The Melos Ensemble is a group of musicians who started in 1950 in London to play

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

in mixed

instrumentation Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

s, wind instruments and others.

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 ...

composed the chamber music for his ''

War Requiem The ''War Requiem'', Op. 66, is a choral and orchestral composition by Benjamin Britten, composed mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The ''War Requiem'' was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, in the Englis ...

'' for the Melos Ensemble and conducted the group in the first performance in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. They should not be confused with two other chamber groups of similar name, the

Melos Quartet The Melos Quartet was a much-recorded, Stuttgart-based string quartet active from 1965 until 2005, when its first violinist died. It also went by the name Melos-Quartett-Stuttgart, partly to distinguish itself from the equally prominent chamber gr ...

or the Melos Art Ensemble (an Italian group).

Founding period, 1950

The Melos Ensemble was founded by musicians who wanted to play chamber music scored for a larger ensemble in a combination of strings, winds and other instruments with the quality of musical rapport only regular groups can achieve. The Melos Ensemble played in variable instrumentation, flexible enough to perform a wide repertory of pieces. All its members were excellent musicians who held positions in notable orchestras and appeared as soloists. The founding members, namely Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), Cecil Aronowitz (viola), Richard Adeney (flute), and Terence Weil (cello) planned a group of twelve players, a

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet ...

and a

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the i ...

with harp and piano, that might be expanded by other players, to perform the great

octets Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compos ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

, the

septet A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Ravel's '' Introduction and Allegro'' and the ''Serenade'' by

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

.Melos Ensemble
''All Music Guide'', Joseph Stevenson Neill Sanders (horn, a member for 29 years until 1979), Paul Beaumont Draper (bassoon) and Adrian Beers (double bass) were members from the beginning. All these musicians stayed with the group for decades.

Early members

Other early members included Gervase de Peyer (first clarinet) Emanuel Hurwitz (leader 1956–1972), Ivor McMahon (second violin), William Waterhouse (bassoon),

Osian Ellis Osian Gwynn Ellis (8 February 1928 – 5 January 2021) was a Welsh harpist, composer and teacher. He was principal harpist of the London Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble and a Professor of harp at the Royal Academ ...

(harp), James Blades (percussion), Lamar Crowson and Ernst Ueckermann (piano), Peter Graeme and Sarah Barrington (oboe), James Buck (horn), Edgar Williams (bassoon) and Keith Puddy (clarinet), expanded by Colin Chambers (flute and piccolo), Alan Hacker (bass clarinet), Eric Roseberry (piano), Leonard Friedman (violin), Kay Hurwitz (viola),

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as the third United States secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of d ...

(flute),

Stephen Pruslin Stephen Lawrence Pruslin (16 April 1940 – 25 September 2022) was an American pianist and librettist who relocated to London in the 1970s to work with Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle. Early life and career Born in New York, Pruslin ...

(piano), Leonard Friedman (violin), Hilary Wilson (harp)Wardour Castle Summer School
Concert programme 1965 and Timothy Brown (horn). In the opinion of William Waterhouse (writing in 1995), "it was the remarkable rapport between this pair of lower strings" (i.e. Terence Weil and Cecil Aronowitz) "which remained constant throughout a succession of distinguished leaders, that gave a special distinction to this outstanding ensemble.", Obituary Gervase de Peyer"the Guardian"

Special projects

A remarkable premiere for the group was Jacques-Louis Monod's 1962 presentation of

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish and British composer, musical scholar, and writer, generally known outside his native region of Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' ...

's ''Concerto for Eight''. This was followed by the 1962 premiere, and subsequent 1963 recording, of

's ''

'', for which the instrumental sections accompanying the English texts had been written specifically for the Melos, and were directed by the composer in the performance. The recording received a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1998. In 1964 and 1965 the Melos Ensemble played several concerts at the new ''Wardour Castle Summer School'', founded by

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

and

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; 10 August 1932 – 26 August 2024) was a German-born English composer of contemporary classical music and academic teacher. A long-time professor of music at the University of Cambridge, Goehr influenced many notable c ...

.Wardour 1964 1965
Dr. Michael Hooper, 2009 On 16 August 1964 they played among others '' Monody for Corpus Christi'' by Birtwistle, ''Five Little Pieces'' (first performance) by Davies, and ''Suite'' Op.11 by Goehr. A chamber concert on 17 August featured the

Horn Trio Horn trio can mean a work written for three horns or horns as well as one for horn and two other instruments. In the latter category, an important genre is the trio for horn, violin and piano. Although there are a few earlier examples, the traditi ...

by Brahms, on 18 August the ''

Quatuor pour la fin du temps ''Quatuor pour la fin du Temps'' (), originally ''Quatuor de la fin du Temps'' ("''Quartet of the End of Time''"), also known by its English title ''Quartet for the End of Time'', is an eight-movement piece of chamber music by the French composer ...

'' by Messiaen. In 1965, the Melos Ensemble played on 16 August '' Pierrot Lunaire'' by Schoenberg. On 18 August parts of ''In Chymick Art'', a cantata on texts by Edward Benlowes that

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

wrote for the Summer School, were performed for the first time. On 20 August they premiered two works they had commissioned, ''Tragoedia'' by Birtwistle, conducted by Lawrence Foster, and two 'In Nomine" of ''Seven in Nomine'' by Davies, conducted by the composer.

Festivals, broadcasts, tours

The Melos Ensemble performed regularly at British and International Festivals, among others Warsaw, Venice, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Bordeaux and the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

, their first US tour was in 1966. The group gave many

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 ...

broadcasts, and made over 50 recordings, first with the publisher L'Oiseau-Lyre. Gervase de Peyer directed the extensive recording programme of the Ensemble for

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

.Melos Ensemble – Music among Friends

EMI recordings 1963–1973

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

, Weber and

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...

Quintets *Mozart and

, Piano and Wind Quintets *

Octet Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compo ...

; Beethoven,

Septet A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry ...

and Octet for Winds *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, ''Fairy Tales'', ''Fantasy Pieces'' * Berwald, Septet; Nielsen,

Wind Quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the i ...

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, '' Introduction and Allegro'' for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet * Françaix, Divertissement; Poulenc, Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon * Bartók,

Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and Khatchaturian, Trios *

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

, '' Overture on Hebrew Themes'' * Janáček, ''Concertino'', ''Mládí'' * John Ireland, Sextet, Trios, Sonatas EMI reissued in 2011 a selection from historical recordings, titled "Melos Ensemble – Music among Friends". The principal players were Richard Adeney (and William Bennett, flute), Gervase de Peyer (and Keith Puddy, clarinet), Peter Graeme (and Sarah Barrington, oboe), Neil Sanders (and James Buck, horn), William Waterhouse (and Edgar Williams, bassoon), Emanuel Hurwitz (and Kenneth Sillito, first violin), Ivor McMahon (and Iona Brown, second violin), Cecil Aronowitz (and Kenneth Essex, viola), Terence Weil (and Keith Harvey, cello), Adrian Beers (double bass), Osian Ellis (harp) and Lamar Crowson (piano). The ensemble was expanded for single works by Christopher Hyde-Smith (flute), Anthony Jennings and Stephen Trier (bass clarinet),

Barry Tuckwell Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell, (5 March 1931 – 16 January 2020) was an Australian French horn player who spent most of his professional life in the UK and the United States. He is generally considered to have been one of the world's leading horn p ...

(horn), David Mason and Philip Jones (trumpet), Arthur Wilson and Alfred Flaszinski (trombone), Robert Masters (violin),

Manoug Parikian Manoug Parikian (15 September 1920 – 24 December 1987) was a British concert violinist and violin professor. Early life Parikian was born in Mersin to Armenian parents. He studied in London. Career Parikian made his solo début in 1947 and le ...

and Eli Goren (violin), Patrick Ireland (viola), Derek Simpson (cello), Hilary Wilson (harp), Marcal Gazelle (piano), James Blades, Tristan Fry, Jack Lees and Stephen Whittaker (percussion), and singers Mary Thomas (soprano) and Rosemary Phillips (contralto). The collection of 11 CDs contains the works for large ensemble – six to thirteen players – for which the Melos Ensemble was founded, some composed for the ensemble: *Beethoven: Septet, Octet *Mendelssohn:

*Schubert: Octet * Franz Berwald: Septet *

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, ...

: Double Quartet *Janáček: '' Mládí'', '' Concertino'' *Ravel: '' Introduction and Allegro'' *

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (pronunciation Fran-say or Fran-seks) was born on 23 May 1912, in Le Mans and died in 25 September 1997, in Paris). Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific outp ...

: ''Divertissement'' for Bassoon and String Quintet * Nikos Skalkottas: Octet *

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

: Overture on Hebrew Themes *Louis Spohr: Octet *

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer and pianist. He was noted for his musical versatility, drawing from such sources as jazz, romanticism, and avant-garde; and for his use of twelve-tone technique ...

: ''Calendar'' * Gordon Crosse: ''Concerto Da Camera'' *

: ''Tragoedia'' *

: ''Leopardi Fragments''

Other selected recordings

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley CBE (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James ...

: Sextet for clarinet, horn and string quartet (1954) *

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music f ...

: Guitar Concerto, with

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

(1959) *

Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (, sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, ...

: Three Fragments from ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'', a Chamber Cantata for Speaker, Chorus and Eight Instruments, with

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 ...

(Speaker) / Dorian Singers / Melos Ensemble London conducted by Matyas Seiber (1960) *

Mauro Giuliani Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani (27 July 1781 – 8 May 1829) was an Italian guitarist, cellist, singer, and composer. He was a leading guitar virtuoso of the early 19th century. Biography Although born in Bisceglie, Giuliani's cente ...

: Guitar Concerto, with Julian Bream (1961)

*Schoenberg: Serenade, John Carol Case, Bruno Maderna, L'Oiseau-Lyre (1962) *Britten: ''War Requiem'' (1963)Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) / War Requiem musicweb-international.com *Serge Prokofiev, Prokofiev: Quintet in G minor for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass, Op. 39 / Dmitri Shostakovich, Shostakovich: Piano Quintet, Op. 57 *Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Hummel: Septet / Quintet (1966) (L'oiseau-Lyre) *

and Maurice Delage: French Songs / Ernest Chausson, Chausson: Chanson Perpetuelle, with Janet Baker (1966) *Ravel: Introduction and Allegro / Poulenc: Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano / Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon / Francaix: Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon / Divertissement for Bassoon and String Quartet EMI (196
Ravel/Poulenc/Francaix : Vinyl CDs & more At Shakedown Records Shakedown Records

Melos Ensemble of London 1974

Following the death of Ivor McMahon in 1972, and the departure of three other members, the group briefly disbanded in 1973, but was reformed in 1974 with eight of the original players. In the later period the following musicians were also among those playing for the ensemble: Hugh Maguire (violinist), Hugh Maguire (violin), Thea King (clarinet, 1974–1993), Nicholas Ward (violinist), Nicholas Ward (violin, from 1977), Sylvie Gazeau (principal violin for many years), Gwenneth Pryor (piano), Iona Brown (violin), Patrick Ireland (viola) and Keith Harvey (cello). In 1975 the Melos Ensemble presented its 25th anniversary concert in London. In 1982 the Melos Ensemble appeared in Graz in a retrospective of Egon Wellesz, playing his ''Oktett für Klarinette, Fagott, Horn und Streichquintett'' Op.67.Program Archive
ORF (broadcaster), ORF (in German)

New chamber music

Composers created music for unusual groupings with the Melos Ensemble specifically in mind, leading in turn to the formation of similar chamber groups. Hans Werner Henze composed ''Kammermusik 1958'' for tenor, guitar and eight solo instruments, for example. In that way, the Melos Ensemble has directly and indirectly influenced music for new combinations of chamber musicians in Contemporary classical music, contemporary music.

Publications

*[ Entries to the Melos Ensemble in ''allmusic'']
Entries to the Melos Ensemble in WorldCatReviews in Gramophone Archive

References

External links

website, history of the Melos Ensemble {{DEFAULTSORT:Melos Ensemble Chamber music groups Musical groups established in 1950 Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients English classical music groups Musical groups from London Contemporary classical music ensembles 1950 establishments in England