News In this issue ... Page Page Address for Communications 2 Donald Hunt at the Birthplace 22 Keep in touch, next Edition 2 Three Choirs Festival 2015 23 Letter from the Chairman 3 A morning with Diana McVeagh 26 Council Meeting Report 4 Michael Kennedy Memorial 28 Nominations for Secretary 5 Elgar’s War Symphony 31 Birthday Weekend 2016 6 Elgar in Germany 32 Treasurer’s Notes 6 Jerrold Northrop Moore Lecture 33 Society Website Report 7 Obituaries 36 From the Membership Secretary 9 Brief Items 40 Increase our Membership 10 The British Music Collection 44 Welcome to New Members 11 Advertisement: Gracious Ladies 46 Elgar Works 12 Branch Reports 48 Elgar in Performance 13 Branch Events 54 This is what I do: Proof reader 14 Elgar and Vaughan Williams day 57 The future of the Birthplace 16 Delius Society 57 Birthplace Report 16 Dates for your Diary 58 From the Birthplace Archive 20 Crossword 66 No. 57 – December 2015 Address for Communications Contributions for the April 2016 issue of the Elgar Society News should be e–mailed to all the compilers: Ernie Kay: [email protected] Richard Smith: [email protected] Peter James: [email protected] Full contact details can be found on the back cover. The latest date for submissions for the April issue is 25 February 2016. Keep in touch Remember: you can keep up to date with the latest Elgarian news on: Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter www.twitter.com YouTube www.youtube.com then, search for ‘Elgar’ or ‘Elgar Society’ or ‘Elgar Birthplace’. 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. 2 Elgar Society News Letter from the Chairman Dear Friends Since the Birthday Weekend, it has been a quiet time for me as Chairman, although there has been much for various colleagues to do – not least, alas, the penning of obituaries. Elsewhere in this volume, or on the website, we commemorate people who have all, in their way, contributed to the cause of the Society and of Elgar himself. The brevity of this introduction reflects the quietness for me of this particular period (for which I am grateful as my professional life and my musical endeavours have left me no time for anything else, and certainly not a holiday), but I am now back in harness for the next round of Council and Executive meetings. As I write this, the date of the former lies in the future – 24 October – but there will be a report on it from another Council member in this edition of the News. The agenda includes Elgar, Education & Young People, preliminary planning for the Birthday Weekend and AGM on 11 & 12 June 2016, discussing further ways of attracting new members and reviewing the recordings programme. This last topic is always fascinating. I have compiled – with the help of Barry Collett, John Norris, John Knowles and his excellent discography on the website – a list of pieces that we wish to record or re–record and then it is a matter of negotiating how these can be recorded to create CDs that will appeal to the market and the media as well as to we enthusiasts and ‘completists’. We do have a very good relationship with our partner, Siva Oke of Somm Records, who is always ready to consider works off the beaten track, which is where most of the remaining works on the list lie. The Elgar discography is almost unrecognisably rich now, even compared with the situation just twenty years ago, and the Elgar Society and its members should be proud of the part they have played, along with major and niche record companies, in making fine recordings available to the public. I am looking forward immensely to being able to announce projected new recordings over the next few months. No. 57 – December 2015 3 Letter from the Chairman In the meantime, I shall have to confine myself to the delights in my collection, and I wish you all both happy listening and a Merry Christmas! Council Meeting Report Being an elected member of the Elgar Society Council and attempting to occupy space recently vacated by Dr. John Harcup was a daunting experience, especially as Dr. Harcup had served with such distinction. So my thoughts as I sat on that London–bound train on 24 October were along the lines of what do I know? what do I have to offer at this my first Council meeting? I need not have worried. My fellow members were very friendly and welcoming and I found that I did have something to contribute. For those who may think that Council meetings are just an excuse for a day in London drinking coffee, they couldn’t be more wrong. A great deal is accomplished in a very short time, due to the excellent chairmanship of Steven Halls. We heard reports from the Officers and discussed them at length along with other topics. The subjects included the Elgar Birthplace Museum and its future; Elgar in Performance; Elgar in Education; the way forward with regard to increasing the membership of the Society; the Birthday Weekend in 2016; the possibility of making improving investment of the Society’s funds; and future recipients of the Elgar Medal. It was an enjoyable and rewarding experience and I returned home to Malvern feeling that good work had been done and that I had been a small part of it. Just a pity about the six hours spent on the train! Jon Goldswain 4 Elgar Society News Nominations for Secretary I will be standing down as Secretary at the AGM on 11 June 2016, after ten years in the post. The Secretary’s main responsibilities are: to fix Executive, Council and Branch Chairmen’s meetings; to prepare agendas for those meetings, in consultation with the Chairman of those committees; to take the minutes of those meetings and circulate them; and to fix the AGM and oversee arrangements for the Birthday Weekend. As Secretary I have also had the pleasure and privilege of presenting the Elgar Medal as well as making the arrangements for presentations. Nominations for the office of Secretary shall be made in writing, signed by a proposer and seconder (who must be members of the Society) and by the candidate signifying willingness to stand; and should be received by the Honorary Secretary by 16 April 2016. Should there be more than one valid nomination a postal ballot of the members of the Society shall be held, the results of which shall be declared at the Annual General Meeting. Ballot papers shall be distributed to members not later than twenty–eight days before the Annual General Meeting and shall be received by the Honorary Secretary not later than seven days before the Annual General Meeting. Ballot papers shall be subject to the scrutiny of two members of the Society. If you consider that you have the necessary qualifications to act as Secretary of the Society you are invited to contact the Hon. Secretary. All the other officers offer themselves for re–election. Helen Petchey No. 57 – December 2015 5 Elgar Society Birthday Weekend 2016 The 2016 Birthday Weekend will take place on 11/12 June. The AGM will be at St George’s Worcester at 2pm on Saturday 11 June. Members are invited to meet for coffee, as usual, at a venue to be confirmed on Saturday morning. As well as meeting up with old friends, this is a good opportunity to welcome members coming to the Birthday Weekend for the first time. On Saturday evening the Malvern Festival Chorus are giving a concert of British music (including some Elgar) at Malvern Priory and on Sunday I will organise a little outing followed by lunch. Evensong will be at 4pm at Worcester Cathedral on Sunday 12 June, again with the Cathedral Choir, as it doesn’t fall in half term. Evensong will be followed by tea and cake at the Birthplace. Full details of the 2016 Birthday Weekend will be published in the April News. Helen Petchey Treasurer’s Notes This has been a stable year. Spending has been within budgets and income, which is largely from member subscriptions, has held up well although there is a gradual drop in the number of members. My main concern has been the huge sum of £120,000 in deposit accounts paying only 0.5 per cent, a return below average inflation levels, meaning that our money is losing value. I have spent some time taking advice as to where we might invest some of this money in low–risk products (investments) that will bring us a higher return. On Saturday 24 October I presented a proposal to the Council to invest £50,000 in a ‘Kick Out’ Deposit Plan with a specialist investment company, Investec. It is linked to the value of the FTSE share index. This plan has the potential to pay a fixed payment of 4.25 per cent per annum (not compounded). This rate of return might disappoint some of the more ‘investment savvy’ members of the 6 Elgar Society News Treasurer’s Notes Elgar Society, but I must remind them that because of our charity status I have taken a cautious approach in choosing an investment product. The greatest risk is that we could receive our capital back with no interest at the end of six years.