1953 in British music explained
This is a summary of 1953 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Events
- 14 January – Ralph Vaughan Williams's Sinfonia antartica is given its first performance in Manchester.[1]
- 3 February – Contralto Kathleen Ferrier, suffering from terminal cancer (unknown to the public), gives a critically acclaimed performance on the first night of a new English-language production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.[2]
- 6 February – During the second performance of Orfeo, Kathleen Ferrier's left femur gives way; she completes the performance before going to hospital for treatment.[3] This will be her last public performance.
- 1 April – First record by any UK act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart, The Stargazers' recording of "Broken Wings".[4]
- 26 May – In the 1953 Coronation Honours, Herbert Howells receives a CBE and Benjamin Britten is appointed a Companion of Honour.
- 2 June The Coronation of Elizabeth II, William McKie, who had been in charge of music at the royal wedding in 1947, is organist.[5] In addition to traditional music, such as Handel's "Zadok the Priest", Hubert Parry's "I was glad" and Samuel Sebastian Wesley's "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace", specially commissioned works performed at the ceremony include Ralph Vaughan Williams's "O Taste and See", William Walton's "Orb and Sceptre", Arthur Bliss's "Processional", Arnold Bax's "Coronation March", and the Canadian composer Healy Willan's anthem "O Lord our Governor".
- On the evening of the coronation, Sadler's Wells Ballet stages the first performance of Malcolm Arnold's official coronation ballet Homage to the Queen, with choreography by Frederick Ashton and Robert Irving conducting.[6]
- 9 June – Kathleen Ferrier writes to the secretary of the Royal Philharmonic Society, thanking them for the award of the gold medal; it is thought to be the last letter she ever signed in person.[7]
- 29 August – Michael Tippett's Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli is first performed in Edinburgh.[1]
- October – Sir Arthur Bliss replaces Sir Arnold Bax as Master of the Queen's Music.
- 19 September – Sir Hubert Parry's 1916 setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" first appears as a permanent feature of the Last Night of the Proms (televised).[8]
- 19 October – Opening of the Covent Garden opera season, with a production of Wagner's Die Walküre.
- Allegri Quartet formed.
Chart summary
See List of UK top-ten singles in 1953
Number Ones
Number-one singles
Classical music
Opera
Film and Incidental music
Musical films
Births
- 28 January – Chris Carter, English DJ and producer
- 22 February – Graham Lewis, bass player
- 3 March – Robyn Hitchcock, singer-songwriter
- 9 April – John Howard, singer-songwriter
- 15 May – Mike Oldfield, composer
- 8 June – Bonnie Tyler, singer
- 19 June – Simon Wright, English drummer (AC/DC, Dio, and UFO)
- 27 July – Eibhlis Farrell, composer
- 2 August – Donnie Munro, Scottish singer and guitarist (Runrig)
- 3 August – Ian Bairnson, multi-instrumentalist (Alan Parsons Project)
- 10 August – Gillian Elisa, actress, singer, and comedian
- 23 August – Bobby G, singer (Bucks Fizz)
- 16 October – Brinsley Forde, singer (Aswad)
- 21 October – Eric Faulkner, guitarist, songwriter, and singer (Bay City Rollers)
- 12 November – Calum Macdonald, percussionist with Runrig
Deaths
- 18 January – Arthur Wood, conductor and composer, 78
- 30 April – Lily Brayton, musical theatre star, 76
- 15 May – Mabel Love, dancer, 78[9]
- 19 May – Frank Mullings, operatic tenor, 72[10]
- 21 September – Roger Quilter, composer, 75[11]
- 3 October – Sir Arnold Bax, composer, Master of the King's (and later Queen's) Musick, 69[12]
- 8 October – Kathleen Ferrier, contralto, 41 (cancer)[13]
- 26 November – Sir Ivor Atkins, organist and choirmaster, 83[14]
- 11 December – Albert Coates, conductor and composer, 71[15]
- date unknown – John Reynders, film score composer
See also
References
- General
- Web site: Official Charts Company. . (Type artist or song into search box and click "Search". To view a certain chart week, type the date into the box with the date and click "Go".)
Notes and References
- Kendall, Alan. The Chronicle of Classical Music. Thames & Hudson, 2000: p. 240
- Barbirolli, John (1954). "Kathleen ... The Last Years". In Cardus, Neville (ed). Kathleen Ferrier: A Memoir. London: Hamish Hamilton. p 107.
- News: Miss Kathleen Ferrier Suffering From Strain. The Guardian. Manchester. 5. 10 February 1953.
- Book: Rice, Jo. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits. Guinness Superlatives. 1982. 0-85112-250-7. 1st. Enfield. 8.
- Book: Wilkinson, James. The Queen's Coronation: The Inside Story. Scala Publishers Ltd.. 24. 2011. 978-1-85759-735-6.
- Web site: Sir Malcolm Arnold CBE 1921-2006: official website.
- Ferrier, Winifred (1955). The Life of Kathleen Ferrier. London: Hamish Hamilton. . p. 179.
- The 'Last Night of the Proms' in historical perspective. David Cannadine. David. Cannadine. 2008. 31. 212. 315–349. 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2008.00466.x. Historical Research. free.
- Book: Frances Stephens. Theatre World Annual (London): A Pictorial Review of West End Productions with a Record of Plays and Players. 1953. Macmillan. 18.
- Book: John Parker. Who's who in the Theatre. 1916. Pitman. 1604.
- Book: Maggie Humphreys. Robert Evans. Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland. 1 January 1997. A&C Black. 978-0-7201-2330-2. 276.
- Book: Paolo Petrocelli. The Resonance of a Small Voice: William Walton and the Violin Concerto in England between 1900 and 1940. 14 December 2009. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 978-1-4438-1831-5. 57.
- Web site: Biography of Kathleen Ferrier. Kathleen Ferrier Society. 4 March 2019.
- Web site: Death of organist Sir Ivor Atkins. 28 November 2003. Worcester News. 4 March 2019.
- Book: Jürgen Schaarwächter. Two Centuries of British Symphonism: From the beginnings to 1945. A preliminary survey. Volume 1. 27 February 2015. Georg Olms Verlag. 978-3-487-15227-1. 553.
