Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club

Music Committee

Report on 2004

A year ago we were commemorating the anniversaries of Dvorák, Janácek and Charles Ives, as today we commemorate Alan Rawsthorne and Constant Lambert; Michael Tippett, like them born in 1905, will be remembered later this year with A Child of our Time. Thomas Tallis, supposedly born 400 years earlier, has already been represented in February this year. Last year’s Dvorák celebrations also included his opera Rusalka in October, with spectacular singing and heroic orchestral playing by very large forces under Christopher Fifield, and his violin concerto magnificently played by Evelyn Chadwick in a concerto ‘workshop’ in December. This also included a notable novelty by current members (as composer and soloist), in Tony Summers’ flute concertino, played by Libby. In turn this complemented the now traditional Club composers’concert in July last year in which Tony Noakes was strongly represented along with other past and present Club members.

A Club member of irreplaceable importance, Percy Timberlake, was remembered last October in a sad yet joyful In Memoriam in which representatives of all aspects of the club – strings, wind, pianists and singers – paid their respects to a key figure in the Club’s history, with a favourite, and singularly appropriate, work as the centrepiece: Vaughan Williams’ Matthew Arnold setting An Oxford Elegy. His wise counsels will be sorely missed. Whether he approved of my novelty last April, an illustrated lecture on the music of Duke Ellington, I am not sure, but at least it was a change…

Another novelty was included in an all-piano concert in May, when 13 of the 16 pianists involved performed a ‘relay’ version of Schumann’s Kinderszenen. Nicholas Murray is to be congratulated on putting this together, as he is for several other appearances as oboist and pianist, particularly in an exceptionally compelling performance just over a week ago of a Britten rarity, his powerful Temporal Variations, forgotten since the 1930s. I am glad to say that Nick has agreed to share the Music Secretaryship with me for next year, with the intention of taking over subsequently –thank you for that too. Another novelty, organised by Keith Daley, was a marathon orchestral day in May on Berlioz’ Harold in Italy, conducted by Ed Kay in the glowing venue, new to us, of St Cyprian’s Church. It was complemented by Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with a strong group of 15 voices assembled by Jo Parton.

Yet another novelty in July was a ‘Younger Generations’ concert organised by Camilla Bignall (her first as organiser, in which her daughters were joined by Keith and Ed’s families in a remarkable display of talent (not forgetting her own flute playing, then and on several other occasions). Other (not-so-young) ‘New Members’ were assembled by our energetic membership secretary Evelyn Bercott into a lively concert in June, including massed tango-ing recorders, and Chris Crocker introducing unfamiliar Mendtner (to be followed by equally unfamiliar Piazolla in December and Charles Griffes in February).

Another ‘first-time’ concert organiser was Clare Shanks in March, including her long-wished for VW oboe concerto, eloquently performed, along with baroque works, and Strauss songs by the sonorous David Banbury. The Gala concert in March, in the capable hands of Mike Crowe and Hugh Rosenbaum taking over from Percy Timberlake, did succeed for once in obtaining contributions from all four societies, Oxford, Cambridge, University College and ourselves (even if the Oxford contribution gradually shrank to a recorder and piano sonatina). Our contribution, repeated from February, was an unusual Dallapiccola work (just missing his centenary in 2004) for solo soprano (our chairman Lyn) and five instruments.

Other established concert organisers continued to devise interesting programmes: the Rushtons in June, Evelyn Bercott a further one in September, Carl Murray an unusual Eichendorff Lieder programme with Katinka Seiner in November, Hugh Rosenbaum ‘Der Todte Fagott’ along with other typical curiosities also in November, the Behrmans ‘A-Z of Russian composers’ in January, Mike Crowe in February (including the Tallis and Dallapiccola already mentioned), John Nelder also in February, Edmund Booth just over a week ago – a continuing proud record of enterprise and talent. Please forgive me if I have failed to mention a favourite item.

And finally, my usual cri de coeur about Open Concerts: only one happened in the period since the last AGM, but as usual there weren’t enough offered items to fill the programme, so we had to fill it up with the old hands: please remember this is an occasion when anyone who offers a piece is guaranteed a place: there is another in June, so please come forward. Can I also mention that the orchestral concert to be conducted by Ed Kay in June, very ambitiously, Mahler’s 4th Symphony, at the moment lacks a ‘co-ordinator’ – if someone who is playing would take this on (not a very onerous task, which I can explain) it would relieve pressure on the regulars.

Alan Reddish (Music Committee Chairman)
23^rd April 2005