The Aeolian Quartet was a highly reputed

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

based in London, England, with a long international touring history and presence, an important recording and broadcasting profile. It was the successor of the pre-World War II

Stratton Quartet The Stratton String Quartet was a British musical ensemble active during the 1930s and 1940s. They were specially associated with the performance of British music, of which they gave numerous premieres, and were a prominent feature in the wartime c ...

. The quartet adopted its new name in 1944 and disbanded in 1981.

Personnel

The Aeolian Quartet from 1944 to 1981 (disbanded)Dates retrieved
from

BBC Genome Project The BBC Genome Project is an online searchable database of programme listings initially based upon the contents of the ''Radio Times'' from the first issue in 1923 to 2009. Television listings from post-2009 can be accessed via the BBC Programme ...

* 1944–1947: Max Salpeter (1st violin);

Colin Sauer Colin Sauer (13 July 1924 – 9 January 2015 ) was a violinist and chamber musician who was one of the founding members of the Aeolian Quartet in 1944. He later lead the Dartington String Quartet for over 20 years. He played with the Hallé Orch ...

(2nd violin); Watson Forbes (viola); John Moore (cello) * 1948–1952: Alfred Cave / Leonard Dight / Watson Forbes / John Moore (to 1957) * 1953–1964: Sydney Humphreys / Trevor Williams / Watson Forbes / Derek Simpson (from 1957) * 1965–1970: Sydney Humphreys / Raymond Keenlyside / Margaret Major / Derek Simpson * 1970–1981:

Emanuel Hurwitz Emanuel Hurwitz (7 May 1919 – 19 November 2006) was a British violinist. He was born in London to parents of Russian-Jewish ancestry. He started playing the violin when he was five years old, and took up a scholarship at the Royal Academy of ...

/ Raymond Keenlyside / Margaret Major / Derek Simpson A number of other personnel took inner parts for brief periods e.g. Robert Cooper (2nd violin in February 1962). All dates collected from BBC genome project.

Origins and activities

The Stratton Quartet flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. George Stratton, the leader, found it increasingly difficult to lead the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

as well as the Stratton Quartet, and so the Aeolian came into being. The Stratton Quartet performed under that name at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

frequently during the war. In 1944 the new name was adopted. Both Watson Forbes and John Moore, the violist and cellist, had been members of the Stratton Quartet. Max Salpeter (1908-2010) was previously in the

Kutcher String Quartet The Kutcher String Quartet was founded by its first violinist, Samuel Kutcher (1898-1984), who had by 1922 established himself as an accomplished solo artist and the previous year been a member of the Philharmonic Quartet, Philharmonic String Qu ...

and was leader of the original

New London Orchestra The New London Orchestra (NLO) is an English London-based orchestra specialising in rarely heard late 19th and 20th century music. The original New London Orchestra was formed in 1941 by conductor Alec Sherman and was used by Dame Myra Hess to p ...

. The quartet participated in the May 1946 International Music Festival in Prague and the International Contemporary Music Festival in London, July 1946. From 1948 to 1952 the Aeolian Quartet leader was Alfred Cave, when they made recordings of

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...

's '' The Curlew'' with

Léon Goossens Léon Jean Goossens, CBE, FRCM (12 June 1897 – 13 February 1988) was an English oboist. Career Goossens was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and studied at Liverpool College of Music and the Royal College of Music. His father was violinist an ...

and tenor René Soames and

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

Fantasias which they recorded with future member Emanuel Hurwitz. It was, however, under the leadership of Sydney Humphreys that the 1950s formation of the ensemble was particularly remembered. Humphreys, a Canadian violinist, studied in Vancouver and Toronto and in Europe trained with

Frederick Grinke Frederick Grinke CBE (8 August 1911 – 16 March 1987) was a Canadian-born violinist who had an international career as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He was known especially for his performances of 20th-century English music. Training ...

and

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

. He was leader of the Aeolian Quartet from 1952 until 1970. He was eminent both as a

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

and as a chamber player, notably in the St Cecilia Trio (1954–1965) and as first violin in the Purcell String Quartet (1979–1987). Emanuel Hurwitz (leader) won a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in a contest adjudicated by

Bronisław Huberman Bronisław Huberman (19 December 1882 – 16 June 1947) was a Polish violinist. He was known for his individualistic interpretations and was praised for his tone color, expressiveness, and flexibility. The '' Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivariu ...

. In 1937 he was a member of the

Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...

under

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...

, and in 1938 joined the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...

under

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

. After the war he formed the Hurwitz string quartet, and led the small orchestra in the

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundre ...

premiere of

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera wa ...

''. He was sub-leader of the

Boyd Neel Louis Boyd Neel O.C. (19 July 190530 September 1981) was an English, and later Canadian conductor and academic. He was Dean of the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto. Neel founded and conducted chamber orchestras, and cont ...

orchestra under Maurice Clare, and during the 1950s and 1960s leader of the

Melos Ensemble The Melos Ensemble is a group of musicians who started in 1950 in London to play chamber music in mixed instrumentation of string instruments, wind instruments and others. Benjamin Britten composed the chamber music for his ''War Requiem'' for the ...

and of the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra spe ...

, which he led to international recognition. In 1965 he won the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

' Gold Medal for services to chamber music. He was guest leader for two seasons of the New Philharmonia Orchestra working with

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserv ...

and

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (; 14 May 18856 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later bet ...

. He became leader of the Aeolian Quartet in 1970. Raymond Keenlyside (the father of the baritone

Simon Keenlyside Sir Simon Keenlyside (born 3 August 1959) is a British baritone who has performed in operas and concerts since the mid-1980s. Biography Early life and education Keenlyside was born in London, the son of Raymond and Ann Keenlyside. Raymond play ...

) was also a leader of the Boyd Neel and English Chamber Orchestras. He studied at the

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music, dance, and musical theatre conservatoire based in South East London. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. Trini ...

, London, and later taught and became a professor there. He was professionally associated with string quartet playing from his college days. Margaret Major studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

and won the Lionel Tertis Viola Competition there.See Editorial, ''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'' magazine 1973, monthly issue coinciding with 75th anniversary of the

Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited was a British phonograph manufacturer and record label, founded in April 1898 by Emil Berliner. It was one of the earliest record labels. The company purchased the His Master's Voice painting and trademark righ ...

, announcing commencement of Aeolian Haydn Decca issue: "Margaret Major, after winning the Lionel Tertis Competition at the RCM, was principal violin of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra..." She then won the IMA concert award, leading to concerts in London, Paris and Geneva. From 1956 until 1960 she was principal viola for the

Netherlands Chamber Orchestra The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (NKO; Dutch, ''Nederlands Kamerorkest'') is a Dutch chamber orchestra based in Amsterdam. The NKO is part of the ''Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest'' (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation), al ...

, and then returned as principal viola of the Philomusica of London. She was a noted soloist, and became the third wife of the cellist Derek Simpson. She became professor at the Royal College of Music. Derek Simpson was first holder of the Suggia Scholarship at the

, and continued his studies in Paris. Returning to England he won the Queen's Prize and the Moulton-Meyer Award and soon afterwards made his debut in London recital. He was professor at the

.Argo HDNV 82-84 insert 1977.

Activities

Between 1966 and 1973 the Quartet toured Canada, the United States, Mexico and Australia. By 1973 they had completed 33 concerts in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including a performance of Haydn quartets at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

in Buenos Aires. Their schedule also included Amsterdam and Brussels, and the Far East. In 1973–74 they were making tours of Spain, the Middle East and Belgium, with other recitals in Italy and Portugal. There were important appearances at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

in 1970 and 1972.Argo HDNL 49-51 Album insert, 1973. In 1977 they planned to tour Australia and New Zealand with Kenneth Essex (viola), with whom they recorded Mozart's viola quintets. They held an international summer school in northern Italy, and established a similar course for chamber music players at the 1976

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Festival. During the early 1970s they maintained a busy schedule in the UK, including appearances at universities for concerts or

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

es. They were awarded honorary degrees at the

University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a memb ...

in 1970, and were also connected with the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. They gave regular broadcasts on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. From 1973 to 1976 they were engaged on a recording project for

Argo Records (UK) Argo Records is a record label founded by Harley Usill and Cyril Clarke in 1951 with the intention of recording "British music played by British artists", but the company's releases expanded to include spoken word recordings and other projec ...

(a limb of

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

), to record the complete Haydn quartets using a new edition by

H. C. Robbins Landon Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (March 6, 1926 – November 20, 2009) was an American musicologist, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by Haydn and in correcting misunde ...

. This was the first fully complete recording. The Quartet broke new ground with a televised performance of all Beethoven's late quartets for the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

television channel, broadcast on five consecutive nights in March 1975, and afterwards repeated in other countries. They also recorded the theme-tune for the well-known BBC comedy ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, originally broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a dysfunctional fictional ...

'', first broadcast in 1975.

Recordings

The Quartet in its earlier manifestation, with Humphreys, Keenlyside, Forbes and Simpson, sometimes appears on vinyl under a 'Revolution Records' label (a form of the Delta Records label, made and distributed by RCA, not to be confused with the 1996 label of that name), as for instance in a recording of the Elgar piano quintet with Leonard Cassini, Revolution LP RCB.8. Since the Aeolian Quartet's predecessor, the Stratton Quartet, had made the 1933 recording of the Elgar quintet, this Aeolian version (through the continuity in the group of Watson Forbes) has the authority of a tradition going back to the composer. A pre-1953 recording of Mozart's String Quartet No. 21, K. 575, and No. 23, K. 590, has been released on Allegro ALG 3036 and Allegro/Royale 1516, naming Alfred Cave, Leonard Dight, Watson Forbes and John Moore. The Quartet made many recordings, but is especially noted for the complete Haydn cycle. This included the dubious Op. 3 series, and an account of '' The Seven Last Words of Christ'' with poetic readings by

Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career started ...

(the Hurwitz–Keenlyside–Major–Simpson version, replacing a well-known Humphreys–Keenlyside–Forbes–Simpson version of the same work). In the Schubert C major quintet, D. 956 (c.1966), their collaborator is cellist Bruno Schrecker. In recordings of the quartet (composed 1951–52) and clarinet quintet (1968) by Robert Simpson, the clarinettist is

Bernard Walton Bernard Walton (24 March 1917 – 3 June 1972) was a British classical clarinettist. Biography Walton was born into a musical family. His grandfather was a cellist with the Hallé Orchestra under the eponymous founder Charles Hallé, and ...

. In 1949, the quartet (with Cave as leader) recorded

Nikolai Medtner Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (; – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian com ...

's piano quintet, with the composer at the piano. This was the first recording of the work, made as part of a projected cycle of Medtner performing his own works, funded by his friend and admirer, the

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. The maharaja's consort was called the maharani of Mysore. In ...

References

Sources

* "The Aeolian String Quartet", in ''Haydn String Quartets'',

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...