Word: barbirolli
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...widely praised-and least frequently heard -monuments of English music. Last week Manhattan concertgoers had a chance to hear the full Gerontius score for the first time in a quarter-century. The occasion: a performance by the New York Philharmonic and the Westminster Choir under Guest Conductor Sir John Barbirolli...
...beginning of the performance, Conductor Barbirolli turned to the audience and remarked that it was about to hear a "sublime masterpiece." Gerontius, as Barbirolli's sympathetic performance demonstrated, is considerably less than a masterpiece. But it is considerably more than the musical antique a generation of concertgoers has taken...
Since then, Barbirolli's steady success has become uncomfortable history to his old critics. In darkest wartime he took over Manchester's draft-shattered Halle Orchestra, built it from 23 demoralized players into one of the smoothest groups in the world. The Halle played close to the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge, has toured incessantly since, giving a staggering 250 concerts a year...
Though in bad health in recent years, Barbirolli has kept up the pace, today has more guest-conducting invitations than he can handle, is currently on a three-month tour of Canada and the U.S. Perhaps Britain's most popular conductor (he was knighted in 1949), Barbirolli recalled last week that he had started his career as a cellist at the age of eleven: "If I can live for the next two years, I will have been before the public as a musician for 50 years. Every man in the public eye must have his ups and downs. They...
After last week's Carnegie Hall concert (also on the program: Pianist Gina Bachauer), weary Conductor Barbirolli faced the audience. Said he: "My dear friends, you can imagine that it is not without great emotion that I return . . . You have made me a very happy man. God bless you." Whereupon Sir John stepped down and threw his arms around the concertmaster...