Sydney Baynes (2 January 1879 – 9 March 1938) was an English conductor, composer and leader of one of the United Kingdom's most popular radio bands.
[Philip L Scowcroft]
accessed 20 November 2010 Born in Sudbury, Middlesex (nr. Wembley), he was educated at Hawley Crescent Primary School and Haverstock Hill School in Camden, Middlesex. He gained his first employment as an organist in London and was later the piano accompanist for singers such as
Edward Lloyd and
Ben Davies. Through this work he became a respected conductor for London theatres including the
Adelphi and
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...
.
[ He worked for the BBC for many years and formed and conducted his own orchestra between 1928 and 1938 which broadcast and recorded regularly. He died on 9 March 1938 at Willesden General Hospital, ]Willesden
Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...
, London.[ whilst residing at 14 The Avenue, Wembley.
]
Works
His original compositions are largely in the 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 ...
genre. His most famous piece of work was the Destiny Waltz published in 1912, which sold over a million copies.Jeeves and Wooster
''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Aca ...
'' (1993), based on the stories of P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...
, it was performed at the Totleigh-in-the-Wold village concert. ''Destiny'' was one of a series of generic waltzes based on one-word abstract noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an object or subject within a phrase, clause, or sentence.Example ...
s, such as "Ecstasy", "Frivolry", "Loyalty", "Mystery", "Victory" and "Witchery".[ His march "Off We Go" was used as the Radio Variety march. Other compositions included a ''Miniature Ballet Suite'', the overture ''Endure to Conquer'', first played at an Armistice Thanksgiving in ]Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
.[
His oeuvre also included a number of parlour songs, such as "First Love" and the "Garden of My Love", numerous piano solos and some church music. However, it was as an arranger that Baynes made his mark, including ''Fifty Years of Song'', ''The Gay Nineties'', ''Tipperaryland'' and the dances from Sheridan's ''The Duenna''.][
]
References
External links
*
Internet Movie Database Naxos Composer Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baynes, Sydney
1879 births
1938 deaths
English conductors (music)
English light music composers
English male conductors (music)