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["Who's Who in Music"]

Here is the counterpart to the thread "British composers who were who in 1913." Again I hope to go through the book "Who's Who in Music" (1913 edition), and this time pick out the information given there about all the people who are described there as "composers" and do not have a British background. (And as before I think that many of the entries were contributed by the subjects themselves.)

Once more there are many very obscure names, as well as many that remain familiar. I have copied all the information supplied about compositions, as well as any further items which seem to be of interest.

The book itself, which contains much more information about each person, may of course be retrieved HERE. Let us begin, then, with the six composers whose names begin with 'A':

1) Carlo Albanese, pianist and composer.
   b. Naples, 1858.
   Came to London in 1882.
   The list of his compositions comprises besides a great number of piano pieces, a string quartet, a trio for piano and strings, and six piano sonatas, songs and MS. orchestral works.
   [Not in Grove's Dictionary.]

2) Samuel Alman, composer.
   b. in a village near Odessa in 1878.
   Began musical education at the Odessa Conservatoire, and passed into Russian Army in which he served four years; he narrowly escaped the massacre of Kishmeff, and in 1904 fled to England.
   Has recently produced "King Ahaz," the first opera in the Yiddish language, at the New Jewish Theatre in the East End, having written both libretto and music, with great success.
   [Not in Grove's Dictionary.]

3) Karl Joachim Andersen, flautist.
   b. Copenhagen, 1847.
   Proceeding to Berlin, he assisted in founding the Philharmonic Orchestra there; since 1893 has conducted the Palace Orchestra at Copenhagen.
   Has composed a large number of pieces for the flute, including a set of forty-eight studies and a concertstück [sic].
   [Not in Grove's Dictionary.]

4) E. Fernandez Arbos, violinist and conductor.
   b. Madrid, 25th December 1863.
   Both his father and grandfather were military bandmasters.
   Played Bach's Double Concerto with Joachim at the St. James's Hall.
   Has composed a large number of pieces for the violin, and a comic opera, "El Centro de la Tierra," first performed at Madrid in 1895.
   [Grove's Dictionary gives his name as "Enrique Fernández Arbós," and - curiously - states that he was born on the twenty-fourth of December. In 1932 Arbós conducted the first performance in Spain of the Rite of Spring, and he was president of the Spanish section of the ISCM; through his influence the 1936 festival was held in Barcelona.]

5) Antony Stepanovich Arensky, composer.
   b. Novgorod, 1861.
   His father and mother were both excellent musicians.
   His compositions include the opera, "A Dream on the Volga," first performed in Moscow in 1890, opera in one act, "Raphael," composed for the Russian Artists' Club at St. Petersburg, in 1894, and a grand opera, "Nala and Damayanti," 1899; he has also composed a large number of songs, piano pieces and other music.

6) Tor Aulin, violinist.
   b. Stockholm, 1856.
   Leader of opera orchestra in that city since 1889, and of the Aulin Quartette [sic], founded in 1887; he is also conductor of the Stockholm Philharmonic Society.
   [This entry, which I reproduce in full, is noteworthy for the absence therein of the word "composer." Grove's Dictionary gives his year of birth as 1866, which is more likely to be correct, and mentions a number of his compositions, including a String Quartet. opus 1, and three Violin Concertos.]

Moderator's note:
1866 is not 'more likely to be correct' - it is correct!
Alan Howe

[Who's Who in Music]

Something I have been meaning to do for some time is to go through Who's Who in Music (1913 edition) and pick out the information given there about all the people with a British background who are described there as "composers." (I think that the entries were mainly contributed by the subjects themselves.)

Many of the names have now become very obscure indeed, especially the church musicians and popular song-writers. In each case I have picked out any items which seemed to be of interest, especially the names of seldom-performed operatic works - of which there are a great many. And in some cases I have added more recent information if it is available.

It is noteworthy that quite a respectable number of lady-composers appears on this list. There are also a few Frenchmen and Germans hitherto unknown to me, but they are material for another thread.

So - taken in easy stages, a letter at a time. If any one would like to find out more about a particular composer, the book itself may of course be retrieved HERE. These are the nine composers whose name begins with 'A':

1) Benjamin Agutter, organist and composer.
   b. St. Albans, 1844.
   e. Mus.Bac. Oxon, 1870.
   Missa de Sancto Albano; Missa de Santo Petro; and other church music.
   Not in Grove's Dictionary.

2) William Clark Ainley, organist and composer.
   b. Kirkheaton, Yorks, 1834.
   A large number of anthems, including "Behold, O God our Defender" for the Jubilee, and other church music.
   Not in Grove's Dictionary.

3) George Aitken, pianist, composer and critic.
   b. London.
   His parents unconnected with music save as amateurs.
   Well known as composer of the charming songs "Lead Kindly Light," "Maire My Girl," "Jest Her Way"; also church music and chamber music.
   Not in Grove's Dictionary.

4) Walter Galpin Alcock, organist and composer.
   b. Edenbridge, Kent, 1861.
   Knighted in 1933.
   Mainly church and piano music; made numerous recordings, many of which were reissued in the 1990s.

5) John Carlowitz Ames, composer, pianist and conductor.
   b. Westbury-on-Trym, near Bristol, 1860.
   His father was George Acland Ames, and his mother's maiden name Countess Clara Poelzig.
   e. Charterhouse and Edinburgh University.
   A four-act opera, "The Last Inca"; incidental music; two piano concertos; 130th Psalm for chorus, soli and orchestra.
   Not in Grove's Dictionary.

6) Algernon Ashton, composer and pianist.
   b. Durham, 1859.
   Father: Charles Ashton, a tenor lay-clerk in Durham Cathedral.
   Studied under: Joachim Raff.
   Published close upon 150 compositions, including a series of 24 string quartets (now lost) in all the major and minor keys, and works for solo piano, piano trio, piano quartet and quintet, short choral works and songs. Ashton's orchestral music, which included five symphonies, overtures, an orchestral suite, a Turkish March, and violin and piano concertos, are all (according to Grove's Dictionary) "believed to have been lost in World War II."
   Hobbies: writing letters to the press; visiting the tombs of famous personages, in connection with which he has been the indirect means of restoring many noteworthy resting-places; listening to the debates in the House of Commons.
   Mr. Ashton is included in the Marquis de Ruvigny's Plantagenet Roll as a descendant of King Edward III.

7) Ivor Atkins, composer and organist.
   b. Cardiff, 1869.
   e. at Roath and privately.
   His compositions include the cantata "Hymn of Faith," the libretto to which was arranged by Sir Edward Elgar; and other church music.
   Knighted in 1921.

8) Florence Aylward, song writer.
   b. Brede Rectory, East Sussex, 1862.
   Father: Rev. Augustus Aylward, Rector of Brede.
   e. chiefly at home and at a school at Norwood.
   Not in Grove's Dictionary.

9) Howard Aynstey, conductor, composer and concert director.
   b. London, 1864.
   Father: Thomas Oldham Williams, accountant.
   Sister: Mme. Slapoffski (prima donna, grand opera).
   Brother: Philip Williams (actor).
   Nephew of Henry Haigh and Mme. Haigh Dyer (grand opera singers)
   e. Mercers' School, E.C.
   Composed several popular songs.
   Not in Grove's Dictionary.

All men are - for the moment and as far as I know - mortal - but what about their works? So much music - upon which its composers have in many cases expended years of labour - has been lost over the passage of time. I suppose this loss mostly happens because pieces have not been published.

In the catalogue of even a well-known composer such as Stanford many items are marked "unperformed and unpublished" - but presumably in his case they are not actually lost.

This question of preservation of manuscripts is likely to become more important in the near future, as computer scanning and computer-generated performance of everything on demand becomes feasible.

So my question is: what steps should an unsung composer take, while still living, to ensure that his œuvre remains available to later generations? Bundle it all up and send it to the nearest large library perhaps? But there is no guarantee that the library would accept it; and even if they did, many of to-day's libraries are capable of having a "tidy up" after a few years and tipping it out! So send it to six libraries . . .

Or are there already institutes somewhere devoted to the preservation of unsung composers' manuscripts?

A friend has very kindly drawn my attention to this stimulating forum - it is encouraging to find that the interests of many of its members appear to accord to some degree with my own! So here is a first posting:

The eminent English composer Percy Pitt was born in the capital on the fourth of January, eighteen seventy . . . well some say eighteen seventy but others eighteen sixty-nine! Although his parents were unconnected with the musical profession, the youth nevertheless, after a general education in Paris, studied music between eighteen eighty-six and eighteen eighty-eight in Leipsic under Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. Then for the three following years he worked at Munich under Rheinberger.

In eighteen ninety-three he returned to England, and in eighteen ninety-five was chorus master for the Mottl Concerts. The following year he was appointed organist at Queen's Hall; then in nineteen hundred and two he became maëstro al piano at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, subsequently acting as musical adviser to the syndicate, and in nineteen hundred and six assistant conductor of the orchestra for the summer and autumn seasons.

Upon the retirement of André Messager in nineteen hundred and seven Pitt succeeded him in the position of musical director, thus affording his countrymen the gratification of seeing an Englishman at the head of the premier operatic theatre in England, and one of the most superb orchestras in the world.

Among Percy Pitt's numerous compositions are the following:

- an Orchestral Suite in four movements (1895);
- a suite, "Fêtes Galantes," after Verlaine (1896);
- a Coronation March (1897);
- a Clarinet Concertino - others say "Concerto" (1897);
- the overture, "Taming of the Shrew" (1898);
- a choral ballad, "Hohenlinden," for male voices and orchestra (1898);
- a Ballade for violin and orchestra (perhaps his best-known work, and one mentioned elsewhere in this forum - it was composed for Ysaÿe);
- a symphonic poem (or as some say, a "symphonic prelude") "Le Sang des Crépuscules";
- "Cinderella," a musical fairy tale (1899);
- suite de ballet, "Dance Rhythms" (1901);
- the incidental music to Stephen Phillips's play "Paolo and Francesca" (1901);
- incidental music to "Richard the Second";
- incidental music to "Flodden Field" (both for Tree's performances at His Majesty's Theatre (1903);
- two series of "vocal poems" with orchestral accompaniment, one for baritone, consisting of five poems (Philharmonic Society, 1903), the other for mezzo-soprano (Queen's Hall Symphony Concerts, 1904);
- "The Blessed Damozel," for soli, chorus and orchestra;
- a ballad, "Schwerting the Saxon," for chorus and orchestra;
- "La Sérenade" (for string orchestra);
- a second serenade for full orchestra;
- Coronation March;
- a March for military band (intended for the trooping of the colour);
- an Oriental Rhapsody;
- and last but not least in this list the Symphony (others say "Sinfonietta") composed for the Birmingham Musical Festival of 1906.

Indeed this list by no means exhausts the catalogue of Pitt's creative output, as there must also be placed to the credit of his account a ballet, two cantatas, part-songs, chamber music (including a trio and a quintet), pianoforte pieces, studies, and songs.

Pitt was described in 1901 as "a very active member of the young British school," a man with "wide sympathies and knowledge" whose technical skill in music was "enormous."

He resided at 5, Primrose Hill Studios, N.W.