The Delius Society Journal Spring 2011, Number 149 The Delius Society (Registered Charity No. 298662) President Lionel Carley BA PhD Vice Presidents Roger Buckley Sir Andrew Davis CBE Sir Mark Elder CBE Bo Holten RaD Lyndon Jenkins RaD Richard Kitching Piers Lane BMus Hon FRAM ARCM LMusA David Lloyd-Jones BA Hon DMus FGSM Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Robert Threlfall Website: http://www.delius.org.uk ISSN-0306-0373 1 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 1 19/04/2011 09:12 Chairman Martin Lee-Browne CBE Chester House, Fairford Gloucestershire GL7 4AD Email: Chairman@The DeliusSociety.org.uk Treasurer and Membership Secretary Peter Watts c/o Bourner Bullock – Chartered Accountants Sovereign House 212-224 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2 8HQ Email: [email protected] Secretary Lesley Buckley c/o Crosland Communications Ltd The Railway Station Newmarket CB8 9WT Tel: 07941 188617 Email: [email protected] Journal Editor Paul Chennell 19 Moriatry Close Holloway, London N7 0EF Tel: 020 7700 0646 Email: [email protected] Front cover: ‘Beside the River’ (Grez), Robert W. Vonnoh (1858-1933) Back cover: A View of Hardangervidda The Editor has tried in good faith to contact the holders of the copyright in all material used in this Journal (other than holders of it for material which has been specifically provided by agreement with the Editor), and to obtain their permission to reproduce it. Sometimes, however, he has received no reply. Any breaches of copyright are unintentional and regretted. 2 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 2 19/04/2011 09:12 Delius at the 1929 festival with Philip Heseltine and Jelka courtesy of The Peter Warlock Society 3 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 3 19/04/2011 09:12 CONTENTS CHAIRMAN’S NOTES................................................................................... 6 EDITORIAL...................................................................................................... 8 OBITUARY Sir George Shearing........................................................................................ 10 THE STRING MUSIC OF DELIUS by Reid Stewart.................................................................................................. 12 PORTRAIT OF FENBY by Rob Sabine..................................................................................................... 32 HALFDAN JEBE IN ATLANTA by Don Gillespie................................................................................................. 34 THAT BOY’S NO GOOD by Lyndon Jenkins.............................................................................................. 41 MARK STONE: AN ENGLISH SONG ENTHUSIAST Interviewed By Paul Chennell........................................................................... 44 NEWS FROM MEMBER SOCIETIES by Michael Green................................................................................................ 50 100 YEARS AGO by Paul Chennell................................................................................................ 60 LETTERS David Tall........................................................................................................... 62 Tony Summers.................................................................................................... 63 Tony Noakes....................................................................................................... 64 BOOK REVIEWS Les colonies artistique de Grez-sur-Loing 1860 – 1914 edited by Claire Leray..................................................................................... 66 4 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 4 19/04/2011 09:12 Comrades in Art edited by Teresa R. Balough.......................................................................... 68 The New Percy Grainger Companion edited by Penelope Thwaites........................................................................ 71 Song in Gold Pavilions edited by Chris Walton.................................................................................. 77 EXHIBITION REVIEW Gauguin: Maker Of Myth ................................................................................ 79 CD REVIEW Delius and Ireland Sonatas Arranged by Lionel Tertis............................................................................. 83 CONCERT REVIEWS The Song of the High Hills................................................................................. 85 Idylle de Printemps............................................................................................ 86 Songs of Farewell............................................................................................... 87 Brigg Fair........................................................................................................... 89 The Double Concerto...................................................................................... 91 DELIUS SOCIETY MEETINGS London Meeting, 13th September 2010....................................................... 93 London Meeting, 13th October 2010............................................................ 95 Midlands Meeting, 24th October, 2010........................................................ 97 Philadelphia Branch Report, 7th November 2010...................................... 98 London Meeting, 23rd November 2010....................................................... 100 MISCELLANY..................................................................................................102 EVENTS 2010-12.............................................................................................. 116 5 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 5 19/04/2011 09:12 CHAIRMAN’S NOTES We have had two pieces of excellent news since Newsletter 31 came out in January. Firstly, the Delius Trust has generously given us a guarantee of £25,000 against the cost of our 2012 celebrations. The Committee had already decided to spend £30,000 of our capital on this almost once-in-a- lifetime project, so we can now budget on a figure of £55,000. That may sound a lot, but, as we all know, doing anything these days is expensive! It is all getting very exciting! Secondly, there is to be a Delius Birthday concert on the afternoon of the day – 29th January – in the Royal Festival Hall, with Julian Lloyd Webber playing the ’Cello Concerto, Brigg Fair and the Enigma Variations with The Philharmonia under Sir Andrew Davis. We are planning other activities for the same day, either in the morning or after the concert, and in the evening the Fitzwilliam Quartet will be giving a recital at the Conway Hall (not far away on the other side of the river) which will include Late Swallows. Needless to say, all Members will be circulated with the details nearer the time and soon a regularly updated list of all known performances of Delius’s music being given up to the end of 2012 will be on the website. Our 2012 Sub-Committee is meeting regularly, and we make progress every time! Nevertheless, apart from the Trust’s guarantee, not a great deal has actually been finalised since Michael Green reported in Newsletter 31 – and it therefore seems sensible to leave a detailed report until Newsletter 32. In the meanwhile, however, the 2012 page on the website will soon have a lot of information about future concerts which include a Delius work. Notwithstanding all the work that is going into the plans for 2012, ‘normal’ life has continued – and we have had five excellent London Branch meetings across the winter months, with one more, the Steinway Hall recital by last year’s Prize winners, still to come at the end of March (at the time of writing). Those five meetings will be reported in detail in this issue and the next. The Midlands Branch, under the indefatigable Richard Kitching, has also been active, with Paul Guinery giving a fascinating illustrated talk on the music of York Bowen, and a recital this April by the brilliant young pianist Mark Bebbington. I fear that I must finish on a somewhat despondent note, by saying that neither Michael Green nor I have had any responses to the pleas in the last Newsletter for Members to offer themselves for co-option on to the 2012 6 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 6 19/04/2011 09:12 Sub-Committee or for appointment as our Membership Secretary. Without wanting to appear defeatist, if we are not be able to recruit additional help, the Committee will (if only on account of increasing anno domini!) become less and less able to carry out all the tasks we feel are necessary to maintain both the Society’s high standing in the world of English music and our efforts to continue to achieve its aims. If, on reflection, you think that you might be able to help, please do contact either Michael Green or me. Martin Lee-Browne 7 DSJ 149 Spring 2011.indd 7 19/04/2011 09:12 EDITORIAL Whilst this has been a long hard winter it is heartening to see how much activity there is around the work of Delius and his circle of friends. The tide of preparation for 2012 is flowing onwards with exciting prospects in the field of live concerts, recordings, and interesting reissues. Also a number of concerts have livened up the long winter months. Not least the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis’s performance of The Song of the High Hills reviewed elsewhere in these pages by Neil Fisher of The Times. It was very encouraging to see that a number of other prominent critics were very positive about this beautiful Delius score. Just two examples of their views will give you a flavour of the critical response: firstly, Bob Briggs writing on www.musicweb-international.com who, apart from