Mark Hugh Lubbock (17 November 1898 – 10 November 1986) was a British conductor and composer, especially of operetta and

light music Light music is a less-serious form of Western classical music, which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues today. Its heyday was in the mid‑20th century. The style is through-composed, usually shorter orchestral pieces and ...

Life

Lubbock was born in

Downe Downe, formerly Down (), is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, which formed part of the historical county of Kent until 1965, and is beyond London's contiguous urban area. Charles Darwin lived ...

, Kent, the son of Hugh Nevile Lubbock and Margaret Tiarks. His grandfather was the Kent county cricketer Sir Nevile Lubbock, and his cousin was the politician

Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury Eric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury (29 September 1928 – 14 February 2016), was an English politician and human rights campaigner. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Orpington from 1962 to 1970. He then served in the House ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and later in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

.''Who's Who in Music'', 1st edition (1935) He also served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and the Labour Corps. He began his career as a singer in the choruses of several musical comedies, making his conducting debut with theatrical touring companies in 1920,Obituary, ''The Times'', 18 November, 1986, p.22 initially with the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theat ...

. The earnings from this funded his study period in Dresden, where he also became a

répétiteur A (; from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. The feminine form is . Opera In opera, a is the person responsible for coaching singers ...

and assistant conductor to

Kurt Striegler Kurt Emil Striegler (7 January 1886 – 4 August 1958) was a German composer and director. Life and career Born in Dresden, the son of a chamber musician at the Saxon State Theatre, he attended the Royal Saxon Kapellknaben Institute in Dres ...

. In 1933, he and Harry S. Pepper were recruited by 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 ...

, both being noted as "established composers of light music". Lubbock was the BBC's Light Music Conductor from 1933 to 1944, replacing Stanford Robinson. On 15 January 1930 he married the writer Bea Howe, author of the group biography ''A Galaxy of Governesses'' (1954), regular contributor to '' Country Life'' and a close friend of

Sylvia Townsend Warner Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner (6 December 1893 – 1 May 1978) was an English novelist, poet and musicologist, known for works such as '' Lolly Willowes'', '' The Corner That Held Them'', and '' Kingdoms of Elfin''. Her paternal grandfather, The ...

. They lived in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London and at The Old Forge,

Althorne Althorne is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located east-southeast from the county town and city of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Maldon district and in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & East Chelm ...

in Essex.''Who's Who in Music'', 5th edition (1969) Lubbock also had a relationship with the actress Barbara Shotter (sister of

Winifred Shotter Winifred Florence Shotter (5 November 1904 – 4 April 1996) was an English actress best known for her appearances in the Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s. Initially a singer and dancer in the ensembles of musical comedies, Shotte ...

), with whom he had a daughter. Lubbock appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 15 June 1974.

Works

His 1931 operetta ''The King Can Do No Wrong'' was one of the first to be commissioned and broadcast by the BBC specifically for radio broadcast. It was one of at least 12 musical comedies he wrote in collaboration with the playwright and BBC producer C. Denis Freeman, including ''Seat in Hyde Park'' (1931), ''His Majesty Proclaims'', ''Fame in a Night'', ''Uplift'', ''Wonderful Weekend'' (1932) and ''The Castle on the Hill'' (1933). A later radio operetta was ''The Rose and the Violet'' (1942), with book and lyrics by

Barbara Cartland Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) was an English writer who published both contemporary and historical romance novels, the latter set primarily during the Victorian or Edwardian period. Cartland is one of the ...

, set against the Edwardian background of

Rotten Row Rotten Row is a broad track running along the south side of Hyde Park in London. It leads from Hyde Park Corner to Serpentine Road. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Rotten Row was a fashionable place for upper-class Londoners to be seen ho ...

. His other compositions include light orchestral pieces such as ''Fiesta'', ''Polka Dots,'' ''and Saltarello.'' One such piece, ''Moon Lullaby,'' was featured in "

Arrival Arrival(s) or The Arrival(s) may refer to: Film * ''The Arrival'' (1991 film), an American science fiction horror film * ''The Arrival'' (1996 film), an American-Mexican science fiction horror film * ''Arrival'' (film), a 2016 American science ...

"'','' the first episode of cult classic television series ''The Prisoner''''.'' In addition, Lubbock wrote songs such as ''A Smuggler's Song'', ''Blackbird in the Apple Tree'', ''Dance Again'', ''Lullaby River'', ''The Whispering Poplar'', and ''Winter Rose''. He also wrote the incidental music for the 1952 London production of '' An Italian Straw Hat'' at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

. In 1962 Lubbock published a reference work, ''The Complete Book of Light Opera'', a book of synopses conceived as a companion to Kobbé with an American section by David Ewen.''The Musical Times'', Vol. 103, No. 1438 (December 1962), p. 848

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubbock, Mark 1898 births Place of birth missing 1986 deaths Place of death missing People educated at Eton College British expatriates in Austria BBC people British military personnel of World War I British male conductors (music) 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male composers