Bernard Heinze
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Sir Bernard Thomas Heinze, AC (1 July 189410 June 1982) was an Australian conductor, academic, and Director of the
New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. He conducted all the orchestras run by the
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, most particularly the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...
, of which he was chief conductor from 1933 to 1950. Also, he was chief conductor of the
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Royal Melbourne Philharmonic (RMP) is a 120-voice choir and orchestra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1853, and is reportedly Australia's oldest surviving cultural organisation. The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic is Austra ...
from 1927, becoming Honorary Life Conductor in the 1960s, and continuing his association with the RMP until 1978. In addition he was guest conductor of the
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...
in 1939. Discouraged by Australian audiences' lack of interest in music, he founded Children's Concerts. He also initiated the Young Performers Awards, which continue to showcase emerging international talent. He introduced Australian audiences to the works of
Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
,
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
,
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
and
William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...
, and promoted Australian composers. In 1949 he became the first Australian ever to be knighted for services to music. Through teaching and performance, not least via broadcasting, he played a central role in his country's artistic activities. In his later years he was, quite simply, the most influential single man in Australian music, one critic having declared: 'there is not a fibre of our musical life that has not been modified by his career.'


Biography

Bernard Heinze was born in
Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
on 1 July 1894, the son of Benjamin Heinze, a German-born watch-maker and jeweller, and his Yorkshire-born wife, Minnie Heinze, née Greenwell. Educated at St Patrick's Catholic College, Ballarat, Heinze received violin lessons at an early age, under the guidance of Walter Gude (1904–12) first in Ballarat, and later at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
under Franklin Peterson, before being awarded the (Sir William) Clarke Scholarship at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...
in London (1913). World War I interrupted Heinze's studies and his career was put on hold; he received a commission in May 1916 with the British Royal Garrison Artillery Special Reserve Regiment and fought at
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
,
Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
, the Somme and Passchendaele. With the advent of peace, Heinze studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum, under
Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...
. He returned home in 1923. When only 32 years old, he succeeded William Laver as Ormond Professor of Music at the University of Melbourne. He held this professorship till 1957, and played a crucial role in the creation of the Faculty of Music. Thus he influenced governmental education policy for the successful introduction of music to the state curriculum. One of Heinze's great achievements came with the advent of wireless radio. As director-general of music with the new National Broadcasting Service at 3LO-3AR (forerunner to the ABC), he was able to inspire a generation of Australians to the love of orchestral music that was until then largely a luxury confined to the upper classes. Heinze envisaged a central professional full-time orchestra in Melbourne. After Alberto Zelman's death in 1927, he was offered the conductorship of the Melbourne Philharmonic Society (later the
Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Royal Melbourne Philharmonic (RMP) is a 120-voice choir and orchestra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1853, and is reportedly Australia's oldest surviving cultural organisation. The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic is Austra ...
); many of the players of the RMP's orchestra also played in
Fritz Hart Fritz Bennicke Hart (11 February 1874 – 9 July 1949) was an English composer, conductor, teacher and unpublished novelist, who spent considerable periods in Australia and Hawaii. Early life Hart was born at Brockley, Greenwich, England, eldest ...
's
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...
. This led to the loss of the RMP Orchestra's separate identity. From 1932 to 1937, Heinze was co-chief conductor of the MSO with Hart, and sole chief conductor until 1950. The MSO was renamed the Victorian Symphony Orchestra in 1949, reverting to its original name in 1964. In 1929 Heinze was appointed music adviser to the Australian Broadcasting Commission. There he oversaw the inception of its State orchestras, celebrity concerts, youth concerts and fine music broadcasting. His last appointment of significance was as director of the
New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
(1956–66) succeeding Sir Eugene Goossens, who had resigned in scandal. After leaving the directorship in 1966, Heinze continued to conduct the main Australian orchestras on a regular basis until the late 1970s. He also conducted overseas orchestras: on 14 January 1947, he was the conductor of the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
in the professional concerto debut of the 14-year-old
Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...
, who played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. He died on 10 June 1982, aged 87, in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, survived by his wife Valerie née Hennessy.


Honours

Bernard Heinze became a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in 1931. He was knighted in 1949, the first Australian musician to receive this honour. Sir Bernard was named the 1974
Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
. On Australia Day 1976, he was appointed a Companion of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for his services to Australian music.


Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award

The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award was inaugurated following the death of Sir Bernard Heinze in 1982, and is given annually to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.


References


Sources


ABC: Dimension in Time




















{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinze, Bernard 1894 births 1982 deaths Australian conductors (music) Sydney Conservatorium of Music faculty People from Shepparton Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Knights Bachelor Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Australian of the Year Award winners 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Australian musicians People educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery officers