Lancelot Beresford Bryan Fairfax (8 February 192511 January 2014) was an Australian conductor based in the United Kingdom, who was known for his championing of little known or neglected works.
, ''Arts Journal'', 12 January 2014. He was strongly associated with the works of

Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...

, and he conducted the world premiere of Brian's Symphony No. 1, ''Gothic'' in 1961. Brian's Symphony No. 18 was written especially for Fairfax and the semi-professional Polyphonia Orchestra he founded. His UK premieres include major works by

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

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 First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

, Franz Schmidt and

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who moved to the United States in 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long and ...

. His conducting style has been likened to that of Sir

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

and

Vernon Handley Vernon George "Tod" Handley (11 November 1930 – 10 September 2008) was a British conductor (music), conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. Early life and education He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mothe ...

Biography

Fairfax was born in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

in 1925.Garry Humphreys, "Bryan Fairfax: Pioneering conductor who gave the first English performances of works by Mahler and Bruckner", ''The Independent'', 31 March 2014
Retrieved 1 April 2014 He studied at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and later in London under

Max Rostal Max Rostal (7 July 1905 – 6 August 1991) was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship. Biography Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn to a Jewish merchant family. As a child prodigy, he started studyin ...

, and then became a violinist with the Hallé Orchestra in 1954 for two years. He continued his conducting studies in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

with

Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil ...

in 1956–57. In 1961 he founded the Polyphonia Orchestra, a semi-professional ensemble, as a vehicle for the performance of rarely heard or new music. On 28 February of that year, he directed the Polyphonia in the first live public performance in Britain of

's massive Symphony No. 3, at St Pancras Town Hall (it had earlier been heard in the UK only on BBC Radio broadcasts). The performance received highly complimentary reviews. On 24 June 1961,Classics Online
Fairfax led the Polyphonia in the premiere of

's gargantuan '' Gothic Symphony'', which had been completed 34 years earlier in 1927, but previous efforts to perform the work had stalled numerous times due to the colossal forces it requires. This premiere was held in the Central Hall, Westminster, and it was a precursor to the first fully professional performance, on 30 October 1966 at the Royal Albert Hall, under Sir

, which the composer attended. Although Havergal Brian did not attend Bryan Fairfax's earlier performance, to express his gratitude he wrote his especially for the Polyphonia Orchestra's forces and dedicated the work to Fairfax. Bryan Fairfax conducted the Polyphonia Orchestra in the world premiere of the 18th Symphony in February 1962, at St. Pancras Town Hall. In June 1975 he directed the first professional performance, a BBC studio recording broadcast. In 1962 he directed the first performances in Britain of

's Symphony No. 3, ''The First of May'' and

's ballet '' The Warriors'', and the first public performance in Britain of

's '' Sinfonia espansiva''. On 22 November 1963, the composer's 50th birthday, he conducted a concert performance of

Benjamin 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 opera ''

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Hou ...

'', which was the opera's first performance in any form since its inaugural production in 1953. On 2 January 1964, Fairfax led the Polyphonia Orchestra in the first British performance of

's Symphony No. 1 in D minor. On 24 May 1966, he led the Polyphonia and other forces in the UK premiere of the work Franz Schmidt considered his masterpiece, ''

The Book with Seven Seals ''The Book with Seven Seals'' (''Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln'') is an oratorio in German by the Austrian composer Franz Schmidt, on themes from the biblical Book of Revelation of Saint John. It was completed in 1937 and first presented in 1938 i ...

''. Fairfax was the organiser of the

Festival held in London in 1970, and along with William McKie successfully lobbied the Australian government for financial assistance. On 21 May 1971 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, he conducted the premiere performance of the ''Hourglass Suite'' by

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

. In February 1972 at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

, Fairfax conducted the only professional production of Sir

Arthur Bliss Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he qui ...

's opera '' The Olympians'' since its 1949 premiere, which is now available on CD. In 1977 he became the conductor of the Harrow Choral Society. His students include Garry Humphreys. He died on 11 January 2014, aged 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfax, Bryan 1925 births 2014 deaths Australian conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Australian male classical violinists Australian classical violists 20th-century Australian classical violinists 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century violists