The Delius Society Journal Spring 2015, Number 157 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 Piers Lane AO, Hon DMus David Lloyd-Jones BA, FGSM, Hon DMus Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Anthony Payne Website: delius.org.uk ISSN-0306-0373 THE DELIUS SOCIETY Chairman Martin Lee-Browne CBE Chester House, Fairford GL7 4AD Email: [email protected] Treasurer Peter Watts c/o Bourner Bullock Chartered Accountants Sovereign House, 212-224 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8HQ Email: [email protected] Membership Secretary Paul Chennell 19 Moriatry Close, London N7 0EF Email: [email protected] Journal Editor Katharine Richman 15 Oldcorne Hollow, Yateley GU46 6FL Tel: 01252 861841 Email: [email protected] Front cover: Robert Threlfall (please see page 11 for full photo) Photo: © Brian Radford Back cover: Cover of Delius and his Music, by Martin Lee-Browne and Paul Guinery Image: © Boydell Press 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. Any breaches of copyright are unintentional and regretted. CONTENTS CHAIRMAN’S NOTES ........................................................................................5 THE FUTURE OF THE DELIUS SOCIETY .......................................................7 EDITORIAL...........................................................................................................8 ROBERT THRELFALL (1918-2014) ...................................................................9 John White .........................................................................................................9 Roger Buckley .................................................................................................12 Paul Chennell ..................................................................................................13 Tony Summers ................................................................................................14 ROBERT THRELFALL: AN INTERVIEW WITH PAUL GUINERY ..........16 DELIUS IN MANCHESTER, 1915 ...................................................................37 RARE AND ANONYMOUS: THE 1929 DECCA RECORDING OF SEA DRIFT .........................................52 PERCY GRAINGER’S PROMOTION OF DELIUS IN THE USA: PART ONE ..........................................................................................................65 TWO DELIUS PLACES: GREZ – FINALLY – AND WATFORD ...............70 THE WORDS OF THE SLAVE SONG IN APPALACHIA ...........................73 100 YEARS AGO ................................................................................................76 RICHARD KITCHING BEQUEST ...................................................................78 BOOK REVIEWS ................................................................................................85 Delius and his Music .....................................................................................85 CONCERT REVIEWS ........................................................................................97 Mainly for Pleasure ........................................................................................97 Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra ................................................................ 100 Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe ................................................................ 102 CD REVIEWS .................................................................................................... 105 And the Bridge is Love ................................................................................ 105 DELIUS SOCIETY MEETING REPORTS ...................................................... 107 All aboard the Lugger! ................................................................................ 107 Bo Holten: Good (and especially bad) Delius Conducting .................... 109 Stephen Threlfall: Delius for the Young ................................................... 111 Lionel Carley: Fifty Years with the Trust ................................................. 115 DSJ 157 3 Concert in memory of Robert Threlfall .................................................... 129 MISCELLANY ................................................................................................. 132 Derek Bell ..................................................................................................... 132 John Rushton on Radio 3 ............................................................................ 132 John McCabe ................................................................................................ 133 Professor Daniel Grimley ........................................................................... 133 The Delius Beulhoff Family Piano ............................................................ 134 Koanga in Wexford ..................................................................................... 134 Delius and his Northern Connections ...................................................... 135 Merchandise ................................................................................................. 135 The Delius Society YouTube Channel ...................................................... 136 FORTHCOMING EVENTS ............................................................................ 137 Delius Society London Branch ................................................................... 137 Other Events ................................................................................................. 138 4 DSJ 157 CHAIRMAN’S NOTES Grateful thanks for his life and work should be the dominant emotion we feel following Robert Threlfall’s death last November – coupled, of course, with sadness at the loss of a quite delightful person. Of all the Delian scholars, he made a unique and singular contribution to our knowledge of the detail behind the music. His definitive Catalogue of the Compositions of Frederick Delius and Frederick Delius: A Supplementary Catalogue are unlikely ever to need more than a tweak or two of revision in the future, if at all, and his scholarship is a model for anyone else undertaking a similar task for another composer. He was also a brilliant writer of articles and programme notes. Delius was not, of course, his only musical love – for Liszt, Janáček and particularly Rachmaninoff, were all extremely important to him. By the time members read this, we will have had a Memorial Concert for Robert at The Royal Over-Seas League – a mix of tributes from people who knew him well and appropriate music performed, in the main, by some up-and-coming musicians who have taken part in the final of The Delius Prize over the past few years – something that would have especially pleased him. You can read a report of this event on page 129. One of the perennial problems with which the Committee has to wrestle is setting up the AGM. On its own it would certainly not attract a sufficient number of Members, and it must be linked to an occasion that is likely to be reasonably popular. In the past it has sometimes been on the same day as The Delius Prize – which this year will return to The Royal Academy, where it was originally held, and details of which can be found on page 137. Unfortunately, however, for various reasons we shall have to hold the preliminary round of the Prize in the afternoon, and the final in the evening – leaving no time for the AGM. The Committee has therefore decided to hold the AGM in the Autumn, alongside a talk from Lewis Foreman – more details in the Forthcoming Events section on page 137. My wife insists that I should say something about Delius and his Music which so far has received a good number of complimentary reviews. Paul Guinery and I discussed our approach to the book on BBC Radio 3 in an edition of Music Matters on 14th February; the programme also included a positive assessment by Prof Daniel Grimley of Oxford University, who is himself writing a book on Delius and whom some Members will remember giving a talk to the London Branch. Piers Burton-Page, in a review for DSJ 157 5 International Record Review, described the book as ‘surely destined to be the standard volume for many years to come’, in which case our five years of work will certainly have been worthwhile. Martin Lee-Browne Reviews of Delius and his Music, by Robert Matthew-Walker and Tony Summers are on page 85. 6 DSJ 157 THE FUTURE OF THE DELIUS SOCIETY Over the last few years I have been supported by a marvellous Committee – but, very sadly indeed, our Vice-Chairman, Chris Green (who has played a major part in organising some of our events) now feels that, because of his increasing commitments in connection with The Courtyard Arts Trust in Hereford and elsewhere, he must retire at this year’s AGM. Furthermore, Peter Watts has indicated his intention to retire as the Society’s Treasurer in another two years or so. Finally, I am finding travelling up to London for meetings increasingly difficult and as old-age beckons, I am not sure how much longer I shall feel like coping with the hassle! Needless to say, none of us wants to leave the Society in the lurch, but no one is indispensable or can go on for ever! All members will know that over the last few years I have appealed