Classical music of the United Kingdom is taken in this article to meanclassical music in the sense elsewhere defined, of formally composed and written music ofchamber,concert andchurch type as distinct frompopular,traditional, orfolk music. The term in this sense emerged in the early 19th century, not long after theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland came into existence in 1801. Composed music in these islands can be traced in musical notation back to the 13th century, with earlier origins. It has never existed in isolation from European music, but has often developed in distinctively insular ways within an international framework. Inheriting the European classical forms of the 18th century (above all, in Britain, from the example ofHandel), patronage and the academy and university establishment of musical performance and training in the United Kingdom during the 19th century saw a great expansion. Similar developments occurred in the other expanding states of Europe (including Russia) and their empires. Within this international growth the traditions of composition and performance centred in the United Kingdom, including the various cultural strands drawn from its different provinces, have continued to evolve in distinctive ways through the work of many famous composers.
Music in the British Isles, from the earliest recorded times until theBaroque and the rise of recognisably modernclassical music, was a diverse and rich culture, including sacred and secular music and ranging from the popular to the elite.[1] Each of the major nations ofEngland,Ireland,Scotland andWales retained unique forms of music and of instrumentation, but British music was highly influenced by continental developments, while British composers made an important contribution to many of the major movements in early music in Europe, including thepolyphony of theArs Nova and laid some of the foundations of later national and international classical music.[2] Musicians from the British Isles also developed some distinctive forms of music, includingCeltic chant, theContenance Angloise, therota, polyphonic votiveantiphons and thecarol in themedieval era and Englishmadrigals,luteayres andmasques in theRenaissance era, which led particularly toEnglish language opera developed in the earlyBaroque period.[3] The dominant figure in classical music in the later baroque era, and beyond, was the German-bornGeorge Frideric Handel (1685–1759).
With theAct of Union 1800 passed by both theParliament of Great Britain and theParliament of Ireland, theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed, and it becomes possible to speak of classical music in the United Kingdom.[4] This was also the period when classical music began to be recognised as an important element of British and Irish culture and to be placed on a more organised basis that could match some of the developments seen in continental Europe. Music in this period has been seen as dominated by continental trends and composers.
In 1813 the LondonPhilharmonic Society was established, which played an important role in the development of musical life in the kingdom. Founders included SirGeorge Smart,Johann Baptist Cramer,Muzio Clementi, William Ayrton (musical director of theKing's Theatre),William Shield,Henry Bishop,Thomas Attwood (composer and organist ofSt Paul's Cathedral, and teacher ofJohn Goss),Johann Peter Salomon andVincent Novello. Under their aegis an annual programme of concerts of international calibre was established. The Society was a commissioning patron ofBeethoven'sChoral Symphony (No. 9).[5]
Musical training was placed on a newly professional footing by the creation in 1822 of theRoyal Academy of Music, which received a royal charter in 1830, which attempted to train British musicians to the same standards as those of the continent.[6] Its first principal was the oratorio composer DrWilliam Crotch (1775–1847), and the first tutor of piano wasCipriani Potter (1792–1871). Potter was the first London performer ofMozart and Beethoven concerti. He wrote nine symphonies and four piano concerti and as principal from 1832-59 was highly influential in the development of British music and the profession of musician.[7]
The significance ofclassical music in Ireland, and to a degree its place in conflicting British and Irish identities, was signalled by the foundation of the Dublin Choral Society in 1837, theIrish Academy of Music in 1848 (which was to be granted a royal charter in 1872); and the Royal Choral Institute in 1851 under such figures as Sir Robert Prescot.[8]
In the earlier part of the century the British singersMichael Kelly,Nancy Storace andJohn Braham were prominent and by their example sustained the international opera and oratorio works ofHandel,Haydn,Mozart and their successors in the British arena.[9] Braham, whose career thoroughly spanned the opera stage and concert platform, established a tradition in public recital which was continued by his successors down into the early 20th century.[10]Arias orballads from the English opera became concert standards in recital.
The Irish composer and virtuosopianistJohn Field (1782–1837) was highly influential in his style of playing, inventing thenocturne and he is thought to have been an inspiration toSchumann,Chopin andLiszt.[11]
Perhaps the most influential composer of the first half of the 19th century was the GermanFelix Mendelssohn, who visited Britain ten times for a total of twenty months from 1829. He won a strong following through the Philharmonic Society, sufficient for him to make a deep impression on British musical life. Not only did he compose and perform, but he also edited for British publishers the first critical editions oforatorios of Handel and of theorgan music of J. S. Bach. Scotland inspired two of his most famous works, the overtureFingal's Cave (also known as theHebrides Overture) and theScottish Symphony (Symphony No. 3). His oratorioElijah was premièred inBirmingham at theTriennial Music Festival on August 26, 1846. On his last visit to England in 1847 he was the soloist inBeethoven'sPiano Concerto No. 4 and conducted his ownScottish Symphony with the Philharmonic Orchestra beforeQueen Victoria andPrince Albert.[12] A number of British piano students of promise were sent to theLeipzig Conservatory established by Mendelssohn.[13]
Classical music has been seen as undergoing a fundamental shift in focus and importance from the second half of the 19th century, as it began to search for a distinctive national identity or identities and played an increasing role in British cultural life.[14]
Native singers shared the dramatic stage with international stars in Italian and German opera, notablyClara Novello,Helen Lemmens-Sherrington,Sims Reeves andCharles Santley.[15] After 1856 the Swedish bornJenny Lind, perhaps the most internationally renowned singer of the era, settled permanently in England, continuing to perform and teach.[16]
Among the most important figures in British classical music in this period was SirWilliam Sterndale Bennett. A RAM pupil of Potter's, he was a pianist, composer and conductor who for eleven years took control of the Philharmonic Society baton.[17]Lucy Anderson and her pupilArabella Goddard, with Franklin Taylor, were leading native mid-Victorian pianists.[18]
This century saw the trend towards larger orchestras and correspondingly larger musical venues, permitting public concerts for mass audiences. TheCrystal Palace Concerts were inaugurated in 1855, withAugust Manns as the principal conductor and theHandel Triennial Festival, an older institution involving massed choirs before vast audiences, was transferred there.[19]Covent Garden'sRoyal Opera House was opened in 1858, on the site of an earlier theatre and theRoyal Albert Hall was built in 1878.[20]
Orchestras which were founded in this period included theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (1840),[21] theHallé Orchestra atManchester under SirCharles Hallé (1858),[22] and the Scottish Orchestra (1891), now theRoyal Scottish National Orchestra.[23]
One of the notable features of the mid-19th century is the revival of a tradition of English language opera.Arthur Sullivan, a pupil of Goss, came to public attention in the 1860s withShakespeareincidental music,The Tempest (1862),The Merchant of Venice (1871), hisIrish Symphony (1863–66) andIn Memoriam.[24]
The period 1835-1865 saw the height of popularity for the Irish bornMichael Balfe (1808–70), composer ofThe Bohemian Girl (1843),[25] the operas ofJohn Pyke Hullah (1812–84),[26] and the earlier English operas of German-born SirJulius Benedict (1804–85), including his best-known,The Lily of Killarney (1862).[27]Maritana (1845) was the most famous and ballad-rich of the Irish bornWilliam Vincent Wallace's operas.[28] The operas ofFrederic Clay (1838–89) were among the most popular of the period, includingAges Ago (1869),The Gentleman in Black (1870) andHappy Arcadia (1872), all written withW. S. Gilbert (1836–1911).[29]
TheSavoy opera collaborations between Gilbert and Sullivan began in 1875 withTrial by Jury. They were in the British light opera tradition with spoken dialogue. They reached their heyday in the 1880s withThe Pirates of Penzance (1880), andThe Gondoliers (1889), and concluded in 1896 withThe Grand Duke. They had rivals likeAlfred Cellier's (1844–91)Dorothy (1886) andThe Mountebanks (1892), but were the most successful operas of the era and have been among the most frequently revived.[24]
In the later 19th century there was an increasing appetite for large scale works that covered epic, biblical and mythical themes. This was reflected in the topics of operas, cantatas and oratorios, often utilising British poems and novels. These included choral works likeWilliam Sterndale Bennett'sThe May Queen (1858),[30]Ebenezer Prout'sHereward andKing Alfred[31] andcantatas like Sullivan and Henry Fothergill Chorley'sThe Masque at Kenilworth (1864),[32] John Francis Barnett'sAncient Mariner (1867)[33] andFrederic Hymen Cowen'sThe Rose Maiden (1870) andHarold (1895).[34] Similar trends can be seen in operas such asGeorge Alexander Macfarren'sRobin Hood (1860), Sullivan'sIvanhoe (1891) and in the operas ofArthur Thomas, which includedEsmeralda (1883) andNadeshda (1885).[35][36]
The works of Handel, Mendelssohn and Spohr continued to be a major part of the British musical repertoire but there was an increasing emphasis on religious drama. The Italian-born SirMichael Costa'sEli (1855) andNaaman (1864)[21] set the pace for the later development in the works of Sullivan, includingThe Martyr of Antioch (1880)The Light of the World (1873), andThe Golden Legend (1886),John Liptrot Hatton'sHezekiah (1877),Joseph Barnby'sRebekah (1870),William Cusins'sGideon (1871),Alfred R. Gaul'sThe Holy City (1882),Charles Gounod'sRedemption (1882) andMors et Vita (1885) (produced expressly for the British public), and SirJohn Stainer'sThe Crucifixion (1887).[37] Arguably the last of the great English Victorian composers to emerge wasEdward Elgar (1857–1934), who during the 1890s produced hisCaractacus andKing Olaf cantatas, theEnigma Variations in 1899, and the revolutionaryDream of Gerontius in 1900.[38]
Between 1880 and 1887 the LondonGuildhall School of Music was established.[39] TheRoyal College of Music, originating in a training school under Arthur Sullivan, was founded (1882–83) under SirGeorge Grove.[39]The Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts, led by SirHenry Wood were founded in 1895.[40]
A member of teaching staff at the RCM from 1884 and director from 1894 until his death was SirHubert Parry (1848–1918), who used it as a platform for creativity and a reformation of British music. His own works included the cantatasPrometheus Unbound (1880) andKing Saul (1894), and four symphonies, among them theEnglish (1889).[41] His great contemporary was the Irish-born SirCharles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924), who was professor of composition at the RCM from 1883; conductor of The Bach Choir from 1886 to 1902; was professor of music at Cambridge from 1887 and conductor of the Leeds Philharmonic Society (1897–1909), and of the Leeds Festival (1901 to 1910).[42] These figures had a profound effect on a generation of composers that includedGustav Holst andRalph Vaughan Williams.
A notable feature of the late 19th century and early 20th century was the birth of theEnglish Pastoral School of classical music. This paralleled similar developments in most European countries, for instance in the music ofSmetana,Dvořák,Grieg,Liszt,Wagner,Nielsen andSibelius.[43] The movement was particularly influenced by theBritish folk revival through the work of figures such asSabine Baring-Gould andCecil Sharp. Examples include the AustralianPercy Grainger'sMolly on the Shore (1907),Frederick Delius'Brigg Fair (1908), andRalph Vaughan Williams'English Folk Song Suite (1923) for brass band, as well as subtler references to folk themes in other works including the works ofArnold Bax,George Butterworth,Gustav Holst,Samuel Coleridge-Taylor andJohn Ireland.[44] Similar developments could be seen in Scotland in the work ofSir Alexander Mackenzie, who celebrated his native Scotland in threeScottish Rhapsodies for orchestra (1880–81, 1911), and in various concerted works for piano or violin and orchestra composed during the 1880s and 1890s.[45] Similarly,John McEwen'sPibroch (1889),Border Ballads (1908) andSolway Symphony (1911) also incorporated traditional Scottish folk melodies.[46]
Under theAnglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, twenty-six ofIreland's thirty-two counties, including the city ofDublin, were formally separated from theUnited Kingdom. While the two countries continued to share a classical music heritage, they would now develop on different lines.[47]
In what was now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the outstanding composers of the century includedWilliam Walton,Benjamin Britten,Michael Tippett,Lennox Berkeley, andHavergal Brian. Their individual approaches to music and its part in the national identity differed significantly. Walton's work featured fanfares and patriotic themes, including the ceremonial marchesCrown Imperial, written for thecoronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, andOrb and Sceptre, forthat of Queen Elizabeth II.[48] Britten, on the other hand, made a conscious effort to set himself apart from the English musical mainstream, which he regarded as complacent, insular and amateurish. His works included the operasPeter Grimes (1945), andBilly Budd (1951), as well the instrumental compositionsNocturnal after John Dowland for guitar (1964).[49][50] It is arguable that this trend may have contributed to the revival of interest inearly music which has been led, in Britain, by such figures asArnold Dolmetsch andDavid Munrow.[51]
In common with other countries,experimental music became an important influence in the 1950s and 1960s, such as onthe Manchester School' composersHarrison Birtwistle andPeter Maxwell Davies. This extended to composers working in the avant garde such asGavin Bryars who embracedimprovisation andindeterminancy in their works. Bryar's pieceThe Sinking of the Titanic is considered one of the key works of experimental music.[52] Bryars also produced works ofminimalism and laterpost-minimalism. Other British composers producing notable works in these styles includeGraham Fitkin,Steve Martland, andMichael Nyman.
In the present era, classical music in Britain must contend and co-exist with a dominant culture ofpopular music. Specialist music education at establishments such as theRoyal Academy of Music,Royal College of Music,Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama,Royal Northern College of Music,Royal Birmingham Conservatoire andGuildhall School of Music,[53]Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance[citation needed] and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama as well as within British Universities provide music teaching to classical musicians.[53]
Notable modern composers include:Peter Maxwell Davies,Harrison Birtwistle,John Tavener,Robin Holloway,George Benjamin,Thomas Adès,Oliver Knussen,James MacMillan,Judith Weir,Peter Seabourne,Alexander Goehr,Jonathan Harvey,Sally Beamish,Julian Anderson,Hugh Wood and at a more popular levelAndrew Lloyd Webber, represent very different strands of composition within UK classical music.[54]
The United Kingdom is host to many majororchestras, festivals and venues. TheRoyal Philharmonic Society (founded 1813) and "The Proms" have presented annual music programmes of international status since the early 19th century. TheAldeburgh Festival, founded by Benjamin Britten is another annual musical event of international status.
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