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George Walter Selwyn Lloyd (28 June 1913 – 3 July 1998) was a British composer.


Biography


Early life

Born in
St Ives, Cornwall St Ives (, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times, it was comm ...
, of part Welsh, part American ancestry, Lloyd grew up in a very musical family. George's father, William A. C. Lloyd, was an accomplished amateur flautist and an Italian opera ''aficionado'', writing a biography of Bellini. George Lloyd's mother played the violin, viola and piano. Both parents were leading members of the St Ives Arts Club and their house was a regular weekly venue for chamber music, so the young composer grew up with music all around him. His maternal grandmother was the American painter Frances (Fanny) Powell who had been an opera singer, and was an early pioneer of the St Ives artists' colony. As a child George Lloyd suffered
rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...
and received most of his education at home. He showed an early attraction to music and began composing at the age of 9. He was trained in the dramatic aspects of opera by his father, who would regularly give him scenes from English plays to set to music. From the age of 14 George studied
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
with Albert Sammons and
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
with Frank Kitson and Harry Farjeon. He was a student at
Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom which offers graded and diploma qualifications across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and teaching. Trinity Colleg ...
. His first symphony, written at the age of 19, was premiered in 1932 by the Penzance Orchestral SocietyReport and review in ''The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph'', Thursday 1 December 1932Grove Music Online (subscription required) and was performed again in 1933 by the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, with the composer conducting on both occasions.Lloyd's obituary in ''The Times'' mistakenly gave the Bournemouth performance as the premier of the first symphony. The obituary is reproduced (uncorrected) on www.georgelloyd.com, and the error has been much copied around the web. A second symphony had its premiere in 1935 and was soon followed by a third. George Lloyd and his father William, formed The New English Opera Company in 1935, with the intention of establishing a school of English opera. George Lloyd's first opera, ''Iernin'', with a libretto by his father, was performed in 1934 in Penzance, before being transferred to the Lyceum Theatre, London, where it had an unusually long run. His second opera, ''The Serf'', was staged by Vladimir Rosing at
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
in 1938.


Royal Marines

Lloyd served in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
with the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
as a Bandsman. On board the
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
on Arctic convoys he was one of the Bandsmen manning the Transmitting Station, which was situated deep in the hull of the ship. In 1942, during an engagement, the ship fired a faulty
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
which travelled in a circular track and hit the ship, fracturing a large fuel oil tank. Many of Lloyd's shipmates were drowned in the fuel oil, and he was the last man to escape from the compartment. He suffered severe mental and physical trauma from the
shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...
, and was hospitalised before being discharged from the Royal Marines. After 4 years he was well enough to start composing again, through the devotion and love of his Swiss wife, Nancy.


Later life

When the war ended, his wife took him to Switzerland. In 1946 Lloyd resumed composition and wrote two symphonies and the opera '' John Socman'', the last commissioned for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Lloyd's health deteriorated further, and in 1952, he took up full-time residence in
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. For 20 years, in addition to intermittent composition, he was a market gardener and grew
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...
s and
carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...
s. He composed regularly from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., before the start of the rest of his working day. During this period he continued to write in a tonal, melodic style, contrary to the prevailing climate of modernist and ''avant garde'' styles, so he met with difficulties in obtaining performances of his music. He recalled: ''"I sent scores off to 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 ...
. They came back, usually without comment. I never wrote 12-tone music because I didn't like the theory. I studied the blessed thing in the early 1930s and thought it was a cock-eyed idea that produced horrible sounds. It made composers forget how to sing."'' In 1972 he sold his market garden business and moved to London to "pick up the pieces of my musical life" as he put it, and began an extraordinary and productive Indian summer. A number of his scores were accepted for broadcast by the BBC, and he went on to collaborate with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and to record 7 of his 12 symphonies and 3 of his piano concertos with that orchestra. He was a very early adopter of digital technology, and established his own recording, production, publishing and distribution company, making 22 CD recordings in all. After his death he was Composer of the Week on Radio 3, and the 2013 BBC Proms programme included performances of his ''Requiem'' and his ''H.M.S. Trinidad March for Orchestra'' on the Last Night of The Proms. The George Lloyd Society and the musical estate is administered by his nephew William Lloyd, who worked with the composer as business manager, executive producer and record distributor for the last 10 years of his life.


Reception

Lloyd's first opera ''Iernin'' made his reputation in 1935, and he attracted the attention and approval of Rutland Boughton,
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 ...
, John Ireland,
Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
, and John Christie at Glyndebourne. He consolidated his reputation with ''The Serf'' at Covent Garden in 1938, which led to his operatic commission (''John Socman'') for the Festival of Britain after the war. Thereafter his reputation suffered because he was unwilling to change his style to accord with changes in the musical and critical environment. Nevertheless, Lloyd's champions included conductors Charles Groves and Edward Downes, and the virtuoso pianist
John Ogdon John Andrew Howard Ogdon (27 January 1937 – 1 August 1989) was an English pianist and composer. Biography Career Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire; his family moved to Manchester when he was eight. He attended the M ...
who studied composition with Lloyd and for whom Lloyd wrote his first piano concerto (''Scapegoat'') and other works for solo piano. Lloyd devoted more time to composition from 1973 onwards, and began to receive greater attention in subsequent years. The BBC broadcast his Symphony No. 8 in 1977, 8 years after its acceptance for broadcast in 1969. His Symphony No. 6 received a performance at
The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
in 1981. Lyrita Records Conifer Records and the American label Albany Records championed Lloyd's music through recordings. He developed a strong relationship with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which recorded and broadcast seven of his symphonies. For Albany Records, Lloyd conducted his own music, with orchestras including the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the
BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...
. He was for two seasons Principal Conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra (New York State), where he conducted his own symphonies and works by 20th century American composers. He was guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, which premiered a number of his works. The US premiere of his Seventh Symphony was given by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He conducted 25 CD recordings in all, including two operas, in addition to those recorded by Sir Edward Downes and others. Only two orchestral works and his opera ''The Serf'' remained unrecorded at the time of his death. Critical opinion of his work tended to polarise around those who appreciated his melodic and tonal, late romantic style, and those who found his work regressive. Many critics from both factions agreed on his mastery of orchestration and orchestral colour. His works for brass band found favour, being regularly adopted as test pieces in brass band contests throughout the UK and Europe. In 2024 Lyrita agreed with the George Lloyd Society to take over the sale and hire of all the Society's scores and recordings. It released a box set of the first six symphonies as conducted by the composer in early 2024 both physically and digitally. With the second six released in April 2024.


Personal life

George Lloyd's traumatic experience of the torpedo strike on HMS ''Trinidad'' had a profound effect on his mental, physical and emotional health. He spent several months in the Naval Hospital at
Newmachar Newmachar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, about 10 miles (16 km) to the north-west of Aberdeen. The settlement has a long history previously being known as Summerhill within the parish of New Machar, later being renamed Newmachar. ...
, near
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
, suffering from shellshock (PTSD) which caused an uncontrollable shaking of the limbs, and which recurred for over 20 years. He acknowledged that he could not have recovered without the care and attention of his Swiss wife Nancy (née Juvet). His fragile health was the primary cause of his abandoning his full-time musical career in 1951. Lloyd had heart trouble toward the end of his life, but recovered sufficiently to complete his
Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...
in January 1998, and completed the proofreading in early June, only three weeks before he died in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
at the age of 85. Lloyd inscribed the score, his last composition, "Written in memory of
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
". Lloyd and Nancy married in 1937. The marriage lasted until Lloyd's death. She survived him by 18 months, and the couple had no children.


Music

Lloyd's works include 12 symphonies and four
piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...
s, two
violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
s and a
cello concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...
. For his three
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
s, Lloyd's father wrote the libretti. Lloyd also wrote five works for brass band: ''Royal Parks'', ''Diversions on a Bass Theme'', ''English Heritage'', ''Evening Song'' and ''Kings Messenger''. He wrote the official ship's march for the Royal Marine Band on , and later arranged the work for orchestra and for brass band. He also wrote a work for wind band: ''Forest of Arden''. His choral-orchestral works include ''Pervigilium Veneris'' (''The Vigil of Venus''), ''A Litany'' and ''A Symphonic Mass''. His chamber-works include music for solo and duet piano, brass quintet, and works for violin and piano. Lloyd's first opera, ''Iernin'', was inspired by the Nine Maidens standing stones in the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
St Columb Major St Columb Major is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landran ...
, and tells the story of one of the Maidens who comes back to life as a fairy. The opera was first performed in 1934 at the Pavilion in
Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
. It was recorded in 1985 by the
BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...
, with the composer conducting and Marilyn Hill Smith singing the title role. To mark the centenary of Lloyd's birth, the opera was staged by Surrey Opera, in a new production directed by Alexander Hargreaves and conducted by Surrey Opera's artistic director Jonathan Butcher, in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, in October 2013, and on 1 and 2 November in Penzance. In 2013, the British Library acquired all of George Lloyd's autograph music manuscripts, sketches and draft scores. In 2018, the Ealing Symphony Orchestra announced that they would perform the complete cycle of George Lloyd's 12 symphonies under conductor John Gibbons. In 2019 The George Lloyd Society published the first major survey of his work: ''The Swing of the Pendulum'' by Peter Davison.


Notes


References


External links


George Lloyd Society

George Lloyd Recordings catalogue

George Lloyd Photographs

George Lloyd Symphonies
review for the 2013 100th anniversary at '' Gramophone'' magazine
George Lloyd Symphonies
by Paul Conway

on the Famous Cornish People website

at the
Royal Marines Band Service The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five Military band, bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMNB Portsmout ...

HMS Trinidad and the Music of George Lloyd Part 2
at the
Royal Marines Band Service The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five Military band, bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMNB Portsmout ...

Review of Symphony No. 11
at classicstoday.com

8 November 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, George 1913 births 1998 deaths 20th-century British classical composers 20th-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians Brass band composers British military musicians Cornish composers English Romantic composers English classical composers English male classical composers Alumni of Trinity College of Music People from St Ives, Cornwall Royal Marines ranks Royal Marines personnel of World War II Albany Records artists Military personnel from Cornwall