Hanover Square Rooms
The Hanover Square Rooms or the Queen's Concert Rooms were assembly rooms established, principally for musical performances, on the corner of Hanover Square, London, by Sir John Gallini in partnership with Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel in 1774. For exactly one century this was the principal concert venue in London. The premises were demolished in 1900. History of the Rooms The site had previously been occupied by a mill, hence its previous name Mill Field and that of the currently adjoining Mill Street. Originally the property of Earl of Plymouth, leased out to Lord Dillon, in June 1774 it was sold for £5,000 to Viscount Wenman, who on the same day conveyed it to Gallini, Bach and Abel. Gallini owned half the freehold and each of the other two a quarter. On the site formerly occupied by a garden and office, they constructed, as extensions to the house, assembly rooms for concerts and public meetings. The main room on the first floor measured by , with a h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Professional Concerts
The "Professional Concerts" were subscription concerts established in 1783 and given at the Hanover Square Rooms in London. Leading musicians of the day performed at the concerts. History Background Other regular concerts began in London around this time: the subscription concerts established by Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel, which ran from 1764 to 1782, and the Concerts of Antient Music, which began in 1776. The prestigious Hanover Square Rooms, accommodating about 900 people, opened in 1775 with a concert given by Bach and Abel. Establishment The committee directing the Professional Concerts included Wilhelm Cramer, leader of the orchestra; William Dance, principal second violin; the cellist James Cervetto; and the composer and violinist William Shield. The subscription was five guineas for twelve weekly concerts. Performers at the Professional Concerts included the tenor Samuel Harrison from about 1783, the oboist Friedrich Ramm in 1784, the pianist and sin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harriet Wainwright
Harriet Wainwright Stewart (c. 1766–1843) was a British composer, singer, and writer. A musical entrepreneur, she developed a subscription list of several hundred people and sold at least two of her compositions (''Comala'' and ''Seringapatam'') to subscribers. Early Years Wainwright's father was Liverpool musician Robert Wainwright. Her teachers included Dr. Richard Woodward, organist of Christ Church, Dublin, and John Worgan, a London organist known for his performances at Vauxhall Gardens. She moved to London in the 1780s, where she socialized with music historian Charles Burney, who commented that he knew of no female contrapuntist in Europe who could surpass Wainwright. Wainwright's opera ''Comala'' was performed at Hanover Square in London on 26 January 1792. Sophia Corri and James Bartleman sang the leads. Six boys from the choir at Westminster Abbey were the chorus, coached by the Abbey organist Dr. Benjamin Cooke. Composers Ignaz Pleyel and Joseph Haydn attended t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Mozart, Salieri and Clementi. He also knew Beethoven and Schubert. Life Early life Hummel was born as an only child (which was unusual for that period) in Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia). He was named after the Czech patron saint John of Nepomuk. His father, Johannes Hummel, was the director of the Imperial School of Military Music in Vienna; his mother, Margarethe Sommer Hummel, was the widow of the wigmaker Josef Ludwig. The couple married just four months beforehand. Hummel was a child prodigy. At the age of eight, he was offered music lessons by the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was impressed with his ability. Hummel was taught and housed by Mozart for two years free of charge and made his first concert appearance at the age ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led him to be called "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet". Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their Eszterháza Castle. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely, and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart, a tutor of Beethoven, and the elder brother of composer Michael Haydn. Biography Early life Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, a village that at that time stood on the border with Hungary. His father was Mathias Haydn, a wheelwright who a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beau Brummell
George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but after the two quarrelled and Brummell got into debt, he had to take refuge in France. Eventually, he died shabby and insane in Caen. Brummell was remembered afterwards as the preeminent example of the dandy, and a whole literature was founded upon his manner and witty sayings, which have persisted until today. His name is still associated with style and good looks and has been given to a variety of modern products to suggest their high quality. Life Brummell was born in London, the younger son of Jane (née Richardson, daughter of the Keeper of the Lottery Office) and William Brummell (d. 1794), Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, Lord North. On his retirement from politics, William had bought Donnington Grove in Berkshire and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henry David Leslie
Henry David Leslie (18 June 1822 – 5 February 1896) was an English composer and conductor. Leslie was a leader in supporting amateur choral musicians in Britain, founding prize-winning amateur choral societies. He was also a supporter of musical higher education, helping to found national music schools. Biography Leslie was born in London. His parents were John Leslie, a tailor and enthusiastic amateur viola player, and Mary Taylor Leslie. He had eight brothers and sisters. He attended the Palace School in Enfield and worked with his father. As a teenager, he studied the cello with Charles Lucas and later played that instrument in concerts at the Sacred Harmonic Society for several years.Holmstrom, John, rev. Anne Pimlott Baker."Leslie, Henry David (1822–1896)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 5 November 2008 Early career Leslie began to compose music, and in 1840 he published his ''Te Deum and Jubilate in D''. He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George IV Of The United Kingdom
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. At the time of his accession to the throne, he was acting as Prince Regent, having done so since 5 February 1811, during his father's final mental illness. George IV was the eldest child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. He led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era. He was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace, and commissioned Jeffry Wyatville to rebuild Windsor Castle. George's charm and culture earned him the title "the first gentleman of England", but his dissolute way of life and poor relationships with his parents and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, earned ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a membership society, and while it no longer has its own orchestra, it continues a wide-ranging programme of activities which focus on composers and young musicians and aim to engage audiences so that future generations will enjoy a rich and vibrant musical life. Since 1989, the RPS has promoted the annual Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards for live music-making in the United Kingdom. The RPS is a registered UK charity No. 213693, located at 48 Great Marlborough Street in London. The current chief executive of the RPS is James Murphy, and its current chairman is John Gilhooly. History In London, at a time when there were no permanent London orchestras, nor organised series of chamber music concerts, a group of thirty music profession ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Society Of Musicians
The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust signed by 228 musicians, including Edward Purcell (eldest son of Henry Purcell), Thomas Arne, William Boyce, Johann Christoph Pepusch, Hilda Wilson, Dr. John Worgan, and George Frideric Handel. It still operates a bank account at Drummonds Bank (now part of Royal Bank of Scotland) which was opened by its first secretary, Michael Christian Festing, in November 1738. The fund received patronage from George III, and it was incorporated by royal charter in 1790. Funds were raised by holding charity concerts, musical dinners, and music festival. Liszt gave his first concert in England for the benefit of the society in 1824, aged 12. It also held performances by Mendelssohn, Moscheles, and Dvořák. Meyerbeer, Liszt, and Clara Schumann all beca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Messiah (Handel)
''Messiah'' (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music. Handel's reputation in England, where he had lived since 1712, had been established through his compositions of Italian opera. He turned to English oratorio in the 1730s in response to changes in public taste; ''Messiah'' was his sixth work in this genre. Although its structure resembles that of opera, it is not in dramatic form; there are no impersonations of characters and no direct speech. Instead, Jennens's text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ. The text begins in Part I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |