Music Conductors 10.9.1980

(12d) Sir Henry Wood Kt CH (3 March 1869 – 19 August 1944) was an English conductor, forever associated with the Promenade Concerts which he conducted for half a century. Founded in 1895, they became known after his death as the “Henry Wood Promenade Concerts” (now the “BBC Proms”). It is impossible to overestimate the influence he had on musical life in Britain: he improved access immensely, and also raised the standard of orchestral playing and nurtured the taste of the public, introducing them to a vast repertoire of music, encouraging especially compositions by British composers. He was knighted in 1911.

(13 1/2d) Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April, 1879– 8 March 1961) was a British conductor. He founded several British orchestras including the New Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. From the early twentieth century until his death Beecham was a dominant influence on the musical life of Britain.

(15d) Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (April 29, 1895 – October 3, 1967) was a British conductor, organist and composer.

(17 1/2d) Sir John (Giovanni Battista) Barbirolli, CH (December 2, 1899 - July 29, 1970), was a British conductor and cellist. Barbirolli was particularly associated with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he led for nearly three decades. He was also music director of the New York Philharmonic and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and conducted many other orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He was particularly associated with the music of English composers such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams. He also developed a strong reputation as a conductor of the music of Gustav Mahler.