William Somervell Mann (14 February 1924 – 5 September 1989) was an English music critic. Born in India, he was educated atWinchester andCambridge, studying music with several prominent composers, before taking up a career as a critic.
For most of his career he was on the staff ofThe Times in London, where his radical views were in contrast with the paper's traditional outlook. He published many books and articles in musical journals.
After leavingThe Times Mann was director of theBath Festival for a year.
Mann was born inMadras, India,[1] the son of Gerald and Joyce Mann.[2] He was educated at theDragon School andWinchester,[3] after which he took lessons in London, studying the piano withIlona Kabos and composition withMátyás Seiber.[1] He was atMagdalene College, Cambridge from 1946 to 1948, studying with the composersPatrick Hadley andRobin Orr and the organistHubert Middleton.[1]
On leaving Cambridge in 1948 Mann joinedThe Times in London. In the same year he married Erika Charlotte Emilie Sohler, with whom he had four daughters.[2] He remained atThe Times for 34 years, first as assistant music critic (1948–1960) and then as chief music critic (1960–1982).[2] Although the paper in the post-war decades was generally conservative and traditional, Mann was, as a colleague described him, "markedly progressive, even iconoclastic, in outlook."[1] In 1958 Mann contributed the libretto toFranz Reizenstein'sLet's Fake an Opera, produced for the 1958Hoffnung Music Festival. It consisted of "ridiculously juxtaposed excerpts from more than forty operas, which delighted both Reizenstein and the audience".[4]
Mann was one of the first music critics to see serious artistic value inrock music. He achieved some notoriety for his assertion that theBeatles were "the greatest songwriters sinceSchubert". Most unusually for a serious music critic, he appeared as a panellist on the television pop music programme "Juke Box Jury".[3] As a broadcaster, however, he was better known as a regular contributor to theBBC Third Programme (laterBBC Radio 3).[3] He contributed reviews toThe Gramophone for many years.[1]
In 1985 Mann was director of theBath Festival in succession toWilliam Glock.[3]
Mann died in Bath at the age of 65.[1]
Articles:
