Hugh Cecil Bean (22 September 1929 – 26 December 2003) was an English

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 ...

ist. He was born in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

. After lessons from his father from the age of five, he became a pupil of

Albert Sammons Albert Edward Sammons CBE (23 February 188624 August 1957) was an English violinist, composer and later violin teacher. Almost self-taught on the violin, he had a wide repertoire as both chamber musician and soloist, although his reputation re ...

(and Ken Piper) when he was nine years old. Later, he attended 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 ...

(RCM), where at age 17 he was awarded the principal prize for violin. A further year's study with

André Gertler André Gertler (26 July 1907 – 23 July 1998) was a Hungarian classical violinist and teacher. Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (1940–1977), Professor at the Cologne Academy of Music (1954–1957), Professor at the College of Mus ...

at the

Brussels Conservatory The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

on a Boise Foundation travelling award brought him a double first prize for solo and chamber music playing, and with two other prizewinners he formed the Boise Trio. In 1951, he was awarded second place in the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition. He was appointed professor of violin at the RCM at the age of 24 and became a freelance London orchestral player, until he was made sub-leader and then leader (1956–67) of the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

. He was co-leader of the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

from 1967 to 1969, when he resigned to concentrate on an independent career, but retained his membership (1966–76) of the Music Group of London. In 1989, he returned to the Philharmonia Orchestra as co-leader, and became Leader Emeritus. Hugh Bean performed concertos with many leading orchestras, both in the UK and abroad. As a soloist his playing was distinguished by lyrical feeling and warmth of expression in addition to technical command. He recorded

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

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 ...

for EMI with the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...

and Sir Charles Groves, and with the Philharmonia Orchestra he recorded

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's '' The Four Seasons'' with

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

, and

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 ...

' ''

The Lark Ascending "The Lark Ascending" is a poem of 122 lines by the English poet George Meredith about the song of the skylark. Siegfried Sassoon called it matchless of its kind, "a sustained lyric which never for a moment falls short of the effect aimed at, s ...

'' with

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 ...

. He made many recordings of chamber music with the Music Group of London, and together they toured extensively both performing and teaching in Europe, Scandinavia, The Middle and Far East (including four visits to China), Canada and North and South America. During his thirty-seven years as Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music, over fifty of his pupils found positions in London orchestras, including several as leaders. He was appointed FRCM in 1968, was awarded the Cobbett Gold Medal for chamber music in 1969 and created a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1970. Bean contributed several accounts of the nature of conducting and especially of working with

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 ...

when Bean was leader of Klemperer's Philharmonia orchestra. These accounts can be seen on the DVD programme "The Art of Conducting." Bean played a violin by

Pietro Guarneri Pietro Guarnieri (14 April 1695 – 7 April 1762) was an Italian luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for ...

(Venice 1734), on extended loan from Amy Haswell-Wilson, and owned one by Carlo Tononi dated 1716. He was survived by his wife Mary, and one daughter.Obituary for Hugh Bean, ''Telegraph'', 1 January 2004.
/ref>

References

External links

RCM London Centre for Performance History: 'Prague - Spring 1949' by Hugh Bean.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bean, Hugh English classical violinists Academics of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music People educated at Beckenham and Penge County Grammar School 1929 births 2003 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British classical violinists 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians British male classical violinists Leaders of the BBC Symphony Orchestra Leaders of the Philharmonia Orchestra

References

Further reading

External links