1929 in British music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a summary of 1929 in music in the United Kingdom.
Events
- 22 January â Gordon Jacob's First String Quartet is premiered by the Spencer Dyke Quartet in London.
- 13 June â Eugene Goossens conducts the UK premiere of Ottorino Respighi's Feste Romane, at the Queen's Hall, London.
- 27 June â First London performances of two ballets by Igor Stravinsky, Apollon musagète and Le baiser de la fée, conducted by the composer at the Kingsway Hall and broadcast on the wireless.
- 4 October â Beethovenâs complete Ninth Symphony (with full chorus) is performed at the Proms for the first time since 1902. It has become a regular annual fixture of the festival ever since.[1]
- 12 October â Sir Thomas Beecham, supported by Peter Warlock, launches a six-day festival of the work of Frederick Delius, at the Queen's Hall in London. The composer attends in his wheelchair.[2]
- October â George Formby has a recording session with Dominion Records.
- date unknown
- Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly form their music publishing company as a result of the success of their song "Show Me the Way to Go Home".
- Ray Noble becomes leader of the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, an His Master's Voice studio band featuring members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day.
- Will Fyffe participates in a screen test, shot for Pathe in New York; it provides rare screen footage of his music hall act.
Popular music
- "Dear Little Cafe" w.m. Noël Coward
- "I Lift Up My Finger (and I Say "Tweet Tweet")" w.m. Leslie Sarony
- "Spread a Little Happiness" w.m. Vivian Ellis, recorded by Binnie Hale
Classical music: new works
- Kenneth J. Alford
- Old Panama
- HM Jollies
- Arnold Bax â Symphony No. 3
- Benjamin Britten â Rhapsody for String Quartet[3]
- Alan Bush â Dialectic Op. 15 for string quartet[4]
- Frederick Delius â Cynara[5]
- David John de Lloyd â Forty Welsh Traditional Tunes (arrangements)
- John Ireland â Ballad
- William Walton â Viola Concerto
Opera
Musical theatre
- 12 July â Bitter Sweet, by Noël Coward, opens at His Majesty's Theatre.
Musical films
- Auld Lang Syne, starring Sir Harry Lauder and Dorothy Boyd (silent film with soundtrack added later)[6]
- The Broken Melody, starring Enid Stamp Taylor (silent film with soundtrack added later)[7]
Births
- 5 January â Norman Kay, composer (died 2001)[8]
- 28 January â Acker Bilk, jazz clarinetist and band leader (died 2014)[9]
- 14 February â Wyn Morris, conductor (died 2010)
- 25 February â Sandy Brown, Scottish clarinetist (died 1975)
- 5 April â Joe Meek, record producer (died 1967)
- 6 April â Edmund Percey, architect and jazz pianist (died 2014)
- 11 May â Stan Kane, Scottish-Canadian actor and singer (died 2015)
- 13 June â Alan Civil, horn player (died 1989)[10]
- 9 July â Alex Welsh, Scottish singer, cornetist, and trumpeter (died 1982)
- 2 August â Roy Crimmins, trombonist and composer (died 2014)
- 5 August â John Armatage, drummer and arranger
- 11 August â Alun Hoddinott, composer (died 2008)
- 20 September â Joe Temperley, jazz saxophonist (died 2016)
- 2 October â Kenneth Leighton, pianist and composer (died 1988)
- 4 November â Dickie Valentine, singer (died 1971)
- 11 December â Kenneth MacMillan, ballet dancer and choreographer (died 1992)
- date unknown â Maurice Handford, horn player (died 1986)[11]
Deaths
- 12 February â Lillie Langtry, singer and actress, 75[12]
- 22 August â Lucy Broadwood, folk song collector and researcher, 71[13]
- 7 September â Frederic Weatherly, songwriter, 80[14]
- 29 December â Josiah Booth, hymn-writer, 77[15]