COUNCI L 'Sir Ernest Pooley, K .C,V.O ., LL .D . (Chairman) *Dr. B. Ifor Evans, M.A., D.LITT. (Vice-Chairman) The Countess of Albemarle *Sir Bronson Albery Richard Capell, O .B.E., M.M. John Carte r *Sir Kenneth Clark, K .G.B. *Joseph Compton, M .A. *Edric Cundell, C .B.E . Mrs . Hugh Dalton, L.C .C. The Viscount Esher, M .B.E. Sir Cecil Graves, K .C.M .G., M.C . Wyn Griffith, O.B.E. George T. McGlashan, C .B.E. SCOTTISH COMMITTEE George T, McGlashan, C .B.E. (Chairman) Ian Finlay Sir Cecil Graves, K .C.M .G ., M .C . J. A . Henderson The Rev . George F, MacLeod, M.C . J. McNaught Hugh Marshall Miss Isobel Sinclair E. K. Waterhouse, M .B.E. William Wilson WELSH COMMITTE E Wyn Griffith, O .B.E . (Chairman) P. H. Burton Sir William Llewellyn Davies Mrs. Irene Edward s C. E . Gittins John Hughes Professor Gwyn Jones Dewi Llwyd Jones Morgan Nicholas D . H . 1. Powell Miss Frances Rees Dr. W . J. Williams, Hon . LL .D. ART PANE L Sir Kenneth Clark, K .C .B. (Chairman ) Sir Colin Anderson Sir Leigh Ashton Oliver Brown Prof. William Coldstream Trenchard Cox Sir Philip Hend Mrs . Cadet Keir Lynton Lamb Henry Moore Rodrigo Moynihan Ernest Musgrave Herbert Read, D.S .O., John Rothenstein, C.B.E. Gordon Russell, C .B.E., M.C. M.C . E. K. Waterhouse, M .B .E. Care[ Weight Mrs. Somerville DRAMA PANE L Sir Bronson Albery (Chairman) Miss Peggy Ashcroft, C.B.E. Leslie Banks, C.B.E. Noel Coward John Gielgud Tyrone Guthri e Andrt Van Gyseghe m E. A . Harding Patrick Henderson Norman Higgins, M .B.E . Hugh Hunt Ronald Jeans Benn Lev y Michael MacOwan Sir Laurence Olivie r Sir Ralph Richardso n Ronald Russell Derek Salherg Stephen Thomas MUSIC PANE L Edric Cundell, C.B.E . (Chairman ) Lennox Berkeley Harold Craxton Alan Frank Ambrose Gauntlet t Philip Godlee Frank Howe s Miss Mary lbberso n Prof. Anthony Lewis Clarence Raybould Dr . Edmund Rubbra Sir Malcolm Sargen t Dr. Percy Scholes Dr. R. S . Thatcher , Dr. Sydney Watso n Miss Seymour Whinyates O.B.E ., M.C. POETRY PANE L Joseph Compton, M .A. (Chairman) Richard Churc h Sir George Rostrevor Christopher Hassall John Lehman n Hamilton Cecil Day Lewis, C.B .E. L. A . G . Strong *Member of Executive Cnmmirte e r-r?ci.-+ i v C- co py THE ARTS COUNCIL OF GREAT BRITAI N SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT 1950-5 1 IN X TS COUt,)-IL OF GREAT BRITA RY T1 )N L18RA A~;v~ _ ~AC`YVy-i~._SCA 4 ST . JAMES'S SQUARE LONDON, S .W.1 CONTENTS ENGLAND AND WALES Page I THE FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN 4 II NOTES OF THE YEAR 1 1 III MUSIC 20 IV ART 23 V DRAMA 25 VI OPERA AND BALLET . 27 VII SOME REFLECTIONS ON POLICY 29 APPENDIX A The Arts Council of Great Britain : Audited Accounts 36 APPENDIX B List of grants and guarantees paid by the Arts Council o f Great Britain during the year ended March 31st, 1951 46 APPENDIX C The Theatre Royal, Bristol : Audited Accounts 48 APPENDIX D Exhibitions held during the period April, 1950-March, 1951 52 APPENDIX E List of Associated Organisations (April, 1950-March, 1951 ) and List of Associated Festivals (May-September, 1951) 54 SCOTLAND REPORT OF THE COUNCIL'S COMMITTEE IN SCOTLAND 58 APPENDIX I Audited Accounts 70 APPENDIX II Concerts by the Scottish Orchestra 74 APPENDIX III Associated Theatre Companies in Scotland 74 APPENDIX IV Exhibitions 74 APPENDIX V Associated Arts Societies 74 ILLUSTRATIONS PREFAC E By the Chairman of the Arts Council SIR ERNEST POOLEY, K.C.v.o., LL.D. The year on which our Annual Reports are based ends on March 31st. But 1951 has been a unique year, a year of so much achievement in the arts that we hav e extended our chronicle to cover the many festivals and special occasions which have occurred between Ma y and September. The Arts Council accepted the respon- sibility of celebrating the Festival year in a nationa l projection of the fine arts and, as the following pages relate, it did so to some purpose. It has been my privilege to visit many of the Arts Festivals, large an d small, promoted by partnerships between local bodie s and the Arts Council, and I have found the experience an exhilarating one . Dangers and anxieties continue to beset Great Britain, yet, in this year ofso many shadows , there has been more good art and music to be seen an d heard in this country than ever before . The public has shown, in its hundreds of thousands, that it has a kee n and growing appetite for the serious pleasures, and we must hope for an increasing recognition of that fact by Parliament and Local Authorities, in whom is no w invested the major responsibility for the patronage o f the arts. Calv Lames ~ I . THE FESTIVAL OF BRITAI N HE period covered in the Annual Report usually coincide s with the financial year of the Arts Council, which ends on March 31st. On this occasion, however, the survey is extended in order to include some account of the Council's activities during the Festival of Britain . If a Report on th e Festival were held up by calendar considerations it woul d Tbe of little interest a year from now . In December, 1947, the Arts Council was asked by the Chancellor of th e Exchequer to consider how the Centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 might best be celebrated, and whether or not a national Festival of the Arts would be practicable. In the course of time, a decision to hold a Festival in 1951 was taken in the House of Commons and, in April, 1948, a Festival of Britain Office and Directorate was set up . The Arts Council was invited to work closely with the new office, and was itself charged b y the Chancellor of the Exchequer with the full responsibility for ensurin g that the arts were appropriately represented in the programme of th e Festival of Britain. This was a sizeable assignment . The Arts Council immediately addressed itself to the task of decidin g how best to deploy the country's resources in music, drama and the fine arts within the structure of the Festival, and examined numerous method s of doing so. Its final policy-decisions on scope and procedure were accepted by the Festival of Britain Council in July, 1948 . These decisions fell into a three-fold pattern : to promote a London Season of the Arts i n May and June, 1951 ; to foster arts festivals at 22 centres in England, Scotland and Wales ;* and to stimulate wherever possible the local effor t and the special occasion in artistic endeavour . It was clear that these policies would need money for their fulfilment , and £400,000 was allocated by H .M. Treasury. It was considered (rightly, as it transpired) that the Council could undertake these extra tasks withou t any fundamental change in its normal method of operation. This implie d that the Council would work wherever possible through and with estab- lished organisations, and would offer grants and guarantees against loss o n agreed schemes rather than undertake direct management off its own bat. In practice, then, the Festival of Britain involved an extension and not a * See Appendix E . 4 revolution in the Council's customary work, and the £400,000 was simpl y an addition, for one season only, to the Council's annual Treasury grants . The most formidable single enterprise was the creation of a Londo n The Londo n Season of the Arts. The Council's aim was to encourage such a concen- Season of the Arts tration of concerts, plays and exhibitions in London during the first eigh t weeks of the Festival as would display the genius of the nation in the main creative arts. In music this aim was notably achieved. The London County Council Music in agreed to give the Arts Council a tenancy of the new Royal Festiva l Londo n Hall from May 10th to June 30th . The managements of the Royal Albert Hall and other concert halls were well-disposed. Accordingly the Council decided to invite the leading orchestras, impresarios, concert societies, choirs, and national musical organisations of the country to arrang e performances during the May/June Season in London . This involved th e Council, at a stroke, in negotiations with many hundreds of organisation s and persons . The programmes were planned, as a whole, in such a way as to avoi d clashes and, what was more important, in such a way as to ensure that our own composers and our own musical habits and traditions were al l substantially represented. This involved considerable tasks of co-ordina- tion and a scrutiny of many-and sometimes irreconcilable-proposals b y panels and committees. One gap in the over-all programme had to b e made good by the Council itself. The B.B.C. had agreed to arrange a series of concerts of English Song, but it was felt that the occasion als o called for a series of concerts of Henry Purcell's music, and a further series devoted to other English composers from 1300 to 1750. The Counci l consequently undertook these two series as a matter of direct management . It is interesting to note that, apart from the three special series, th e chamber music and the solo items, nearly 200 orchestral and choral works by British composers were performed during the London Season .