Richard Dennis Oliver Austin FRCM (26 December 1903, in Birkenhead – 1 April 1989, in Reading) was the chief

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

of the

Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

from 1934 until 1940 and later a professor of 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 ...

Early life

The son of composer

Frederic Austin Frederic William Austin (30 March 187210 April 1952) was an English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905–30. He is perhaps best remembered for his arrangement of Johann Pepusch's music for a 1920 production of ' ...

and his wife Amy, Austin was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt, the

, and in Munich.'AUSTIN, Richard', in ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edition by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(subscription required) December 2007:
AUSTIN, Richard
', accessed 23 August 2008 At Gresham's, he acted in school plays, in 1921 playing Benedick in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' and in 1922 Hortensio in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', opposite

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

as Katherina.''The Times'', 5 July 1922 (Issue 43075), p. 12, col. D

Career

After his second half-year of training in Munich, Austin became an assistant conductor for the Royal College's opera class.Brook, Donald. "Richard Austin". In: ''International Gallery of Conductors.'' Rockliff Publishing Corporation Ltd, London, 1951, pp. 19-22. He was assistant conductor and chorus master for a production of ''Mr Pepys'' at the Everyman Theatre, Hampstead, and for other theatrical shows.

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 ...

invited him to assist with an opera season in Bristol, and when Boult was obliged to go to Egypt Austin assumed the lead. He was then asked to be conductor of the small professional Glen Pavilion orchestra in the city, and with them he made his first broadcast on the BBC. In 1929, he became Conductor for three years with the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

, touring throughout Great Britain, and then in 1933 worked briefly with the short-lived Metropolitan Opera Company. The following year, while conducting a star-studded production of ''The Golden Toy'' at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

with

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily "Peggy" Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991) was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was determined from an early age to become ...

, Wilfred Lawson,

Nellie Wallace Nellie Wallace (18 March 1870 – 24 November 1948) was a British music hall star, actress, comedienne, dancer and songwriter who became one of the most famous and best loved music hall performers. She became known as "The Essence of Eccen ...

, and

Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous theatrical Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/di ...

, Austin saw an advertisement for the post of musical director to the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra. Chosen from a large number of applicants to succeed Sir Dan Godfrey, from 1934 to 1940 Austin was musical director of the Bournemouth Corporation, that is, he was the chief conductor of the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, which is now the

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

. In 1935 he married the 'cellist Leily Howell, whom he had met when she played a concerto with the Bournemouth orchestra. During his years on the south coast, Austin was expected to conduct three concerts a week in the winter and more in summer; requiring him to greatly expand his repertoire. For the annual festival, Austin continued the tradition of Godfrey in inviting eminent musicians to take part. These included

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 ...

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundr ...

Hamilton Harty Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist. After an early career as a church organist in his native Ireland, Harty moved to London at about age 20, soon becoming a ...

, and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

. Austin resigned from the Municipal Orchestra in 1940, when the Bournemouth Corporation cut the complement to only 24 players. From 1941, for the rest of the

Second World War 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 ...

he served as Music Advisor, Northern Command,

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

. Following the war, he became a professor at the

, serving there from 1946 to 1976, when he retired, and was also the college's Director of Opera from 1955 to 1976. Concurrently, Austin served as music director to the New Era Concert Society (1947–1957) and was a guest conductor at

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a London performing arts venue, located in Rosebery Avenue, Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site. Sadler's Wells grew out of a late 17th-century pleasure garden and was opened as a theatre buil ...

, with other London and provincial orchestras in the United Kingdom, and overseas in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, and also in South America.

Recording

Austin recorded a selection of works by

Balfour Gardiner Henry Balfour Gardiner (7 November 1877 – 28 June 1950) was a British musician, composer, and teacher. He was the son of Henry John Gardiner, a successful entrepreneur who made a considerable fortune in the drapery wholesale business in Brist ...

in May 1955 for Argo, with

Alexander Young Alexander Young may refer to: *Alexander Young (bishop) (died 1684), 17th century Scottish prelate *Alexander Young (engineer) (1833–1910), Scottish engineer and businessman who became a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii *Alexander Young (musician ...

, the Goldsmiths' Choral Union and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(Overture to a Comedy, Shepherd Fennel's Dance, April, Philomela). Later that year with cellist

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (13 October 1911 – 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher who was born in Biarritz and died in Siena. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian desce ...

he set down recordings of Bloch's

Schelomo ''Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra'' was the final work of composer Ernest Bloch's ''Jewish Cycle''. ''Schelomo'' (the Hebrew form of "Solomon"), which was written in 1915 to 1916, premiered on May 3, 1917, played by ce ...

and Tchaikovsky's

Variations on a Rococo Theme The ''Variations on a Rococo Theme'', Op. 33, for cello and orchestra was the closest Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ever came to writing a full concerto for cello and orchestra. The style was inspired by Mozart, Tchaikovsky's role model, and makes it c ...

Op.30 for Parlophone. A recording of ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'' featured

Dennis Noble Dennis Noble (25 September 189814 March 1966) was a noted British baritone and teacher. He appeared in opera, oratorio, musical comedy and song, from the First World War through to the late 1950s. He was renowned for his enunciation and dicti ...

, Carmen Prietto, Martha Lipton, Roderick Jones,

Marjorie Westbury Marjorie Westbury (18 June 1905 – 16 December 1989) was an English radio actress and singer. Her career lasted for more than fifty years. Born in Oldbury, Worcestershire, she studied Voice at the Royal College of Music in London between 1927 ...

, John Cameron and William McAlpine.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Richard 1903 births 1989 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Music 20th-century English conductors (music) Fellows of the Royal College of Music People educated at Gresham's School English male conductors (music) 20th-century English male musicians Chief conductors of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra