’s wanted as shown in the score’. Their playing of Elgar’s music is more lucid and perhaps more clinical but, Steffens insists, ‘warmer in heart’. He is particularly enthusiastic about the Philharmonia Orchestra and was delighted by his work last May with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra which he regards as the ‘most underestimated orchestra in Europe’.

On a superficial view, one might think that British orchestras are booking Steffens only as a specialist in the Elgar First Symphony. Steffens is keen to conduct performances of the Second Symphony and eager to make a debut with The Dream of Gerontius. Perhaps the Philharmonia or Bournemouth Symphony orchestras have this

14 Elgar Society News A Growing Passion for Elgar in mind? But his forward diary is heavily committed already with performances of large–scale works such as Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ and Schubert’s ‘Great’ C major.

The warm feelings he has for British orchestras extend to audiences. Steffens notes a significant difference in appreciation of performances in England and that there is ‘hardly any criticism’ from musicians or audience after concerts. Politeness rules! It intrigues him how different this is from the forthright and ‘in your face’ attitude that is frequently encountered in Germany – ‘if they do not like the music or the way you have tackled it, they will not be slow to tell you!’ In England they tell you that they ‘loved it even if they did not’.

Of course, most of Steffens’s musical experience has been in Germany. Disarmingly, he admits that he ‘cannot pretend to be an English conductor’ (and on the evidence of Edinburgh why should he?). But he is keen to conduct in smaller venues and not just the largest and most prestigious halls. For example, he is booked to perform Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Lammermuirs Festival at Saint Mary’s Church, Haddington, East Lothian, in September. I was able to reassure him that Haddington might be a little out of the way geographically but was very definitely in the mainstream of Scottish enthusiasm for big works.

Steffens is still exploring and finding new things in the First Symphony. His view is that Elgar has affinities with the Beethoven– Brahms tradition of symphonic writing but that his music is definitely fin de siècle and post–Victorian and uniquely his own voice. He says that the music is ‘like an iceberg’ where the obvious, conscious elements are supported and developed by the unconscious patterns at work below the surface. Steffens loves the way that Elgar manages to keep the motto theme of his First Symphony in the background of awareness even when other themes and moods are in the foreground. He is adamant that the work as a whole is not ‘triumphal’: ending as it does with something jagged and uncertain and ‘not just a chorale’ with which other composers might conclude a big, unified symphony.

No. 64 – April 2018 15 A Growing Passion for Elgar

Steffens has strong views about the much more overtly commercial system for conductors today. He regards his tutor and mentor Daniel Barenboim as the last of the traditional maestros who stay for several decades as principal conductor with a single orchestra (as ‘conductor for life’ with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Berlin State Opera in Barenboim’s case). Steffens greatly admires the recent second recording of the Elgar First Symphony by Barenboim and his Berlin orchestra (which was also heard at the Proms in 2017). He worries that promoters are giving way to a ‘market–led demand’ for ‘fresh blood’ and visual antics rather than rigorous music making attentive to the score. He acknowledges that changing audiences and listening habits are a major factor – younger audiences seem to have a reduced attention span and less stamina for longer works and unfamiliar music. So, ‘balletic’ conductors are seen as more desirable by concert promoters. One might have expected, then, to find Steffens to be an austere, controlled presence on the rostrum in the tradition of, say, Sir Adrian Boult. Not so! Although he is a big man, his arm and baton movements are wide and energetic and he gives lots of warm and smiling encouragement to his players. His rubato is discreet and he has strong nerves for the slowest of diminuendo passages. There are advantages for a conductor in having been twenty years in the ranks of orchestral players! Steffens is far from passive in relation to the adverse trends he perceives about concert going. A great deal of his time in Germany is devoted to different forms of concerts, as well as introductions to the music, for new and younger audiences. Apart from the two concert performances of the First Symphony in Scotland, Steffens also took part in an innovative and extended introduction, ‘Under the Skin of Elgar’, the night before the Edinburgh performance. It would be great if British orchestras and concert promoters would do more to harness Steffens’s immense energy and passion for Elgar. Given the wide range of his repertoire and his place on the guest list of so many orchestras, opportunities for him to perform Elgar in Britain may be fewer and less frequent than Elgarians (the ‘cardigans’ as I described us) might want. Look out for him when he does come to conduct Elgar again! Tom Kelly, Chairman, Scottish Branch

16 Elgar Society News Membership Matters

If my experience of the Elgar Society, which has been built up over many years, has taught me anything it is that whenever any five Elgarians meet to discuss the Society at least six opinions will emerge. However, the current situation regarding the fall in membership numbers has proved to be the one major exception to this otherwise inviolable rule. The facts cannot be argued and leave little room for opinion: there has been a distinct fall in membership numbers from a high of 1,253 (June 2015) to a low of 979 (Aug 2017). Whilst I would wish to emphasise that this is both serious and significant, I would also suggest that, at this point at least, it is neither terminal nor irretrievable. Financially, the Society is in good health, it is able to support a wide range of national and international performances and recordings of Elgar’s music, is able to maintain an active network of Branches both here and overseas, and continues to issue high–quality publications three times each year. Nonetheless, if these activities are to be assured for the future, a stable, if not growing, pool of members is essential. Complacency is not an option!

During 2017 I completed an in–depth analysis of membership numbers covering the period from March 2013 to October 2017. As can be seen from the Figure below, over this time span the overall trend has been one of shallow decline, with a sharp downturn during 2016–17.

No. 64 – April 2018 17 Membership Matters

From March 2013 through to July 2015 membership remained fairly stable. For reasons that are not readily apparent, the Society has never recovered from the drop experienced in August 2015. The latest significant fall in membership, that of August 2017, can be chiefly ascribed to the closure of the Elgar Birthplace Museum. Those joining here mostly benefit from the Free Membership Scheme, which I will return to later. At the time of writing, there is evidence of some recovery, with membership standing at 1,004. I am indebted to Geoff Scargill for his work in canvassing Branch representatives and others about their views regarding what could or should be done to continue to reverse the decline. In general, opinion polarises about either: a) acceptance of a gradual decline giving rise to concern rather than panic. Our membership suffers from age–related wastage but, in general terms, wastage is balanced out as new, younger members join; or b) assume action is needed. We must advance on two fronts: attract new members and stop the haemorrhage brought about by resignations and failures to renew. I would argue that the truth resides somewhere between the two. Inaction, as suggested in option (a), would be to abandon the Society to sink or swim. However, if the Society is to be proactive, as suggested in option (b), then it must also be realistic in its aims. Recovery will not take place overnight and will require action from many individuals, Branches and national officers. There is no single silver bullet! Returning briefly to the question of the Free Membership Scheme, the aim of the scheme is to introduce new members to the Society who might not otherwise have joined. In October 2017 there were 24 paying members who initially joined the Society with free membership. When posed the question, ‘To what extent did the Free Membership Scheme influence your decision to join the Society?’ 81.3% said that the scheme had influenced their decision either signiicantly or somewhat or that it tipped them ‘over the edge’ into joining. The advantage of the scheme to the Society is that its costs are negligible. Due to economies of scale, the Society

18 Elgar Society News Membership Matters incurs no extra postage or printing costs and there is no extra administration expense. In addition, since its introduction in 2013, the Society has benefited to the tune of £2,904 in subscriptions that it may not otherwise have received. As highlighted above, the closure of the Birthplace Museum had a significant inluence on membership numbers. The museum has now reopened as The Firs, Birthplace of Edward Elgar, and the National Trust, who now run the museum, are keen to promote the Society. Elgar Society leaflets are displayed and are readily available, there is a protected Free Membership page of the website available to staff and volunteers, enabling visitors to sign up immediately; and after a meeting with the NT during January, I am in discussions with them regarding a number of ways of advertising and promoting the Society within the museum and its grounds. As these schemes come to fruition, I am very hopeful that new membership through The Firs will pick up. There can be no question that there are strategies available to the Society both nationally and locally that will influence the level of membership. Some are already in development, others have been identified, will be reviewed and implemented or rejected. In the wider context, the Executive and Council of the Society will be actively pursuing new initiatives to retain and recruit members. Branches too will play an important part within their areas by continuing to provide interesting and engaging events, following up on lapsed members and showing a presence at local events. Individual members can also contribute. If you are reading this and think that you may have the skills, knowledge and experience to help increase membership, get in touch. Indeed, someone out there may have professional experience of this sort of thing. If so I would be delighted to hear from you. Perhaps you belong to other societies in a similar position. Let me know what strategies might have worked for them. You may have some ideas about what inducements could be offered to new members. Again, I would be very pleased to know what you think. It would be useful to understand what attracted the current membership to join. Feel free to let me know what encouraged you to join. Indeed, anything that you can offer that the Society should consider would be most welcome. You can find my contact details on the back cover of the News.

No. 64 – April 2018 19 Membership Matters

One thing that we could all do is to take a friend along to a Branch meeting. They may not join … but they might! The Elgar Society is in no immediate danger. Its short– to mid– term future is secure. However, it is, I feel, incumbent upon the current generation of members to do everything that it can to ensure that its long–term future is assured. Therein lies our challenge and our opportunity. Stuart Freed, January 2018

From the Membership Secretary

Once again my thanks to the vast majority of you who have paid your sub on time and for the correct amount. And also to those who have made additional donations. My delight is, however, a little tarnished by the few members who continue to pay the wrong amount despite my various appeals to them to amend their Standing Orders or send me what is due from past years. I persevere …!

If you have not paid your sub yet (and it was due on 1 January!), I should remind you that this will be the last mailing you will receive. The membership list is culled before the August mailing is distributed, so if you wish to continue your membership please let me have your sub now.

May I also remind you all that the membership card is issued on trust with the December mailing. Several members have asked about the card: it is not a receipt for a payment you might not have made! The text on the card reads: ‘This card is valid if … the current subscription has been paid’.

You will see from Stuart Freed’s article above that at the end of 2017 the membership had dropped to just below 1,000. Part of the reason is because the Birthplace was closed for much of that year, so hopefully recruitment via there will improve in 2018. So I appeal to you – recruit a friend, give a membership as a present, offer to give a talk about Elgar and his music to local organisations. Let your enthusiasm for his music be an inspiration to others! David R. Young Hon. Membership Secretary – contact details on the back cover

20 Elgar Society News Welcome to New Members

We warmly welcome the following new members of the Society:

Brian Walker Littleborough, Lancs. Peter Kendall St Albans Patricia Burness Beverley Anthony & Claudia Cragg Blockley, Glos. Richard & Patricia Eliott Nottingham Mike & Denise Bourne Worcester Peter & Susan Johnson Stockport Dr Annette Laing Decatur, GA Sam Dobson Birstall University of Toronto Library Toronto, Canada Trevor Davis Swadlincote David & Elsie Gilliland Macclesfield Prof. Robert Saxton London Jean Sykes Stockport Cornelius Mahoney Weston–super–Mare Andrew Dunscombe Lucerne Yvonne & Brian Lewis Lower Broadheath David Grindey Urmston David & Rosemary Haigh Winchester Christopher Fonteyn Stourbridge Richard Redding Brighton George Jasieniecki London Ryan Czekaj Pennsylvania Furnace, PA Norman Martin Toronto

Delius Society

The Elgar Society has a reciprocal agreement with the Delius Society, whereby we offer each other’s members a reduced subscription of 50% for the first year of membership. Contact Membership Secretary Paul Chennell: [email protected].

The London Branch meets six or seven times on weekday evenings between September and March, usually in central London. The Midlands Branch organises its own programme of meetings which are usually held in the Derby area at weekends. Details can be found on the Delius Society website: www.delius.org.uk.

No. 64 – April 2018 21 Elgar Works

Writing this column in mid–February, with trees outside the computer room window swaying violently in the cold winds which seem to have been with us for weeks, we feel we are emerging from an unusually long winter with little to show for our efforts. We have made progress on the next volumes in both the Complete Edition and Collected Correspondence series, but there have been many distractions and we still have quite some way to go on both.

One unforeseen complication was an extensive auction of Elgar artefacts in late January. Though mainly of letters, the headline item was a copy in Elgar’s hand of O Hearken Thou with organ accompaniment, a work which just so happens to appear in our next volume. This work’s gestation was complex and it was eventually published by Novello in three different forms, so it was a score which we needed to see before the volume goes to print. The six–page score was bought for a surprising £6,600, twice the auction house’s estimate, by an unknown bidder, which could have been a show– stopper for the volume, but obligingly the auction house published four of the work’s six pages in its catalogue. This enabled us to place the score in the work’s evolution: a later score than the similar manuscript held by the British Library, containing many Elgarian refinements, all of which appear in the first of the published scores. It seems clear that this was the fair copy which Elgar supplied to Novello, from which to engrave the work, leading us to conclude with sufficient certainty that the missing two pages would hold no surprises and to allow the focus of our attention to return to the volume’s more challenging aspects.

Meanwhile, faced with increasing demands from family commitments and her own full–time employment, Lynn Richmond, the General Editor of the Collected Correspondence, has reluctantly concluded that she can no longer offer us the time the series needs and has decided to stand down. Fortunately, Chris Bennett, who has always helped with occasional queries, agreed last autumn to take on a formal role as deputy to Lynn. Although he is reluctant to accept the title, he is now de facto Lynn’s successor as General Editor. This is an ideal role for him as, still based in Worcester, he can still pop into the Birthplace archive and check original documents far more easily than can Tulsa, Oklahoma–based Lynn. But we are sure all readers

22 Elgar Society News Elgar Works of the Collected Correspondence will join us in thanking Lynn for her efforts in recent years in working with Martin Bird to bring volumes through to publication.

The Dutton recording under David Lloyd–Jones’s baton of most of the short orchestral works published in Volume 23 of the Complete Edition is fast approaching completion and will hopefully be available by the time you read this column. It is a remarkable CD, with world première recordings of three works in arrangements discovered in the editing of this and a parallel volume: the delightful Air de Ballet of 1881; the short but impressive Introduction, a feature of Elgar’s 1888 Suite in D, to the ‘Gavotte’, the third of Elgar’s Three Characteristic Pieces; and Elgar’s arrangement of the song Pleading for solo violin and orchestra, a work full of Elgarian yearning. But the focus of the CD is the well–known Canto Popolare from In the South, a recording which carries both momentary disappointment and lingering pleasure. The disappointment comes from the recent discovery that this is not another first recording we long believed it to be, finding that this version also appeared on a 2001 Harmonia Mundi CD of Elgar miniatures. This is Elgar’s misleadingly–entitled ‘arrangement for small orchestra’ for, while it indeed requires less than the full–blooded forces of In the South, it uses rather more than the equivalent passage in the overture. The solo viola is replaced by massed violins and the rather melancholic original has become a sumptuous impassioned statement, a stunning transformation to be set alongside the original. ‘Bowled over’ may be a cliché but it aptly describes our reaction on hearing the early edits. We are sure this is a CD no reader will wish to be without. Our insert provides an easy way to purchase your copy. John Norris

No. 64 – April 2018 23 LSO Discovery Day: Elgar

LSO Discovery Days are occasional morning and afternoon explorations of the work of a composer whose music features in the evening concert at London’s Barbican Hall, so it was fitting that with Elgar’s Second Symphony being the main work on Sunday 11 February he should be the focus of a Discovery Day. Sir Mark Elder and the LSO had played the First Symphony three days previously, and on Sunday the Second Symphony was coupled with Dvoák’s rarely heard Overture Othello and Bruch’s popular G minor Violin Concerto with soloist Nikolaj Znaider.

Discovery Day started with the three–hour LSO morning rehearsal in the Barbican Hall. Sir Mark had previously rehearsed the programme in detail, so in this final rehearsal large sections or whole movements were played before small adjustments to performance or to balance in the hall were made. The two passages in the Elgar which received the most attention were at figure 79 in the slow movement where the solo oboe has a counter melody in triplets, and the tremendous climax of the third movement. I was impressed by the rapport between conductor, soloist and orchestra, the occasional flashes of humour and the productive use of rehearsal time.

Above: LSO St. Lukes

24 Elgar Society News LSO Discovery Day: Elgar

After lunch we assembled at LSO St Luke’s, a Hawksmoor church which became derelict after disastrous subsidence in 1959 left only the tower and outer wall standing. It has since been converted into a modern rehearsal facility from which the LSO also broadcasts lunchtime concerts. We were in the enthusiastic hands of David Owen Norris, who is well known as a performer, composer and broadcaster with a particular interest in Elgar. He has the happy knack of being able both to fire the imagination of the casual listener with little previous knowledge of Elgar, and at the same time, with the help of piano illustrations, to provide many moments of insight for seasoned Elgarians. LSO and Guildhall musicians gave splendid performances of the Elegy and Serenade for Strings and David was joined by LSO first violin Laurent Quénelle to play Salut d’Amour from a part which showed Elgar’s original fingering. Violin strings, bows and the style of playing changed enormously during Elgar’s lifetime and even to a non–violinist it was noticeable that this early fingering produced more of the portamento sliding along the strings.

Above: David Owen Norris during the interval at LSO St Luke’s [Photographs: Alan Machin]

No. 64 – April 2018 25 LSO Discovery Day: Elgar

Discovery Day concluded back at the Barbican Hall with a pre–concert performance of the Piano Quintet given by Guildhall musicians, post–graduate Orchestral Artistry students who work alongside LSO players. The evening concert itself could be appreciated all the more by those of us who had attended the morning rehearsal, and the warm reception at the conclusion of the Symphony was in contrast to that in the half–empty hall which the LSO played it to in 1911 in the weeks following the premiere given by the Queen’s Hall Orchestra. That was the premiere at which Elgar complained to Billy Reed that the audience ‘sit there like a lot of stuffed pigs’. There were no stuffed pigs at the Barbican 107 years later! Alan Machin Re–dedication of the organ at St Wulstan’s

On Sunday 21 January 2018 a goodly number of parishioners and members of the West Midlands Branch of the Elgar Society managed to battle through an earlier snowstorm to attend the Mass at St Wulstan’s Church, Little Malvern, at which the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Bernard Longley, re–dedicated the Nicholson organ. The church choir opened the Mass with some beautiful singing, following which the Archbishop and his party processed to the organ. After the re–dedication, Dr Donald Hunt brought the instrument to life again, filling the church with Elgar’s music. During the Mass that followed, the Archbishop thanked those who contributed to the restoration fund, including the Elgar Society. In his homily, he talked about St Wulstan, one of the few Saxon bishops who remained in post following the Norman invasion in 1066. At the conclusion of the Mass the church reverberated again to the glorious sound of the organ which Elgar must surely have played. Richard Smith

26 Elgar Society News Organ re–dedication at St. Wulstan’s

Above: The choir of St Wulstan’s in front of the organ. At the rear centre is Dr Donald Hunt with, to his left, the music director, Angela Cranmore.

Right: The rebuilt organ. We were delighted that the assistant managing director of Nicholson’s, Andrew Caskie, was also able to attend the Mass.

No. 64 – April 2018 27 Organ re–dedication at St. Wulstan’s

Archbishop Longley greeting the parishioners after the Mass [All photos: Joan Roche]

Elgar and Brockhampton Court

Back in November I had a telephone conversation with a bookseller from Blackpool who informed me that he had in front of him two scores inscribed by Elgar. Being suspicious I asked him if he was sure. It became apparent in our conversation that he had done his own research.The scores – of The Dream of Gerontius and The Kingdom – were dedicated to ‘Madeline’ who was the chatelaine of Brockhampton Court near Hereford, and with whom Elgar stayed for the Three Choirs Festival week held in 1924 at Hereford. I have now received photocopies of the inscriptions which are reproduced on the following pages:

28 Elgar Society News Elgar and Brockhampton Court

Madeline from her Edward Elgar. Hereford 1924 (my first passenger)

No. 64 – April 2018 29 Elgar and Brockhampton Court

To Madeline with humble thanks for the inspiration of the Hereford Festival 1924 Edward Elgar

30 Elgar Society News Elgar and Brockhampton Court

Given that my contact was from Blackpool, my immediate reaction was that this might have some connection with the Morecambe Festival and Elgar’s friend Canon Gorton. I then looked at the 1911 Census for Brockhampton Court to establish who ‘Madeline’ might be. Madeline was Mrs Foster, but also staying there on census night (2 April), as a visitor, was Helen Gorton, a daughter of Canon Gorton. Further inspection of the 1911 Census revealed that visiting the Gorton residence in Hereford was one Arthur Walker. Arthur married Helen in 1912, a wedding delayed by the tragic death of Canon Gorton in August of that year. According to Elgar O.M.1 Lady Elgar ‘went to a dinner party given by the Fosters of Brockhampton’ only a few days before her death on 7 April 1920. This would appear to have been in London, judging by the names of the other guests and the fact that she had not been well in the preceding days. So it would appear that the friendship between the Elgars, the Gortons and the Fosters had continued after the Elgars left Hereford. When the Gortons moved to Hereford, ‘to be near to the Elgars’, it was not surprising that Carice became friends with Helen and her older sister Olive, as they were of a similar age. In the books I have looked at there are very few references to the Foster family of Brockhampton, yet the Elgars seem to have been on friendly terms with them. And what is the significance of ‘my first passenger’? There are references in the Letters of Edward Elgar2, The Windflower Letters3 and Elgar Lived Here4 to Elgar trying out and then buying motor cars. There is a file on the subject in the Herefordshire County Record Office. Perhaps a member in that area might find time to have a look? As I was writing this I discovered that Madeline Grafton, but known in the family as Madge, was by 1924 taking turns to be with her uncle at Napleton Grange, Kempsey. I just hope that I’ve researched the correct Madeline!

1 Percy M. Young, Elgar O.M. (London: Collins, 1955). 2 Percy M. Young (ed.), Letters of Edward Elgar (London: Bles, 1956). 3 Jerrold Northrop Moore, Edward Elgar: the Windflower Letters (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989). 4 Pauline Collett, Elgar Lived Here (London: Thames Publishing, 1981). No. 64 – April 2018 31 Elgar and Brockhampton Court

Thanks to Geoff Hodgkins and Martin Bird for information that has helped to assemble the, as yet, incomplete jigsaw. Investigations continue ... David R. Young An Elgar Leaf Lost and Found

The Elgar memorabilia diaspora continues to offer up curiosities presumed lost or destroyed. A recent example appeared in New York, where a Swann Galleries auction catalogue announced the sale on 7 November 2017 of autograph music material from the Van Heusen Collection. The catalogue identified the collector as ‘Jimmy Van Heusen (1913–1990) – an American composer of popular songs for musical theatre, radio, film and television, whose music is best known from performances by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and others’. Having amassed an impressive amount of autograph musical quotations and letters penned by a wide variety of composers, Van Heusen donated the collection to his alma mater, Cazenovia College in upstate New York, in 1967. Half a century later the College sent the material into the sale room. The Swann catalogue entry for Lot 162 reads as follows: ELGAR, EDWARD Autograph Musical Manuscript, unsigned, two 3–bar passages, each with holograph instrument labels and caption. The first, captioned, “The exquisite passage in Mozart (bars 20 & 21),” from Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, notated on a two–stave system. The second, captioned “is, in this respectful perversion,” from an unnamed work, notated on a 5–stave system. 1 page, large 4to, 12 staves printed on recto and verso; marked staining overall with scattered smudging and fading (but still legible). SOLD AS IS. Np circa 1878. A sad sight greeted me when I inspected Lot 162. There were signs that the manuscript had been removed from a frame into which water had seeped, though mercifully the seepage had barely touched the notation. A case of mould contaminating the paper surface was so extensive I had to wash my hands after a cursory touch. It seems that Cazenovia College had been negligent in storing its precious inheritance.

32 Elgar Society News An Elgar Leaf Lost and Found

The Swann cataloguer had taken his text from a faded Maggs Bros label that accompanied the folio when Van Heusen purchased the page from the celebrated London book dealer in 1958. The Maggs cataloguer, in turn, had taken the text from an entry in a 1958 Sotheby’s sale catalogue. Maggs had purchased the manuscript from Sotheby’s for £12 and shortly thereafter sold it to Van Heusen for £21. Now the role of custodian fell to me, as the successful Swann bidder. As soon as money changed hands, I rushed the fungus–stricken sheet to one of New York’s well–known paper restorers, whose atelier happened to be located a short distance from the auction house. The price of Lot 162 is likely to have soared beyond my reach had it not been for the catalogue’s inaccuracies and omissions. Consider the conjectured date of 1878. We know that in 1878 Elgar turned to Mozart to learn symphonic form while taking his first steps on the 30–year journey that gave us his Symphony No.1 in A flat, Op.55. But the confident penmanship on the manuscript suggested the hand of a later Elgar, not the scribbling of a 21–year–old who was feeling his way. Had the cataloguers at Sotheby’s, Maggs or Swann consulted Robert J. Buckley’s 1905 biography of the composer, a glance at the illustrations gracing the text would have revealed the leaf’s true identity. The manuscript is reproduced opposite page 10, accompanied by this caption: ‘Example of Elgar’s method of study. The remarks in this and the preceding example, with the music, are fac–similes of Elgar’s hand in 1904.’ So what I had rescued had been written out for Buckley in 1904, most likely in response to Buckley’s request for an illustration to show how Mozart had set Elgar on his path. In the book’s introduction, Buckley expresses effusive gratefulness to Elgar for ‘the copy of his early form–study’. Clearly, the author of Elgar’s first book–length biography treasured the manuscript as a precious object worthy of framing to hang in a place of honour. When Buckley died in 1938, his second wife inherited his worldly goods; she survived until 1950. And there my knowledge of the leaf’s journey comes to an end. Given the fact that the Sotheby’s cataloguer failed to cite the manuscript’s origin accurately, we may assume that a loss of connection occurred sometime before the

No. 64 – April 2018 33 An Elgar Leaf Lost and Found

1958 owner consigned the document to the auction house. Whatever happened in the intervening time, the manuscript survives, battered but unmasked. Arthur Reynolds

The leaf as reproduced in Buckley’s Sir Edward Elgar

34 Elgar Society News Elgar the Imperialist?

Much has been written over the years about Elgar and imperialism. Recently I came across some correspondence from 1903 in the Telegraph – the Elgars’ daily newspaper – which shows that, at least as far as the imperial system defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 is concerned, Elgar was anything but an imperialist.

On 2 October 1903 the following letter was published, under the heading ‘SHAM EDUCATION’:

Sir – We happened to have two vacancies in our office for lads and inserted an advertisement in your columns last week, which brought us several dozen replies. Several of the lads in question had had some experience of City offices so we wrote to a few of them to call upon us. Five came yesterday, and to each of them we set the following problem: “What would 5 ton 11 cwt 3 qrs 23 lb cost at £5 11s 6d per ton?” The correct answer to which is £31 4s 1d. The first lad made it £28 18s; No.2 made it £11 3s 11d.; No.3 £32 16s 5d; No.4. £57 4s 4d. No.5 did not know how to set about it at all. We wrote to some more to call to–day, and made the problem a little easier, the quantity now reading 5 ton 11 cwt 3 qrs 14 lb. Again we met with a lad who had never seen such a sum before, and we had answers as follows from others: £30 17s 2d, £30 3s 9d, £37 17s. 6d. All these lads were over fourteen, some of them as old as sixteen; several of them brought letters from headmasters speaking of their abilities, and yet not one of them gave a correct answer. Is there not something wrong in the system of education which can allow a lad to arrive at the age of fourteen and leave school without being able to work out so simple a sum as this? We found that a number of these boys knew a smattering of Algebra, a little Euclid, and a little of several other subjects which will probably never be of the least use to them. Would it not be better if more attention were paid to “the three Rs”, instead of wasting the time of the teachers and scholars alike in teaching a little of far too many subjects, none of which is learned properly?

Yours faithfully, SHIPPING MERCHANT, London, E.C., Sept 30.

No. 64 – April 2018 35 Elgar the Imperialist?

Over the next few days many responses were received in the Telegraph’s offices, including this from Elgar published in the issue of 5 October: Sir: “Shipping Merchant’s” letter narrates a sad story enough; but is not the real remedy the adoption of the decimal system? Such a problem as the one proposed would offer no difficulty, and it would be unnecessary to do away with “elementary mathematics”, &c, which, after all, many of us have found useful in after life. The real waste of time in a boy’s early education occurs in mastering the needless complications of our coinage and weights and measures. Yours faithfully, Edward Elgar Langham Hotel, London, Oct. 2. Martin Bird

Brief Items

I have just published a book of Granville Bantock’s letters with Boydell and Brewer, and wondered if Elgar Society members would be interested in it (there are several references to Elgar in the letters). Members can go to the Boydell and Brewer website:

https://boydellandbrewer.com/

then, search for ‘Bantock’ and use the code BB125 at checkout to get a 25% discount (£56.25 reduced from £75). This offer expires on 31 December 2020.

Michael Allis, Professor of Musicology, University of Leeds

36 Elgar Society News Brief Items

Introducing Elgar

I’m delighted to report that the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is doing its bit to educate concertgoers about Elgar and his music. They gave an audio–visual presentation Under the Skin of Elgar on 7 February with the full orchestra conducted by Karl–Heinz Steffens playing excerpts and examples. The presenter was RSNO’s principal tuba, John Whitener, who has good knowledge and great enthusiasm for Elgar’s music. There were extended excerpts from the Powick Music and the First Symphony, and a very revealing analysis of individual and ensemble brass parts in Cockaigne and In the South. Tom Kelly Elgariana for sale

Vivienne McKenzie, the wife of one of the previous curators of the Birthplace, Jack McKenzie, died a few months ago. Her son, Ralph Bint, now wishes to sell the books and records previously held by his mother, with proceeds to go jointly to the Elgar Society and other charities of his choice. The collection includes some 30 books on Elgar, a few signed by their authors; and over 100 recordings, mostly LPs, including ones signed by Sir Adrian Boult, Jacqueline du Pré and others. Anyone interested can obtain full details from Ralph, who advises that he may be able to deliver. His contact details are:

Rosemorran, West Hill, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1UX E–mail: [email protected] Telephone. 01404 813885 Mobile 07495 028951 End of the line for back copies of Journal and News

Tom Kelly of the Scottish Branch still holds a small number of back copies of every issue of the Elgar Society News and Journal in his garage. A couple of complete sets will be put in binders for the Elgar Society archive. Anyone else wanting a back copy should contact Tom Kelly (by e–mail to [email protected] or by text message or phone to 07971 538250).

No. 64 – April 2018 37 The Holst Society

It is rather remarkable that until last year when I launched the Holst Society at the English Music Festival there had never been a society to commemorate the life and music of Gustav Holst. I say that because, firstly, Holst is one of England’s greatest composers and, secondly, in view of the large number of English composer societies that exist today. You might think that there is no particular need for a Holst society, in the same way as Benjamin Britten doesn’t need a champion. However, my concern was that Holst was very much becoming a one–work composer. The Planets is played regularly both here in the UK and throughout the world. Indeed, there is always an annual performance of The Planets at the BBC Proms. But Holst’s other music is becoming neglected. Devoting most of his life to teaching (St Paul’s Girls’ School and Morley College), Holst did not have a huge amount of time for composition. Furthermore, after The Planets (1914–1916) he did not compose much orchestral music. There’s A Fugal Overture and the ballet music to The Perfect Fool both dating from the early 1920s. There was nothing else until Egdon Heath in 1927 and Hammersmith in 1930. At the time of his death in 1934, he had begun work on a symphony, but had only completed the scherzo. But where Holst really came into his element was in his compositions for the voice. Of his works for chorus and orchestra, The Hymn of Jesus dating from 1917 is regarded as Holst’s finest work, apart from The Planets. The first, second and fourth groups of Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda are becoming increasingly popular. Furthermore, it is good to see that The Cloud Messenger has recently been performed by amateur choral societies. It is to be hoped that this interesting work will feature at the Three Choirs Festival. And if choral societies want to explore further, there is plenty of great music to discover including A Choral Symphony and A Choral Fantasia. In addition, there is a substantial body of music for chorus with varied accompaniment of which the

38 Elgar Society News The Holst Society third group of Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda and Two Eastern Pictures are two of Holst’s finest compositions. For groups of singers who are keen to explore unaccompanied part–songs, Holst provided a rich source of material. There are at least 80 part–songs, not all of which have been published. One of the objectives of the Society is to transcribe part–songs from manuscript and arrange for performance and recording. There is so much superb music here for discovery. And finally I turn to music for solo voice. Most of this is with piano accompaniment, although there are works for voice and violin, and The Mystic Trumpeter (1904) with orchestral accompaniment. This was performed at the English Music Festival in May 2017, when the Society was launched. With most of the 100 or so works for solo voice yet to be recorded and with a great deal in manuscript format, the Society faces an interesting challenge. The first six to be transcribed have recently been brought to the attention of the tenor James Gilchrist, who was sufficiently impressed that he has agreed to give the first performance in probably 100 years at the Holst birthday concert which will take place, as usual, in Cheltenham in September 2018. There are two objects of the Society: firstly, to promote the live performance of Holst’s music, particularly by amateur orchestras and choral societies. The Society will give grants to orchestras and choral groups. Secondly, the Society will be promoting the recording of music by Holst hitherto unrecorded or no longer available on CD. The Society is presently involved with four projects, of which a recording of Holst part–songs is due to be launched at the EMF in May 2018. Later this year we hope to be producing a CD of Holst’s music for Christmas, together with some of his limited but superb sacred music for the church. The annual subscription to the Society is £25 for individuals or £40 for partners. We are now registered as a charity. Do please visit our website at www.holstsociety.org. The Society would welcome members of the Elgar Society becoming members. Chris Cope, Chairman E–mail: [email protected] Tel. 01769 581581

No. 64 – April 2018 39 Branch Reports

Branch reports for the year 2017 can be found in the Trustees’ Annual Report appended to this edition of the News.

Branch Events

For further information please contact the relevant Secretary (see back cover).

EAST ANGLIAN All meetings are held in the Edmund Room, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1LS.

Sat 7 April 2018, 2.30pm Valerie Langfield Roger Quilter: the man, the music, and how the songs were sung

Sat 5 May 2018, 2.30pm Roger Wright A life with British music

Sat 9 June 2018, 2.30pm Richard Westwood–Brookes The true soul of Elgar’s Violin Concerto

Sat 7 July 2018, 2.30pm Steven Halls Elgar’s orchestral miniatures EAST MIDLANDS All meetings are held in The Garden Room, Unitarian Chapel, East Bond St, Leicester, LE1 4SX.

Sat 14 April 2018, 2pm Richard and Joan Smith Elgar in America

Sat 12 May 2018, 2pm Barry Collett Exploring Elgar’s lesser–known music

Sat 9 June 2018, 2pm Michael Toseland Members’ choice and AGM

40 Elgar Society News Branch Events

LONDON Mon 9 April 2018, 7.30pm Andrew Keener Queen’s College, Sir Malcolm Sargent: social elitist 43–49 Harley Street, W1G 8BT and musical democrat

Mon 14 May 2018, 7.30pm Stuart Freed St James the Less Centre, Elgar and the innocent ear Thorndike Street, Pimlico, SW1V 2PS

Mon 11 June 2018, 7.30pm Branch AGM St George’s Church, Margaret Fingerhut Hanover Square, W1S 1FX Elgar’s piano music

Sun 7 October 2018, 10am to 6pm Wood magic at Brinkwells: Guildhall School of Music Elgar’s chamber music and Drama, Silk Street, Barbican, EC2Y 8DT

A day of exploration, organised by the Guildhall School and London Branch.

Elgar composed his three major chamber works at Brinkwells, his Sussex cottage, during 1918–1919. Speakers including Diana McVeagh and Philip Lancaster will discuss the context and background to these works. Music will be performed by Guildhall students, and the day will finish with a performance of the Piano Quintet. Ticket price for Society members will be £15 (face value £20). For more information, including a booking code, please contact Ruth Hellen: [email protected]

NORTH WEST Unless indicated otherwise, all meetings are held at RNCM Lecture Theatre, Manchester, M13 9RD.

Sat 28 April 2018, 2.30pm Relf Clark Elgar and Walton

Sat 12 May 2018, 2.30pm Geoff Hill RNCM Conference Room, Elgar and Brinkwells Manchester, M13 9RD (Note: upstairs venue at the RNCM for this meeting.)

No. 64 – April 2018 41 Branch Events

SCOTTISH Sun 13 May 2018, 2pm Geoff Scargill St Mark’s Unitarian Church, Elgar and Germany Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2DP Songs by Elgar and others with a German connection Susanne Horsburgh, mezzo & David Lyle, piano

SOUTHERN All meetings are held at the St Lawrence Parish Rooms, 16 Colebrook St, Winchester, SO23 9LH.

Sat 14 April 2018, 2pm Michael Butterfield King Olaf: an introduction

Sat 12 May 2018, 2pm Christopher Redwood No great composers, please – we’re British

Sat 22 September 2018, 2pm Michael Trott Hubert Parry: the development of a great personality

SOUTH WESTERN All meetings are held in the Bristol Music Club, 76 St Paul’s Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1LP.

Sat 28 April 2018, 2.15pm Michael Trott Hubert Parry: the development of a great personality

Sat 30 June, 2.15pm Michael Butterfield Froissart and Polonia

Sat 28 July, 2.15pm Richard Westwood–Brookes Nicholas Kilburn

Sat 29 September, 2.15pm Duncan Eves Alice Stuart–Wortley and the Second Symphony

WEST MIDLANDS Unless indicated otherwise, all meetings are held in the Carice Elgar Room at The Firs, Elgar’s Birthplace, Lower Broadheath, Worcester, WR2 6RH.

42 Elgar Society News Branch Events

Sat 14 April 2018, 2.30pm David Packman St Leonard’s Church Sullivan without Gilbert of the Beauchamp Community, Newland, Malvern, WR13 5AX

Sat 19 May 2018, 2.30pm Roger Allen The Apostles as Elgar’s response to Wagner’s Parsifal

Sat 16 June 2018, 2.30pm Wendy Hill Elgar’s lesser–known works

Sat 14 July 2018, 2.30pm Steven Halls Elgar’s orchestral miniatures

Mon 30 July 2018, from 11am Elgar Society Day Three Choirs Festival, Hereford See details on page 11

Sat 15 September 2018, 2.30pm Jim Berrow All Saints Church, The Wyche, Troyte Malvern, WR14 4PA

YORKSHIRE and NORTH EAST All meetings are held in The Bedingfield Room, The Bar Convent, 17–19 Blossom St, York, YO24 1AQ.

Sat 21 April 2018, 2pm The Fairfax Ensemble New colours in the music of Elgar and his contemporaries

Sat 26 May 2018, 2pm Simon Lindley The B(rema) B(rand) C(ammaerts) connections

Sat 16 June 2018, 2pm Geoff Scargill Elgar and Germany

Sat 22 September 2018, 2pm John Humphries Never smile at the brass

No. 64 – April 2018 43 Dates for your Diary

This section is only as comprehensive as the data we are aware of. If you know of an event including a MAJOR Elgar work please send information to [email protected]. The period to be covered is from the 1st of the month of publication – August, December and April – to approximately 5 months ahead. We’d rather hear about an event twice than not at all! The Editor

Sun 1 April 2018, 8.30pm Grand Théâtre, Aix–en–Provence Cello Concerto / Barber / Brahms Mørk / Lucerne Symphony Orchestra / Gaffigan

Weds 4 April 2018, 7.30 pm Royal Festival Hall, London Cello Concerto / Britten / Rachmaninov Isserlis / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Dausgaard

Thurs 5 April 2018, 7.30pm Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Cello Concerto / Wagner / Schumann Hakhnazaryan / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Gernon

Thurs 5 April 2018, 7.30pm Musikverein, Vienna Cello Concerto / Mahler Capuçon / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Grazinyte–Tyla

Fri 6, Sat 7 April 2018 Teatro Universidad de Chile, Santiago Enigma Variations / Rachmaninov Levkovich / Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile / Grin

Sat 7 April 2018, 7.30 pm Civic Auditorium, Sea Pictures / Mendelssohn / Longmont CO (USA) Rimsky–Korsakov Barber / Longmont Symphony Orchestra / Moore

Sat 7 April 2018, 7.30 pm Cathedral, Guildford The Music Makers / Dvoák Tomlinson / Moxon / Wiegold / Wimbledon Choral Society / Orchestra Vitae / Ferris

Sun 8 April 2018, 7.30 pm City Halls, Glasgow Enigma Variations / Rautavaara / Rimsky–Korsakov Scotland NYOS Senior Orchestra / Larsen–Maguire

44 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

Thurs April 12 2018, 7.30pm Dorking Halls, Dorking, Surrey 2018 Leith Hill Musical Festival The Kingdom Heal / Moore / Hobbs / Long / Bookham, Dorking, Holmbury St. Mary and Mickleham Choirs / Southern Pro Musica Orchestra / Willcocks Thurs 12 April 2018, 8.00pm Théâtre des Champs–Élysées, Paris Enigma Variations / Brahms Levit / Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich / Bringuier Thurs 12, Fri 13 April 2018 Auditorium RAI Arturo Toscanini, Enigma Variations / Dvoák / Rachmaninov Turin Hough / Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI / Elder Fri 13 April 2018, 6.00pm St Giles’ Cripplegate Four Choral songs, Op 53 / Ave Maris Stella / Imperial March / Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars / They are at rest / Give unto the Lord BBC Singers / Disley / Carwood / Dougan Fri 13 Apr 2018, 7.30pm Barbican Hall Starlight Express (excerpts) / Spirit of England / Elkington / Yiu Williams / Staples / BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Davis Fri 13 April 2018, 7.45pm Ulster Hall, Belfast Violin Concerto / Sibelius / Matthews D Little / Ulster Orchestra / van Steen Fri 13 April 2018, 11.00 am and 7.30 pm Sat 14 April 2018, 7.30 pm Symphony Hall, Phoenix AZ Sun 15 April 2018, 3.00pm Yavapai College, Prescott Cello Concerto / Young / Mendelssohn Várdai / Phoenix Symphony / Muñoz Sat 14 April 2018, 7:30pm Holy Innocents Church, Fallowfield Sea Pictures / Parry / Vaughan Williams Manchester Beethoven Orchestra / Lennon Sat 14 April 2018, 7.30pm Musikverein, Vienna Sun 15 April 2018, 11.00am Cello Concerto Sol Gabetta / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Oramo

No. 64 – April 2018 45 Dates for your Diary

Sun 15 April 2018, 7.00pm Barbican Hall, London Cello Concerto / Giguère / Sibelius Müller–Schott / London Symphony Orchestra / Mälkki

Weds 18 April 2018, 7.30 pm The Hexagon, Reading Elegy for Strings / Respighi / Haydn / Schubert Wallfisch / European Union Chamber Orchestra / Stegeman

Weds 18 April 2018, 8.00pm Maison de la radio, Paris Organ Sonata no. 1 / Bach / Stanley / MacMillan / Wammes Trotter, Organ

Thurs 19 April 2018, 7.30pm Auditorio Nacional de Música, Enigma Variations / Beethoven / Grieg Madrid Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich / Bringuier

Thurs 20 April 2018, 8.00pm Symphony Hall, Boston MA The Dream of Gerontius Shaw / Murray / Welton / Chorus Pro Musica / Boston Philharmonic Orchestra / Zander

Sat 21 April 2018, 7.30pm United Reformed Church, Billericay Spirit of England Mullinger / Billericay Choral Society / Parsons

Sat 21 April 2018, 1.00 pm Leeds College of Music Sea Pictures / Howells / Quilter / Finzi / Browne / Bridge Rudge / Fisher

Sat 21 April 2018, 7.30pm Sheffield Cathedral The Music Makers / Nimrod / Puccini Moxon / Baslow Choir / Holymoorside Choral Society / Hallam Sinfonia / Marples

Sat 21 April 2018, 7.30pm Konzerthaus, Großer Saal, Vienna Mon 23 April 2018, 7.30pm Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Enigma Variations / Strauss R / Martin / Shostakovich Gerhaher / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Pappano

46 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

Sun 22 April 2018, 2.30 pm Lady Lever Art Gallery, Three Bavarian Dances / Nimrod / Port Sunlight, Wirral Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 / Mackenzie / Delius / Sibelius Port Sunlight Orchestra / Straughan

Mon 23 April 2018, 7.30pm Konservatorium, Bern Piano Quintet / Haydn / Schumann Nash Ensemble

Thurs 26 April 2018, 7.30 pm Royal Festival Hall, London Enigma Variations / Sospiri / Sibelius / Bruch Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Zukerman

Sat 28 April 2018, 7.30 pm Fine Arts Center, Enigma Variations / Sam Houston Drive, Victoria TX Menotti / Rachmaninov Hsu / Victoria Symphony / One

Sat 28 April 2018, 7.30pm Neston Village, Wirral Nimrod / Severn Suite / Pomp and Circumstance March No. 5 Port Sunlight Orchestra / Straughan

Thurs 3 May 2018, 7.30pm St Peter’s, Eaton Square Give unto the Lord / Great is the Lord / Organ Sonata (excerpt) / Holst / Parry / Vaughan Williams The Holst Singers / Layton

Sat 5 May 2018, 7.30pm Firth Hall, Sheffield The Music Makers / Parry / Chilcott University of Sheffield Singers’ Society / Hallam Sinfonia / Taylor

Sun 6 May 2018, 6.30 pm Royal Northern College of Music The Dream of Gerontius Hulett / Wilkinson / Waddington / East Lancs Sinfonia / Wilkinson

Weds 9 May 2018, 7.30pm Lighthouse, Poole Thurs 10 May 2018, 7.30pm National Concert Hall, Dublin In the South / Tchaikovsky / Walton Trpceski / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Karabits

Weds 9 May 2018, 7.30pm St George’s, Bristol Piano Quintet (arr. Fraser) / Matthews D Kanneh–Mason / English Symphony Orchestra / Woods

No. 64 – April 2018 47 Dates for your Diary

Thurs, Fri and Sat May 10, 11, 12 2018 Lincoln Center, Cello Concerto / Tchaikovsky New York City Wang / New York Philharmonic Orchestra / Znaider

Thurs 10 May 2018, 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall, London Parry Anniversary Concert Cello Concerto / Parry / Vaughan Williams Hecker / Dennis / Gloucester Choral Society / Philharmonia Orchestra / Partington

Fri 11 May 2018, 7.30pm King Georges Hall, Blackburn Cello Concerto / Rossini / Sibelius Trygstad / Hallé Orchestra / Heyward

Sun 13 May 2018, 2.30pm Dillington House, Ilminster Piano Quintet / Bridge / Debussy Piatti Quartet / Owen

Sun 13 May 2018, 7.15 pm Cathedral of St Peter Salut d’amour / Romance for Bassoon / and St Paul, Sheffield Howells / Butterworth / Vaughan Williams Ensemble 360 / Sheffield Youth Strings Collective

Sun 13 May 2018, 3.00pm Stoller Hall, Manchester Cello Concerto / Mozart / Beethoven Wallfisch / Northern Chamber Orchestra

Mon 14 May 2018, 11.30 am Crucible Studio Theatre, Sheffield Chanson de nuit / Britten / Vaughan Williams Ensemble 360

Weds 16 May 2018, 7.30 pm Barbican Centre, London The Dream of Gerontius Coote / Skelton / Ewing BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Oramo

Thurs 17 May 2018, 8.30 pm Teatro Manzoni, Bologna Cello Concerto / Zemlinsky Isserlis / Orchestra del teatro Comunale di Bologna / Kochanovsky

Thurs 17, Sat 19, Sun 20 May 2018 Symphony Hall, San Francisco Enigma Variations / Bach / Tchaikovsky Izotov / San Francisco Symphony / Perlman

48 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

Sat 19 May 2018, 7.30pm Barbican Hall, London In the South / Strauss R Kaufmann / BBC Symphony Orchestra / Rieder

Sat 19 May 2018, 7.30pm Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford Cello Concerto / Dvoák Isserlis / Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra / Papadopoulos

Sat 19 May 2018, 7.30 pm Town Hall, Stockport Sun 20 May 2018, 3.00pm Introduction and Allegro for Strings / Brahms / Mozart Stockport Symphony Orchestra / Barkmeijer / Blanco

Sat 19 May 2018, 7.30pm All Saints, West Dulwich Fantasia and Fugue orch. Elgar / Hummel / Rachmaninov Lloyd / Lambeth Orchestra / Fifield Sat 19 May 2018, 7.30 pm St John the Baptist, Whittington String Quartet / Purcell / Britten / Bliss Elias String Quartet / Rautio

Sun 20 May 2018, 3.00 pm St John the Baptist, Whittington Piano Quintet / Purcell / I Holst / Bridge Elias String Quartet / Rautio Sun 20 May 2018, 7.30 pm Concert Hall, West Road, Cambridge Enigma Variations / Bernstein / Walton Ridout / Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra / Redmond

Tues 22 May 2018, 7.30 pm St John’s Kirk, Perth They are at rest / Tavener / Gurney / Bingham / Howells / Holst / Parry Tenebrae / Short

Thurs 24 May 2018, 7.30pm City Hall, Hull In the South / Mozart / Dvoák Xu / Hallé Orchestra / Elder

Sat 26 May 2018, 8.00pm Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Enigma Variations / Tovey / Brahms Ehnes / Newman / Vancouver Symphony Orchestra / Tovey

Monday 28 May, 7.30pm Royal Conservatoire, Birmingham Introduction and Allegro / Mozart / Haydn / Vivaldi Wang / Orchestra of The Swan / Lloyd Webber

No. 64 – April 2018 49 Dates for your Diary

Wed 30 May 2018, 8.00pm Philharmonie, Cologne Organ Sonata no. 1 / Bull / Preston / Ligeti / Frescobaldi / Byrd Armstrong

Weds 30, Thurs 31 May 30 2018 Grande salle Pierre Boulez, Symphony no. 1 / Mozart / Dvoák Paris Queyras / Orchestre de Paris / Norrington

Thurs 31 May 2018, 7.30pm St John’s Smith Square, London Violin Sonata / Beamish / Schumann C / Beethoven / Ravel Milwidsky

Weds 6 June 2018, 7.30 pm Cadogan Hall, Sloane Terrace Enigma Variations / Vaughan Williams / Rachmaninov Lill / Würth Philharmonic Orchestra / Gamba

Weds 6 June 2018, 7.30 pm Borough Council Chamber, Clitheroe Chanson de Matin / Handel / Mozart / Bach / Jacob / Walthew / Pfeiffer / Milhaud / Britten / McDowall The Thorne Trio Free admission

Thurs 7 June 2018, 7.30 pm Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill–On–Sea Elegy for Strings / Mendelssohn / Tchaikovsky / Beethoven Baker / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Wright

Sat 9 June 2018, 8.00pm Philharmonie, Cologne Coronation Ode / Orff / Arne Lipka / Kleifeld / Schneider / Scheeben / KölnChor / Rheinischer Kammerchor Köln / Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie / Siegenbrink

Sun 10 June 2018, 9.00pm Galgenbergschlucht, Halle Abschlusskonzert mit Feuerwerk Elgar / Rossini / Rameau / Handel / Mozart Sabba / Köninger / Marktkantorei Halle / Robert Franz Singakademie Halle / Staatskapelle Halle / Horstmann

Mon 11 June 2018, 8.00pm St George’s, Hanover Square Concert Allegro / In Smyrna Fingerhut

50 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

Friday 15 June 2018, 6.30pm Pavilion, Millenium Park, (pre–concert lecture at 5.30pm) Chicago IL (USA) Enigma Variations / Gluck / Mozart / Von Weber Hagen / Grant Park Orchestra / Kalmar Free admission

Fri 15 June 2018, 8.00pm Regentenbau, Bad Kissingen Cello Concerto / Schubert / Brahms Gabetta / Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Järvi

Sat 16 June 2018, 7.30 pm Southwark Cathedral Introduction and Allegro / Vivaldi / Vaughan Williams London Concertante

Sat 16 June 2018, 7.30 pm Cathedral, Guildford Cello Concerto / Vaughan Williams / Walton Carvalho / John / Guildford Choral / Chichester Singers / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Willcocks

Tue 19 June 2018, 7:30 pm Theatre, Greifswald Weds 20 and Thurs 21 June 2018, 7:30 pm Theatre, Stralsund Symphony No. 2 / Mendelssohn / Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra of Western Pomerania / Csizmadia

Weds 20, Thurs 21, Fri 22 June 2018 Philharmonie, Munich Cello Concerto Weilerstein / Munich Philharmonic Orchestra / Roth

Sat 23 June 2018, 12.00 pm Cathedral, Canterbury The Dream of Gerontius Shaw / Staples / Grint / Canterbury Choral Society and Youth Choir / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Cooke

Thurs June 28, 2018, 7.30 pm Markham Theatre, Toronto Violin Concerto / Ravel / Prokofiev Sords / Kindred Spirits Orchestra / Alexander

Sun June 30, 2018, 7.30 pm Glenn Gould Theatre, Toronto Violin Concerto / Ravel / Prokofiev Sords / Kindred Spirits Orchestra / Liva

No. 64 – April 2018 51 Dates for your Diary

Wed 4 July 2018, 7.00 pm Town Hall, Cheltenham Symphony No 1 / Strauss R / Mozart Alder / Hallé Orchestra / Elder

Thurs 5 July 2018, 7.30pm Tonhalle Maag, Zürich Serenade for Strings / Vivaldi / Pleyel / Offenbach / Mozart Zukerman / Forsyth / Hope / Zurich Chamber Orchestra

Fri 6 July 2018, 7.00 pm Town Hall, Cheltenham Cello Concerto / Howells / Holst / Vaughan Williams / Parry Kanneh–Mason / Pioro / BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Brabbins

Fri 6 July 2018, 7.30pm Bridgewater Hall, Manchester The Music Makers / Holst / Matthews C Macdonald / St George’s Singers / Chetham’s Chorus / Chetham Symphony Orchestra / van Steen

Sat 7 July 2018, 7.30pm Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool In the South / Mussorgsky Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Petrenko

Thurs 12 July 2018, 8.00pm Concertgebouw, Amsterdam Cello Concerto / Rachmaninov Moser / Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra / Feltz

Sat 14 July 2018, 6.00 pm Suntory Hall, Tokyo Sun 15 July 2018, 2.00pm Symphony Hall, Kawasaki The Dream of Gerontius Cooke / Schmitt / Maltman / Tokyo Symphony Chorus and Orchestra / Nott

Sun 15 July 2018, 7.30pm Royal & Derngate, Northampton Chanson de nuit / Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 / Butterworth / Vaughan Williams / Parry / Tchaikovsky / Sibelius / Dvoák Miná / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Davies

Sun 15 July 2018, 7.30 pm St Myllin’s Church, Llanfyllin, Powys String Quartet / Purcell / Britten Allegri String Quartet

52 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

If you have details of a concert containing a work by Elgar, please notify us by e–mail at: [email protected] As we are less constrained by space on the Elgar website, wherever possible please remember to include : – The starting time, full address of the venue and an enquiry telephone number; – Composers of other works in the concert; and – The full names of all performers. An Elgarian Crossword

Solution to the December 2017 Crossword (No. 26)

D E A T H L E S S S C O N E

I B O N U O N S

T Y R O L S E R E N A T A S

T U Y U P G O E

I M P O S S I B L E S W A N

E T P N U W C

S E E M I N G S P O N D E E

S R N I

C A T N I P S P E G A S U S

A T T E A S I

S O F T S O R R O W L E S S

H L H N U O M T

C E A S E L E S S N O B L E

O I A O E G L R

W O R L D F O R S A K E R S

No. 64 – April 2018 53 An Elgarian Crossword

No 27, set by PIETRO

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8

9 10

11 12 13

14 15

16 17

18

19 20 21 22

23

24 25 26

27 28

29 30

31

Across 1 Conductor became richer than Croesus finally. (4,7) 9 They create busts – I trade some back. (7) 10 A good number went for a version dropping Elgar’s finale. (3,1,3) 11,5 Garden gallery lacking bite. (8) 12 Note that can be played backwards. (5) 13 Some creative talent and other things. (2,2) 16 Country where ‘Ave maris stella’ is performed – real mess somehow avoided. (6) 17 Almost buy Wolfgang out, with Fiordiligi and Guglielmo initially missing somewhere to live. (8)

54 Elgar Society News An Elgarian Crossword

19 Play a merry song – not half! – a little piece by Elgar. (8) 21 Podger likes using clever knacks – she leads and plays pizzicato. (6) 24 See 28. 25 A crowd with Reed included. (5) 26 Washout writer. (4) 29 Doomed vessel almost attracts a drama queen. (7) 30 No single book read backwards can produce feeling. (7) 31 Imposing German fellow’s a conductor. (6,5)

Down 1 Quirky teashop where finally RBT took HDS–P’s place – not a comfortable spot? (3,4) 2 See 27. 3 16’s big neighbour, where sad airs surround us. (6) 4 Caught old piece for organ. (8) 5 See 11. 6 It denies the king a flute player. (7) 7 Contralto found cult drama beat ‘Casualty’. (4,5,4) 8 Fashionable windows lit and we’d see autumn lines. (1,4,4,4) 14 Greek character, soprano, replaces a measure in ‘Enigma’. (5) 15 Most of Elgar I made fast. (5) 18 Composer enthrals an upper–class Hindu set. (8) 20 ‘After’ nearly returned after directions reveal absolutely nothing. (5,2) 22 Joint beneficiaries of trained English choirs. (7) 23 Boredom in hearing this hymn? (2,4) 27,2 Initially, Schubert notoriously upbraided Gemütlichkeit; nevertheless, early songs suggest cosiness. (8) 28,24 Sailors horse about and get money back for preserved meat (4–4)

No. 64 – April 2018 55 The Trustees’ Annual Report

1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017

Published in the Elgar Society News in April 2018 and presented to the Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2018

T1 THE ELGAR SOCIETY

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period 1 January 2017 – 31 December 2017

A THE SOCIETY

Charitable Status Founded in 1951, the Society registered as charity no. 298062 on 22 January 1988.

Office The Society has no registered office. Correspondence should be addressed to the Society’s Secretary at 10 Cullin Park Grove, Strathaven, Lanarkshire, ML10 6EN.

Trustees

The following acted as Trustees during the period under review: Stuart Freed Philip Petchey Jon Goldswain Geoff Scargill Paul Grafton George Smart Steven Halls David Young Ruth Hellen Helen Whittaker Peter Newbie Roy Whittaker

Elected Officers Chairman: Steven Halls Vice–Chairman: Stuart Freed Secretary: George Smart Treasurer: Helen Whittaker

Other National Post–holders Archivist: Richard Hall Data Protection Officer: Richard Hall Journal Editor: Meinhard Saremba Membership Secretary: David Young News Editors: Peter James / Richard Smith (part–year) Web Officers: Stuart Freed / Robert Gilbert

T2 Branch Officers

Branch Chair Secretary East Anglia Peter Newble Robin Self East Midlands Howard Newton Ken Smith London Philip Petchey Ruth Hellen North American Arthur Reynolds Lee Kaufman North–West Rev. John Knowles David L. Jones Scotland Paul Bassett Vacant Southern William Cole Wendy Wiseman South–Western Christopher Redwood Michael Butterfield West Midlands John Harcup Richard Smith Yorkshire Tony Pook Paul Grafton & North East

Advisers

Bankers: Lloyds TSB Independent Examiner: Adrian Benselin, Chartered Accountant

Honorary Posts and Awards

President – Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM

Vice–Presidents

Diana McVeagh Dr Donald Hunt OBE Michael Pope Dr Christopher Robinson CVO CBE Dame Janet Baker CH DBE Andrew Neill Leonard Slatkin Sir Mark Elder CBE Sir Andrew Davis CBE Martyn Brabbins Tasmin Little OBE

T3 Recipients of the Elgar Society’s Silver Medal

Year Recipient 1992 Dr Jerrold Northrop Moore 1992 Leonard Slatkin 1999 Jerzy Maksymiuk 2000 Tadaaki Otaka 2007 Andrew Litton 2008 Sakari Oramo 2009 Danube Symphony Orchestra 2009 Vladimir Ashkenazy 2011 Michael Kennedy 2011 Anthony Payne 2012 Barry Collett 2012 Jacek Kaspszyk 2012 Sir Colin Davis 2013 Sir Andrew Davis 2013 Sir Mark Elder 2015 Daniel Barenboim 2015 Diana McVeagh 2016 Martin Bird 2016 Teresa Cahill 2016 Alex. Walker (not yet presented)

Structure, Governance and Management

The Society was governed under a constitution adopted with effect from 1 January 2008 and subsequently amended in June 2010 and June 2011. Its Council consisted of the elected officers, and seven other members of the Society.

The Executive Committee consisted of the elected officers. A representative of the Branch Chairmen’s Committee is a non–voting member. The task of the Executive Committee is to carry out the policy decisions of the Council and to deal with any matters which lie in its terms of reference.

T4 Also in operation were Elgar in Performance, which included Elgar in Education and special projects, and the Branch Chairmen’s Committee, which met on 2 occasions in 2017.

A member of the Elgar Birthplace Management Committee is welcome to attend as an observer at Council meetings and the Chairman of the Society is welcome to attend as an observer at Elgar Foundation Board meetings.

Working Parties active during 2017

Chairman/ Name Members Convenor Elgar in Performance Barry Collett, Martyn Marsh, Steven Halls (including Education) the Executive Committee Branch Chairmen’s Geoff Scargill All other Branch Chairmen Committee

Council and Executive

The Council met three times and the Executive Committee on one occasion during 2017, with much of the business being conducted by e–mail. Since the 2017 AGM, the main topics of discussion continued to be: • progress on the many components of the Society’s adopted strategy; • deciding on new recordings and other initiatives; • dealing with all the applications to Elgar in Performance and the education and special projects funds; • monitoring the membership numbers in the light of further collaboration developing between the Birthplace and the National Trust as the latter took over the management of the former; • potential Vice–Presidents and recipients of the Certificate of Merit and the ES Medal; • continuing collaboration with German contacts and promoters, managed by the Executive and spearheaded by Geoff Scargill and pursued by him with the help of the Elgar Trust; • the continuation of the free membership scheme; • a proposal for the amendment of the Constitution relating to the Presidential term; • the development of initiatives to increase membership of the Society; • the development of Elgar in relation to music education.

T5 As ever, I pay tribute to my colleagues on Council, whose debates are always stimulating, and to my colleagues on Executive, who deal promptly and efficiently with anything that comes their way. Steven Halls, Chairman

Branches

There are ten UK Branches organised geographically, and a further Branch covering America and Canada. The creation of a Branch is at the discretion of the Society’s Council and requires substantive evidence from a sufficiently large group of members that there is a reasonable assurance of viability. Branches report on their activities via the Elgar Society News and are required to submit their annual accounts to the Treasurer so that she can integrate them with those of the Society.

Risks

No major risks have been identified by the Trustees. The Society is substantially dependent on subscriptions and Gift Aid for its income and it is thus vital to retain and increase membership while ensuring that subscription rates are realistic in the light of the charity’s activities and costs. The Trustees consider that if this is done there are no serious risks to future viability. This Annual Report states the position as at 31 December 2017 and the Trustees are not aware of any material change in risk which needs to be reported.

Objectives and Activities

Under its Constitution, the Society’s objective is the education in, and promotion of, the appreciation of the public in the music of Edward Elgar and the education of the public in the life of Edward Elgar through:

a) the provision of educational programmes and activities to widen knowledge of Elgar’s music for all; b) support for the Elgar Birthplace museum and educational establishments that attract the general public to Elgar’s music and life; c) the funding and encouragement of performances and recordings of his works; d) the encouragement of research into Elgar’s music, and the publication of a scholarly journal containing the results of such research; e) the publication or support for a scholarly edition of Elgar’s music. T6 The Society seeks to promote performance of Elgar’s music, especially the more rarely performed items. While its focus has heretofore been on performances in Britain, it has emphasised encouraging performances of Elgar’s music abroad as far as its resources permit, concentrating particularly on Germany. It is concerned to introduce the composer and his music to younger audiences and, by making grants for appropriate educational activities, to enhance the quality of life of members of the public.

The Society publishes its Journal three times a year, which contains the results of Elgar research and is sold to educational institutions and the general public as well as being sent to members as part of their subscription benefit. There is also a thrice–yearly News publication sent to members only. The Society maintains a website which is proving increasingly valuable for members and non–members alike.

Funds are centrally administered, the Council approving the annual budget and budget heads. Branches submit bids for support of their activities based on their administrative costs plus an element in support of their local meetings. Grants are made both to Branches and outside bodies in respect of specific charitable activities and are awarded only when a proposed project is shown to have satisfied strict conditions relating to the stated aims and objectives of the Society. The Society’s grant–making policy is conditioned by its objectives and its relatively constrained financial resources. In general, grants are made for the major purposes listed below. • Assisting sole or group performers, especially in non–commercial situations, who are prepared to play rarer Elgar works or to perform in locations in which the composer’s music is unlikely otherwise to be heard and at which the public constitute the majority of attenders.

• Supporting educational activities at all levels from primary to higher and continuous learning that inculcate in the participants special and intellectual skills by using Elgar, his life and/or music as a test bed for such activities or which enhance knowledge of English culture and history.

• Aiding institutions which have a role in the musical and historical aspects of Elgar to widen the accessibility of their services to socially diverse audiences and/or to provide specific Elgar–related public benefits.

T7 B ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE (1 Jan. 2017 – 31 Dec. 2017)

General Overview Under Initial Achievements & Plans, the last Trustees’ Annual Report stated that, in 2017, the Society in partnership with other organisations would undertake the tasks listed below. Progress is described on each one in italics below.

In considering undertaking any activities, the four objectives below are the criteria against which we judge any proposals so that we might: 1. increase our membership; 2. raise money in support of our activities; 3. add demonstrably to the funding and encouragement of performances and recordings of Elgar’s works; 4. increase access to the Elgar oeuvre.

• Elgar in Performance, coupled with the Other Projects Fund agreed by Council, had already allocated by 31 December 2016 all of its £30,335 towards supporting a wide variety of events in 2017 at home and abroad, particularly Germany. Council subsequently provided further funds to help meet even greater demands for 2017. This greatly increased budget was created to fund three major CDs in 2017 via SOMM Records and another, of the short orchestral works, by the Dutton Epoch label. (See Recordings below.) • Elgar in Performance will also continue its Elgar in Deutschland initiative. Performances were supported in Cologne (the culmination of an extended Elgar educational project), Marburg, Limburg, Munich, Hamburg, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Karlsruhe. • We shall continue to seek to raise sponsorship and legacies to enable us to expand our work and ensure it extends into the future. The generous donation by David Parry, made shortly before his death in May 2017, was, with his blessing, put towards the SOMM CD of devotional music released in early 2018, on which his donation was honoured. • Council will consider nominations for the Elgar Society Medal and Certificate of Merit. No new proposals were put forward during 2017; Teresa Cahill was presented with the Elgar Medal, and Richard Smith, Geoff Scargill and Chris Bennett were presented with the Certificate of Merit. • We shall continue to work more closely with Elgar Works and the Elgar Complete Edition to make more of Elgar’s music available in a timely fashion at a reasonable cost to performers and conductors all over

T8 the world. The year has seen increasing production of performing parts and responses to heavy demand for scores and parts. Elgar Works is looking for alternative means of displaying and selling, now that the Birthplace no longer sells the stock and Chris Bennett has left the Birthplace.

Recordings • As mentioned above, the greatly increased EiP budget was created to fund four major CDs, three via SOMM Records and one via the Dutton Epoch label. SOMM’s first was The Art of the Military Band, and the second has been released in early 2018 and consists of choral music comprising Te Deum & Benedictus, Psalm 48 (Great is the Lord), Psalm 29 (Give unto the Lord), O Hearken Thou, Ecce Sacerdos Magnus (a first recording of Elgar’s orchestrated version), Spanish Serenade and From the Bavarian Highlands. The third CD features songs with, for the most part, orchestral accompaniment but also songs for soprano & piano, including world première recordings of Muleteer’s Serenade and The Mill Wheel. The fourth, by Dutton Epoch, was recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra under David Lloyd–Jones showcasing some of the short orchestral works featured in Volume 23 of the Elgar Complete Edition, edited by David Lloyd– Jones himself. This CD also contains world première recordings – Air de Ballet, Pleading in Elgar’s arrangement for solo violin and orchestra, and the Introduction to the Gavotte from Elgar’s Suite in D – and Elgar’s all–but–unknown arrangement for ‘small’ orchestra of the Canto Popolare from In the South. It will be released in mid– 2018.

Elgar in Performance / Education/ Other Projects In 2017, from 38 applications, the following performances were supported by EiP from its initial budget of £18,000, augmented by a further £20,000 by Council resolution in June 2016 to ensure the support of major recording projects (see the Recordings section of this TAR above). Steven Halls, Chairman EiP & Barry Collett, EiP Administrative Adviser

Recipient Activity Date Venue Aid £

Edinburgh Festival King Olaf 11/08/2017 Usher Hall 1000

Music Makers, Spirit Berkhamsted CS 06/05/2017 Watford 1000 of England, Polonia Elgar Piano Cobbe Collection (annual) 400 2/5 years

T9 Recipient Activity Date Venue Aid £

Bach–Verein The Kingdom 05/06/2017 Cologne 1000 Cologne Bach–Verein Educational 03 to 06 Cologne 2800 Cologne Programme 2017 CD2 SOMM recordings 2017 (recording) 16510 Orchestral Songs Mike Dutton Volume 23 2017 (recording) 2750 Epoch Cockaigne, Sursum, Rutland Sinfonia 11/03/2017 Oakham 500 Air de Ballet Hertfordshire The Kingdom 04/02/2017 St. Albans 750 Chorus Carnegie American SO The Apostles 01/05/2017 1000 Hall, NY Marburg 28/01/2017 Marburg, The Black Knight 750 Univ. Choir 29/01/2017 Limburg Munich The Dream of 26/01/2017 Munich 800 Univ. Choir Gerontius 27/02/2017 St. Katherine The Dream of 18/11/2017 Hamburg 800 Hochkirche Gerontius Great Is The Lord Elysian Singers 28/01/2017 London 400 Give unto The Lord

(Council approved additional budget) –18000

Cathedral, Kirchengemeinde The Apostles 03/06/2017 1000 Halberstadt Cathedral, Magdeburg The Apostles 17/06/2017 1000 Magdeburg Leiden The Dream of Leiden, 11/03/2017 500 Studenten Koor Gerontius Netherlands Kidderminster Kidder– The Kingdom 25/03/2017 750 Choral Society minster 18/06/2017 Theater, Staatstheater The Music Makers 1000 19/06/2017 Karlsruhe Salisbury Cathedral, The Kingdom 01/04/2017 750 Music Society Salisbury The Dream of 08/04/2017 Fisher Bard College 1000 Gerontius 09/04/2017 Centre, NY Spirit of England, Royal Free Singers Music Makers, 08/04/2017 Eton College 750 Serenade Church and St. Georges Elgar Voices 10/06/2017 500 Organ Music Worcester Global Theatre Play: Theatre, 25/04/2017 250 Company ‘Edward and Alice’ Hertford

T10 Recipient Activity Date Venue Aid £

St. Walstan’s, Organ Appeal 2017 Malvern 500 Malvern Elgar/Payne Forum, Chandos Orchestra 12/11/2017 750 Symphony No. 3 Malvern Oldham Choral Spirit of England 12/11/2017 RNCM 750 Society Music Makers 07 and 08 Taipei and The Music Makers 900 Orchestra 2017 Singapore

The Journal

During 2017 Vol. 20 Nos.1–3 of the Elgar Society Journal were published in April, August, and December, of 72, 72 and 88 pages respectively. Particular highlights were a three–part series on Elgar & Mahler by Alexander Odefey, the two–part series From Keeper of the Archives to Keeper of the Flame: the ‘Dorabella’ bequest at the Royal College of Music by Kevin Allen and essays such as Peter Sutton’s Piers Plowman, Elgar’s Bible and Pierre Degott’s From Beethoven to Elgar: the representation of Christ on the English oratorio Scene. The new column Elgar viewed from afar illustrates how Elgar was seen in non–British countries during his lifetime. The first contributions included documents from German and French music encyclopaedias. Meinhard Saremba, Editor of the Journal The News

Richard Smith and I jointly produced the April and August 2017 editions and, after Richard’s resignation as joint editor, I took over sole editorship for the December publication. We attempt to cover all news with an Elgarian content together with the latest information from the Society’s officers and Branches. Highlights included the many contributions from Richard Smith himself, Thomas Neuhoff, conductor of the performance of The Kingdom in Cologne, on his love of Elgar, and Andrew Neill’s article on SOMM. We are fortunate in having the collaboration of Robert Gilbert, the News’s typesetter, who also compiles the ever–bulging concert diary and who organised the move to colour printing in the December edition. Peter James, Editor of the News

Membership report

As at 31 December 2017, there were 998 members (1115 in 2016). 42 new members were welcomed, of whom 16 were free. (In 2016 there were 99 new members of whom 56 were free.) T11 This significant reduction in membership shows how valuable the support from the Birthplace was. It is to be hoped that this dip in numbers will rectify itself in the coming year.

Branch membership

Branch 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 East Anglia 50 65 56 51 52 East Midlands 24 33 26 17 10 London 307 338 348 362 353 North America/Canada 45 45 36 34 46 North–West 113 127 125 128 120 Scottish 59 59 61 72 68 Southern 90 102 86 107 106 South–West 58 64 67 69 79 West Midlands 187 210 210 247 229 Yorkshire/North–East 45 50 46 46 24 UK Unaffiliated 143 160 180 258 270

(Members may be affiliated to more than one Branch). David Young, Honorary Membership Secretary

The Archives

There has been only one significant addition to the Society’s Archive in Worcester during the year: North West Branch: Minute book of Annual General Meetings with Statements of Receipts and Payments, annual programmes, etc. 1984–2014. Deposited by David L. Jones, Secretary of the North West Branch.

Members are reminded that the records of the Society from 1950 are held at the Worcestershire Record Office in The Hive, Worcester, where they can be accessed should this be required.

Richard Hall, Honorary Archivist Branch Activities

The Society recognises that Branches contribute to the Society’s health as they promote membership and local activity throughout the country. They are particularly important for members who enjoy meeting fellow Elgarians and listening to talks and performances of Elgar’s music in their home area.

T12 East Anglian Branch The East Anglian Branch of the Elgar Society met eight times during 2017 at our usual venue, the Edmund Room (Lecture Room) in St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St. Edmunds. The meetings attract a loyal following of approximately 25 members . The programme included talks on Elgar in Germany, a talk and performance of the Violin Sonata, production details of The Starlight Express, an analysis of the British Symphony, Elgar in Malvern, Richard Strauss in London and The Life and Music of Dame Ethel Smythe.

We are grateful to Geoff Scargill, Christopher Moore and violinist Rachel Sokolowski, Kevin Mitchell and friends, John Harcup, Raymond Holden, Peter Avis and Christopher Wiltshire who presented Part 2 of recordings of those who had known Elgar in his lifetime.

An interesting programme has been arranged for the coming season and we look forward to welcoming visitors to our meetings and to the attractive town of Bury St Edmunds. Bev Simpson

East Midlands Branch The Branch’s planned programme was disrupted to some degree by illness and unavailability for other reasons amongst speakers. We were grateful that replacements were willing to stand in at short notice. The programme was as follows:

February: Professor Daniel Grimley on Delius, Elgar and Beatrice Harrison. March: Em Marshall–Luck on The English Music Festival. April: Dr John Harcup on Edward Elgar’s Edwardian Experience. May: Martin and Jane Bird on Carice. June: A Members’ Afternoon followed by the AGM. This replaced the advertised talk by Dr Michael Toseland on Elgar’s Ladies. October: Helen Petchey on Elgar, Music and me. November: part Members’ Choice and part introduction to The Apostles, replacing the late unavailability of the advertised speaker. December: Dr Michael Toseland and Mrs Janet Toseland on Elgar’s Ladies replacing Ken Smith’s advertised talk on The Apostles.

T13 The Branch suffered the sad loss of some members with the deaths, amongst others, of David Monk, Carolyn Pritchett and the mother of new committee member Michele Goodchild. In addition there were several instances of serious illness and accident including Branch Secretary Ken Smith, Branch venue and facilities organiser Dr Michael Toseland, and new committee member Katherine Goodier.

On a happier note we were pleased to welcome a number of new members and there was a willingness to help out at times of difficulty on the part of those attending. We continued to benefit also from the professional expertise of our printers and publicists Calow and Craddock.

Although based in Leicester we attract people from Nottingham, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Coventry and Warwickshire in addition to Leicestershire. Attendances overall remained consistently satisfactory but we need to work hard to persuade visitors to convert their status to that of member.

I warmly thank all who have helped to take the Branch forward, in particular, our hardworking committee, although we still need at least one additional committee member for a further input of new ideas. No more than three or four meetings are involved for a maximum of two hours each. Howard Newton, Branch Chairman

London Branch The Branch held eight meetings as follows:

February: Elgar and Walton by Relf Clark. March: A golden age of recording by Christopher Bishop. April: Rosa Newmarch by Peter Avis. May: Music and the Crystal Palace: Great Exhibition to Great Fire by Philip Emery. June: Branch AGM; Elgar’s music for violin and piano played by Simon Baggs & Nick Patrick October: With proud thanksgiving by Teresa Cahill.

Reports of the above meetings appear in the relevant issues of the Elgar Society News.

On 6 November Andrew Neill presented a portrait in sound and pictures of his good friend Michael Kennedy. Most of us know Michael’s writing on Elgar, but his musical interests and knowledge took in many composers,

T14 particularly Richard Strauss, Vaughan Williams and Mahler. Andrew showed us the breadth of the contribution Michael made to British musical life over many years.

On 4 December Kevin Mitchell gave a presentation outlining the history of Fringes of the Fleet and The Sanguine Fan. He was ably assisted by Stephen Harrow and Lyn and Peter Nixon reading passages from letters and diaries. Former Branch Secretary Garry Humphreys, accompanied by Caroline Soresby, gave a fine rendition of Fringes and conducted the audience in the rousing choruses. A superb evening, much enjoyed by all present.

Our thanks go to all who contributed to the year’s events. Ruth Hellen, Branch Secretary

North America Branch During 2017, the North America Branch continued its engagement in two spheres of activity: supporting members’ efforts to promote an appreciation of Elgar’s music and gathering members for our annual conference.

In terms of the former, Lani Spahr, one of our members, worked closely with SOMM to publish the highly acclaimed CD Elgar Rediscovered, released in April 2017. Lani is presently at work on a new CD series for SOMM entitled Elgar from America that will publish recordings of American orchestras’ pre–1950s playing of Elgar works.

In lieu of monthly meetings, the Branch holds an annual three–day conference at a location featuring a performance of a significant Elgar work. Our 2017 event took place in Toronto, where one of our members, Stephanie Martin, conducted the first Canadian performance of The Apostles. Arthur S. Reynolds, Branch Chairman

North West Branch During 2017, the North West Branch held nine meetings, the reports on most of which have been given in the three relevant issues of the Elgar Society News. In summary, these were:

January: Annual General Meeting – followed by Violin and Piano Sonatas in Elgar’s Day, performed by Sara Ewins, violin, and Harvey Davies, piano (a lecture–recital including a complete performance of Elgar’s Violin Sonata).

T15 February: The North West Branch Annual Luncheon held at The Alma Lodge Hotel, Stockport. Guest speaker: Paul Grafton. March: My Friend Michael Kennedy by Andrew Neill (held at Quaker Meeting House, Liverpool). April: Memories for Pleasure by Joyce Kennedy (who was interviewed by Geoff Scargill). May: Our Annual Day Outing (organised by John Mawbey) – A trip to the Severn Valley including a journey on the ‘Elgarians Express’. October: Elgar and Me by Donald Hunt (with vocal items sung by his son, Tom Hunt). November: Elgar: His Contemporaries and The Music of The Great War by Amanda Crawley (soprano) and Josephine Peach (piano), held at the Quaker Meeting House in Liverpool. December: Elgar as remembered in Radio Interviews by those who knew him by Chris Wiltshire.

All our meetings were very well attended and the attendance figures ranged from 25 to 50 people.

Each of our Branch meetings is reported in full in our annual newsletter (issued in August) and a link to a pdf file of the full colour newsletter and programme is available on our NW Branch website page.

Particularly in view of the decreasing numbers holding Society membership, we are maintaining our active publicity drive to recruit new members by various forms of local advertising. We are attracting visitors to each of our Branch meetings and a few of these have become Society members as a result.

Our home base for our meetings is at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, but during 2017 we held two meetings at the Quaker Meeting House in Liverpool. We aim to hold one meeting each season in Liverpool. David L. Jones, Branch Secretary

Scottish Branch A total of five Branch meetings were held in 2017 at our usual venue of St Mark’s Unitarian Church in Edinburgh, maintaining the Scottish Branch’s high standard of stimulating speakers, live music, and tasty teas with home baking.

T16 The first meeting in March saw the return of Andrew Keener giving a lively insight of a renowned record producer in Diffusing the Red Light on the processes and decisions involved in commercial recordings of classical music. The Coates Trio (Leon and Heather Coates and Heather Fleck) gave a fine recital of music for violin, cello and piano including pieces by Elgar and Frank Bridge.

In April, David Lyle and singers from the Edinburgh Gilbert and Sullivan Society (EDGAS) gave a very enjoyable and much appreciated presentation and musical performance focusing on The Ladies of Elgar and Sullivan. The four singers were characteristically lively and entertaining in music and excerpts of both composers.

The May meeting brought Chris Wiltshire to Scotland to deliver the first part of his Elgar: as we knew him, a fascinating insight into Elgar from the recorded views of friends and contemporaries. A vibrant and varied recital of music including Elgar, Frank Bridge and Arnold Bax was provided by six talented young students from the Edinburgh School of Music.

For the September meeting Michael Butterfield gave an enthusiastic and analytical presentation on Elgar and Wagner, demonstrating many vital links between Elgar’s compositions and Wagner’s Ring cycle and other operas. The highlight of live music, given by Rainer Thonnes (bassoon) and pianist Alan Graham, was a first–ever performance for the Scottish Branch of the Elgar Romance for Bassoon, Op.62. Rainer also introduced us to the four–movement Sonata by William Hurlstone (who sadly died aged 30 in 1906).

Our speaker in October, on Elgar and Longfellow, was Arthur Reynolds, who revealed fascinating parallels between the lives of the composer Elgar and the poet who inspired so much of his early choral output such as The Black Knight and King Olaf. This followed a recital of songs and duets by Elgar, Coleridge Taylor and others, given by Barbara Brodie (mezzo–soprano) and Mike Towers (tenor) with Margaret Donaldson (piano). They were joined by Maureen Kelly and Ian Lawson to give a quartet version of ‘As Torrents in Summer’ from Elgar’s King Olaf.

Edinburgh Festivals in August provided an unusual concentration of concerts and recitals of Elgar’s music. The highlight of the International Festival was a rare performance of King Olaf (supported by the Elgar Society) conducted by Sir Andrew Davis with the excellent Edinburgh Festival Chorus. The following night, the First Symphony was performed by Edward Gardner with the Bergen Symphony Orchestra. T17 That same week, the Scottish Branch sponsored three daytime recitals of music as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Elspeth Wiley played beautifully the piano version of the ‘Enigma’ Variations; Judith Gardner Jones and friends gave a wonderful recital of Elgar songs (including It Isnae Me made more winsome by a Scottish fiddle accompaniment); and Neil and Gill Mantle performed a wide range of music for horn and piano, including Neil’s own version of Chanson de Matin. Audiences for these recitals were regrettably small but very enthusiastic and appreciative.

2017 proved to be difficult for management of the Branch. Our long– standing Chairman, Paul Bassett, became unwell. Our Secretary, James Carter, and our Treasurer, Sharron Bassett, stood down. A new Branch Committee is now in place with Tom Kelly as acting Chairman, Maureen Kelly as interim Secretary, and Ian Lawson as Treasurer.

A great debt is owed to Paul – and Sharron supporting him – for organising a programme of outstanding meetings for so many years, inviting and providing hospitality for excellent speakers, and for keeping active a small but very loyal membership of the Scottish Branch.

At the end of 2017 there were 58 members of the Scottish Branch on the Society’s membership roll. Tom Kelly, Acting Branch Chairman

Southern Branch The Branch held its annual eight meetings in 2017, of which four were at our traditional Havant venue and four at Winchester. All were well attended, usually by twenty to forty individuals comprising members and visitors.

Branch membership (102 in December 2016) fell during the year (currently 89), mostly accounted for by non–acceptance of full membership by those on our free one–year trial offer. Also, sadly, Stella Capp, a long–standing member who regularly attended our meetings, died on 16 December; her god–daughter, Caroline, has kindly donated Michael Kennedy’s book Life of Elgar, which was to be Stella’s Christmas present, to the Branch library. Stella will also be remembered for her voluntary work for Havant Borough’s Talking Newspaper that brings local news to blind and partially–sighted people.

The Branch enjoyed a series of very informative and sometimes hilarious talks, as wide–ranging as Elgar’s Hobbies by Martin Passande (January) and Adrian Boult by Christopher Seaman (February). For our March talk

T18 Geoff Hodgkins explored the texts on which Elgar based The Apostles, and our spring programme concluded with Our never–to–be–forgotten friend, Rosa Newmarch given in April by writer and broadcaster Peter Avis, and Elgar’s music for strings – style, form and influence presented by musicologist Michael Jameson at our May meeting.

An illuminating account of Elgar’s life–time remunerations, The Dream of Mammon – Elgar’s earnings by John Drysdale, opened our late–year programme; Richard Westwood–Brookes (Nicholas Kilburn – Elgar’s unregarded Muse) followed in October, and Dr Steven Halls (Elgar’s Orchestral Miniatures) in November.

At our April meeting Toby Hawks, inspired by chamber music composed while Elgar and Lady Elgar lived near Fittleworth, West Sussex, during 1917–1918, outlined his proposal for an Elgar in Sussex weekend. Few at that time could have predicted the memorable treat that was in store for us. That magical early–June weekend included performances, by Toby and friends Terence Allbright (piano), Iain Gibbs (violin), Mark Gibbs (viola) and Mark Walkem (cello), of the Violin Sonata, Op.82, the String Quartet, Op.83 and the Piano Quintet, Op.84; a selection of diary entries and letters describing Elgar’s impressions of Brinkwells cottage and the surrounding area, read by Katie and John Hawks; as well as a Concert Walk, Wood Magic, in company with The Edwardians, a group of semi–professional singers based in Sussex and London. The weekend was brought to a close by Evensong, sung in the tiny village church at Stopham, where The Edwardians also sang Elgar’s anthem How Calmly the Evening, composed to a text by Thomas Toke Lynch.

The Branch was also afforded the opportunity to promote the Society at two prominent musical events in Southampton. Committee members manned displays of Society publicity material, firstly at Turner Sims, where SÓN Southampton’s Professional Orchestra’s performance of the ‘Enigma’ Variations, conducted by Robin Browning, was preceded by David Owen Norris’s exploration of that work; then on 25 November, when Southampton University Philharmonic Choir, Southampton Philharmonic Choir and the New London Sinfonia, conducted by David Gibson, performed The Dream of Gerontius. Ed Wiseman

T19 South–Western Branch The Branch held eight meetings in 2017 in addition to the AGM where fruit cake and mulled wine were served. John Harcup spoke about Elgar’s sense of humour, Richard Westwood–Brookes talked about the composer’s life during the Brinkwells period, and Michael Butterfield presented an illustrated discussion of Elgar’s part–songs. Duncan Eves examined the Second Symphony and the influence Alice Stuart–Wortley may have exerted on its composition, while Christopher Wiltshire presented recordings and memories of people associated with the composer. Diana McVeagh reminisced over her distinguished career, Christopher Redwood presented a programme of music by William Hurlstone, who was admired by Elgar and about whom he has recently written a book, and the season ended with Andrew Neill paying his tribute to the late Michael Kennedy.

Finally there was the traditional Christmas lunch which although very enjoyable was marred somewhat by the reflection that attendance numbers have been disappointing and it is proving difficult to recruit new members. Christopher Redwood, Branch Chairman

West Midlands Branch Due to the refurbishment of the Elgar Birthplace, now known as The Firs following its takeover by the National Trust, our meetings were held at St Leonard’s Church of the Beauchamp Community in Malvern. We returned to the Birthplace on 16 September and have already established an excellent working relationship with the new trustees.

We have decided to continue to publish our yearly events leaflet independently from the Birthplace, and that will be distributed to our members and the Secretaries and Chairmen of all other Branches early in 2018. We also continue to produce our bi–yearly newsletter in colour and this again will be distributed to all Branch members by post and/ or electronically depending on their wishes. Our programme to provide plaques on places of Elgarian significance has slowed as most sites are now well covered. We continue to pursue our object of attempting to bring classical music in general, and Elgar in particular, back to schools. Our first initiative in this field is to write to all schools, initially in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, explaining our aims and attempting to interest them in classical music.

Our programme for 2017 was as follows, and all events were held at Elgar’s Birthplace except where otherwise stated.

T20 January: A presentation by the National Trust on the future of the Birthplace followed by a private showing of the film Elgar’s Enigma. February: Annual Branch Lunch at Christ Church Hall, Malvern. March: AGM and a presentation on Elgar at the Morecambe Festival by Linda Tolchard. St Leonard’s Church, Malvern. April: Elgar in America, an illustrated talk by Joan and Richard Smith on Elgar’s visits to the USA and Canada. St Leonard’s Church, Malvern. May: The Art of Song–Writing, by the well–known Worcestershire composer Ian Venables. St Leonard’s Church, Malvern. June: Elgar’s First and the Modern Symphony, an illustrated talk by John Pickard, Professor of Composition and Applied Musicology at Bristol University. St Leonard’s Church, Malvern. July: Herbert Howells and Edward Elgar, a talk and organ recital by Dr Jonathan Clinch, organist and Teaching fellow at Birmingham University Music Department. St Leonard’s Church, Malvern. July: Elgar Day at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester. A glorious and unexpected revelation – Elgar’s music and young people’s education, the Elgar Society lecture by Ralph Allwood MBE, Director of the Rodolfus Choir and music teacher. This was followed by the Elgar Society Lunch. September: Elgar and English Cathedral Music, a talk by Timothy Day, for many years a music curator at the British Library, cultural historian and writer on English choral music. October: Songs of Elgar and his contemporaries, a recital by the baritone, Alex Poulton and pianist Simon Watterton, including songs by Elgar, Somervell, Butterworth, Gurney and Finzi. November: Old England, a recital at the Birthplace by Hannah Roper (violin) and Adrian Partington (piano) including Elgar’s Violin Sonata and some of Elgar’s salon pieces. December: Elgar’s influence on my musical thinking, a talk by the composer Robert Saxton, Professor of Composition at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor of Worcester College, Oxford. Richard Smith, Branch Secretary

T21 Yorkshire and North East Branch Our year started in January with a brief AGM followed by committee member Philip Scowcroft critically examining the erroneous view that Elgar was musically in decline in his later years. We did not have a meeting in February, but in March Dr George Kennaway (for 28 years co– principal cello in the Opera North Orchestra) compared the different 1928 performances of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with more modern recordings, at the same time considering whether Elgar was a nightingale or a grumpy old man!

Our by now regular April live music programme, given by Josephine Peach, piano, and Amanda Crawley, soprano, explored Elgar’s religious roots and the contemporary world of organ music and organists, and in May we welcomed Richard and Joan Smith who, in a delightful double– act, took us with Elgar on his four American visits and discussed his strong likes and dislikes about the country.

In June Diana McVeagh reflected on the differences and changes that have occurred in the 52 years between her publication of Edward Elgar: His Life and Music in 1955 and Elgar the Music Maker in 2007. After a summer break we returned in September to welcome Dr John Harcup who spoke of the growing stature and importance of Elgar’s work, particularly the part–songs, in the Edwardian era. Our October meeting was a presentation by Dr Christopher Wiltshire of recordings of conversations made by people who knew Elgar: thus we were given a fascinating series of audio clips, memorabilia and images from Dr Wiltshire’s extensive collection.

Our final programme of the year came from David Jenkins, archivist and long–term admirer and advocate of the music of Havergal Brian, who spoke of the early encouragement that Elgar gave to Brian, although later in life their paths and musical interests diverged.

Overall it has been a very good year for the Yorkshire and North East Branch and we are grateful for the support of the Society’s Executive and Council. Tony Pook, Branch Chairman

T22 C 2018 INITIAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND PLANS

Given the purpose of the Society is the education in and promotion of the appreciation of the public in the music of Edward Elgar and the education of the public in his life, Council have agreed a strategy that enabled our activities to be grouped under the aims mentioned under it, viz:

a. the provision of educational programmes and activities to widen knowledge of Elgar’s music for all and develop the public benefit achieved by the Society; b. support for the Elgar Birthplace, museums and educational establishments that attract the general public to Elgar’s music and life; c. the funding and encouragement of performances and recordings of his works; d. the encouragement of research into Elgar’s music, and the publication of a scholarly journal containing the results of such research; e. the publication of or support for a scholarly edition of Elgar’s music.

At national level, and with all due acknowledgement of Branch activities, our efforts will focus on the following areas.

• Elgar in Performance and the Other Projects Fund will be reviewed by Council following its great increase in 2017 and the consequent recordings. Its criteria, German project and funding will be reviewed by Council during 2018.

• We shall continue to support Meinhard Saremba to settle in his role as the Editor of the Journal following his auspicious start.

• We shall continue to seek to raise sponsorship and legacies to enable us to expand our work and ensure it extends into the future.

• Council have made restricted progress on how we can meaningfully support educational work associated with Elgar but we shall observe the efforts of West Midlands Branch during 2018.

• Council will consider nominations for the Elgar Society Medal and Certificate of Merit.

• Now that the Birthplace at The Firs is open, we look forward to collaborating with the National Trust. T23 • The AGM and Birthday Weekend will be reviewed to consider whether a new format and location might stimulate support in another part of the country.

• Elgar Day at the Three Choirs Festival will once more be a pleasurable highlight of our social year.

• We shall continue to work more closely with Elgar Works and the Elgar Complete Edition to make more of Elgar’s music available in a timely fashion at a reasonable cost to performers and conductors all over the world. Steven Halls, Elgar Society Chairman

T24 THE ELGAR SOCIETY

Statement of Financial Activities for the period ended 31 December 2017

General Fund 2017 2016 £ £ Income

Subscriptions 27,461 28,656 Gift Aid 3,954 4,137 Royalties 215 317 Legacies 0 57,079 Interest 376 61 Other 1,051 15,227 Donations 0

Total income 33,057 105,477

Expenditure Society Objectives Journals and Newsletters 9,167 8,639 Events / Branches 12,220 13,029 AGM 429 963 PR and Advertising 570 1,700 Sundry 232 449 Elgar in Performance 40,590 44,228 Elgar Medals 130 825 Support to the Elgar Birthplace 0 3,975 Administration Authorised expenses for Council and Executive 2,851 3,106 Membership administration 320 265 Cost of investment 0 0

Total Expenditure 66,511 77,178

Surplus / (Deficit) for the period (33,453) 28,299 Transfer between funds (12,519)

General Fund brought forward 34,340 18,560

General Fund at 31 December 2017 887 34,340

T25 Other funds Brought Received Spent Forward 2017 2016 £ £ Restricted Fund Kay 3,960 3,960 3,960 Designated Funds Walker 16,216 16,216 16,216 Ballantine 14,080 14,080 14,080 Elce 36,816 36,816 36,816 Graham 20,056 20,056 20,056 Graves and piano 0 400 400 0 0 Dolan 5,000 5,000 5,000 Branches: London West Midlands 14,952 15,227

Total 107,120 107,395 Total movements

Total Funds at 31 December 2017 111,967 145,695

Balance Sheet at 31 December 2017

Funds Represented by:

Bank deposits 0 0 Current account 11,298 30,901 Investec investment 84,125 49,125 Lloyds Fixed Term 0 50,000 Branches bank balances 4,215 2,685 Branches’ other funds 14,952 15,227 Less owed by Society (2,623) (2,243) Total Funds 111,968 145,695

T26 Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2017

1. Basis of accounting These accounts have been prepared on the basis of historical cost in accordance with:

• Accounting and Reporting by Charities – Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2005); • Financial Reporting Standards for Smaller Enterprises (FRSSE); and • the Charities Act 2011.

2. Accounting policies 2.1 Subscriptions Subscriptions are accounted for in the year in which they are received, except for subscriptions received in advance which are carried forward to the next year.

2.2 Other incoming resources These are included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the Society becomes entitled to the resources;

• the trustees are virtually certain they will receive the resources; and • the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Where incoming resources have related expenditure (for example, subscriptions) the incoming resources and related expenditure are reported gross in the SoFA.

2.3 Donations and legacies Donations and legacies are only included in the SoFA when the Society has unconditional entitlement to the resources.

2.4 Tax recoverable on subscriptions, donations and gifts Incoming resources from tax recoverable are included in the SoFA at the same time as the income to which they relate.

2.5 Branches Although the regional Branches of the Society are constituted under separate rules, the income and expenditure of the Branches are included in these accounts. ‘Branches’ other funds’: these monies were held previously but not shown in the Society’s Accounts. In the event of a Branch being wound up, the monies would revert to the Society and have therefore been added to the accounts.

T27 2.6 Taxation The Society is a registered charity no 298062 and accordingly is exempt from taxation on its income and gains where they are applied for charitable purposes.

3. Trustees’ expenses Travel and other out of pocket costs amounting to £2,851 were reimbursed to members of the Council, the Executive and Chairmen of Branches in the year when appropriate claims were made (2016 £3,106).

No member of the Council nor any person connected with them has received any remuneration in the year.

4. Donations, sponsorship and projects Grants and other financial support given to 28 organisations in 2017 were a material part of the total resources expended by the Society. Grants made were as follows: Elgar in Performance. Grants 2017 2016 (including expenses) 40,590 44,228

5. Restricted funds Kay legacy – the Society is one of the beneficiaries of the estate of a former member. The will specifies that the legacy shall not be used for routine running expenses but shall be devoted to capital or other longer term projects.

6. Elgar Enterprises A wholly owned trading subsidiary, Elgar Enterprises (a company limited by Guarantee; Registration No: 3821653), was established in 1999. The Articles of Association prescribe that membership is limited to serving members of the Council of the Society and its directors include, inter alia, the officers of the Society. The company is now dormant and has paid the majority of its funds to the Society, retaining sufficient to meet any remaining liabilities.

T28 FOUNDED 1951 Registered as a Charity No 298062

President : Julian Lloyd Webber F.R.C.M. Chairman : Steven Halls

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION : Single membership: UK and Europe: £35.00; outside Europe : £36.00; Joint membership: UK and Europe: £40.00; outside Europe : £41.00; Student membership: UK and Europe: £16.00; outside Europe : £17.00. Renewable on 1 January each year. Joint membership is available for two persons residing at the same address and sharing a single copy of the Journal and News. Renewals, and applications for membership should be sent to the Hon.Membership Secretary at the address below. A surcharge of £4.00 is applied to payments not remitted in sterling, to cover exchange commission and conversion loss. Payments may be made by Visa, Maestro or Mastercard, quoting the type of card, its number, three–digit card security number and expiry date, the amount to be paid and the name on the card if different from the member’s name. Those paying by credit card may do so by telephone, or by e–mail using the on–line membership application, renewal, Gift Aid and Standing Order forms which can be found on the Society website at http://elgar.org/elgarsoc/membership. They are also available from the Hon. Membership Secretary. CHAIRMAN : Steven Halls, 28 Nottingham Road, Bingham, Notts NG13 8AT Tel: 07900 162170; e–mail: [email protected] VICE–CHAIRMAN : Stuart Freed, 6 Carriage Close, St John’s, Worcester WR2 6AE Tel: 01905 339371; e–mail: [email protected] HON. SECRETARY : George Smart, 10 Cullin Park Grove, Strathaven, South Lanarkshire ML10 6EN Tel: 01357 520314; e–mail: [email protected] HON. TREASURER : Helen Whittaker, Long Lea, 9 Green Fall, Poringland, Norwich, NR14 7SP Tel: 01508 494591; e–mail: [email protected] HON. MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY : David Young, The Rectory, Lydeard St Lawrence, Taunton TA4 3SF Tel: 01984 667735; e–mail: [email protected] BRANCHES AND BRANCH SECRETARIES

EAST ANGLIAN (Bury St Edmunds) Christopher Wiltshire, 11 Burlington Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2HS Tel: 01473 254940; e–mail: [email protected] EAST MIDLANDS (Leicester) Sam Dobson, 69 Greengate Lane, Birstall, Leicester, LE4 3JG Tel: 0116 267 7372; e–mail:[email protected] LONDON (Marylebone) Ruth Hellen, 30 King James Avenue, Cuffley, Herts EN6 4LR Tel: 01707 876079; e–mail: [email protected] NORTH AMERICAN Lee Kaufman, 8921 Moydalgan Rd., St. Louis, MO 63124 Tel: 314–991–4816; e–mail: [email protected] NORTH–WEST (Manchester) David L Jones, Willowbrook House, Spath Lane East, Cheadle Hume, Cheshire SK8 7NL Tel: 0161 439 7176; e–mail: [email protected] SCOTTISH (Edinburgh) Maureen Kelly, 69 Trinity Road, Edinburgh, EH5 3HS Tel: 0131 476 2241; e–mail: [email protected] SOUTHERN (Southampton / Portsmouth) Wendy Wiseman, 3, Broomhill Cottages, East End, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 5SX Tel: 01590 626516; e–mail: [email protected] SOUTH WESTERN (Bristol / Cardiff / Exeter) Michael Butterfield, 14 Southdown Road, Westbury on Trym, Bristol, BS9 3NL Tel: 0117 909 2503; e–mail: [email protected] WEST MIDLANDS (Worcester) Richard Smith, 24 Crown Lea Avenue, Malvern, Worcs, WR14 2DP Tel: 01684 438358; e–mail: [email protected] YORKSHIRE & NORTH EAST (York) Paul Grafton, Fair Winds, Parsons Green, Wetherby, Yorkshire, LS22 2RQ Tel: 01937 583723; e–mail: yorkshire–[email protected]

EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL : Meinhard Saremba, Uhlandstrasse 31, Mannheim, Baden–Württemberg D–68167, Germany e–mail: [email protected] EDITOR OF THE NEWS : Peter James, Orchard Cottage, The Street, Walberton, W. Sussex, BN18 0PQ Tel: 07817 654807; e–mail: [email protected]

SOCIETY WEBSITE : http://www.elgar.org SOCIETY E–MAIL ADDRESS : [email protected]