Listen to a 67 minute concert of historic recordings with Sir John Barbirolli conducting.

You can also read his biography and view his photo (below) while you listen.

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The CD label which offer an extensive selection of recordings by Sir John Barbirolli in conjunction with the The Barbirolli Society is Dutton:

Dutton Laboratories

PO Box 576

Harrow,Middlesex HA3 6YW

England

 

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SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI 1899 - 1970

"I MUST GO ON UNTIL I DROP. There is no other way for me!' This very English, typically Barbirolli statement was made by this genial maestro while he was rehearsing the New Philharmmonia Orchestra the day before he died, July 29, 1970. For more than 40 years "glorious John": as he was affectionately called by Ralph Vaughan Williams in the dedication of his Eighth Symphony to Barbirolli, warmed the world of music with his relaxed, full­blooded, deeply personal interpretations. Yet he was not a self­indulgent romantic. He was:"an inspirational type of conductor who never lost his emotional discipline, who regarded the members of his orchestra as colleagues, to him no concert or performance was routine", so wrote Neville Cardus in the London Guardian weekly in August 197O: "Barbirolli, for sure, was endowedwith one very rare craft from the Muse ­ the gift of the magical touch. He was happy, too, to have at his service an orchestra ready to fall under his spell' And indeed orchestras did fall under the urbane charm of John Barbirolli.The first British conductor ever to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic, he came in for generous praise from the Viennese: "Sir John Barbirolli is one of the rarest of beingrs: an esthete who is also a musicianl' And: "He insists on firm contours and lets every strand be heardl' As leader of the great orchestras of the world, especially those of his native England with which he was particularly identified (the London Symphony, the Halle Orchestra and the New Philharmonia), Sir John has a unique art of conducting was succinctly and beautifully articulated by Derrick Cooke writing in The Gramophone: "He is one of the very few remaining conductors who puts not only his head and technique into his performances, but his whole heart and soul' A frequent guest conductcr of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (of which he was principal conductor from 1936­43), Barbirolli conducted a concert in April, 1968, that elicited the following commendation from Harriet Johnson of the New York Post: "Sir John is a seasoned, joyous man, and it was significant that he insplred the orchestra to an enthusiasm in playing that far exceeded the line of duty. The musicians obviously relished the concert tour. On that occasion the program had included Vaughan Williams' "London" Symphony, Rawsthorne's "Street Corner" Overture and the Dvorak Seventh Symphony.
During the 1969-70 concert season of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra,Sir John led the orchestra in a performance of Mahler Ninth Symphony, which was headlined "perfect' by critic Karen Monsen in her column in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Continued Miss Monsen: "Sir John Barbirolli has been honored by the Mahler-Bruckner Society of America, and justiably so, he found the logic in the Symphony, and never let it go. He let the long lines of the music take their own good time in reaching their climaxes, but when they reached the peak they were firmly there. . . The Philharmonic responded with spirit accuracy and style.The universality of Barbirolli's musical affinities were clearly evidenced in his repertory - he programmed everything. The critic of the New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg, opined that few conductors were so successful with the nineteenth-century masterpieces". Donald Brook in the International Gallery of Conductors wrote: "His Brahms is warm, exquisitely lyrical and very satisfying . . . his Tchaikovsky is dramatic, forceful . . . he seems to have considerable feeling for Dvorak, Berlioz and Sibelus, and he can be relied upon to give impressive performances of Elgar . . . his reading of Verdi and Puccini is rich and colorful' Said Time magazine in 1963, quoting an English critic: "Barbirolli belongs to a world of music which knows no barrier of language, color or creed. He is destined to wander it till the end of time'

John Barbirolli was born in Southhampton Row, London, on December 2, 1899, the son and grandson of Italian musicians. His father was the conductor of the Empire Theatre Orchestra his grandfather was an orchestral violinist Both had played in opera orchestras before migrating to England, and had taken part in the world premiere of Verdi Othello at La Scala, in 1887. As a boy, Barbirolh first played the violin, and later swiched to the cello, which he quickly mastered, making his solo debut at a Queen's Hall recital at the age of eleven.Following cello and piano studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he became at 16, the youngest member of the Queen's Hall Orchestra, under famed conductor Sir Henry Wood World War I intervened, and in the immediate postwar period it was often difficult for young Barbirolli to find work in the musical world. For a time, and with a Churchillian tenacity, he played "conversational" music on the piano in a neighborhood cafes and provided the background music in a silent-movie theatre; He pursued these temporary jobs with the same uncomplicated nature and boundless energy which became hallmarks of his personality. Indeed these qualities were part of Barbirolli's indestructible joie de vivre. During the recent recording of the Verdi Requiem with the New Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, one observer noted that although Barbirolli and chorus master Wilhelm Pitz were septuagenarians, there was no twilight aura about the occasion. Sir John guided it all with a sure, practiced hand beaming both quiet satisfaction when the "good sound" had been achieved.He joined the Beecham Orchestra at Covent Garden in 1920 and then toured as cellist with the International String Quartet In l926 he gathered together a group of twelve players to form fhe Barbriolli String Orchestra. Thus, in a modest fashion, Barbirolli launched his career as conductor. However, in l926, it appeared that he might find a career in opera as his father and grandfather had before him. He was engaged, at 27, to conduct the British National Opera Company and subsequently becane musical director of the Covent Garden Company which toured England. From 1928-36 he conducted frequently in the International Season; at Covent Garden, concentrating on French,German and Italian repertoires. Observed Neville Cardus: "if he had been nurtured in a country mainly operatic, Barbirolli could well have become renowned everywhere as an opera conductor: But the concert had claimed him.Asked to substitute for Sir Thomas Beecham, who had fallen ill a few days before he was to have conducted a concert with the London Svmphony, Barbirolli learned within 48 hours Elgar's Second Symphony. He went on to give such a stunning performance that Elgar sent him a personal letter of congratulations. With this important accomphshment behind him, Barbirolli found that he was a sought-after guest conductor and in 1933 he assumed the leadership of the Scottish National Orchestra and Northern Philharmonic of Leeds.An invitation to succeed Toscanini as conductor of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra for a trial period of ten weeks brought Barbirolli to America in 1936. The successful ten weeks led to a contract for seven years. During this time (1939) he married oboist Evelyn Rothwell, with whom he occasionally appeared in concert most recently in 1969, with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
While in America, he also conducted the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Seattle andVancouver, as well as the New York Philharmonic. But with the advent of World Wr II he became overwhelmingly concerned and homesick for Britain, and made several hazardous Atlantic crossings in order to conduct in bomb-stricken England. During one short ten weeks' season, he conducted 34 concerts most of them with the London Philharmonic, the BBC and the London Symphony Orchestras. He was convinced that British music needed him; however, his Stateside obligations necessitated his return to NewYork. Happily, in 1943 Philip Godlee's telegram to Barbirolli, which read: "Would you be interested permanent conductorship Halle important development impending;' provided the impetus that brought Barbirolli to a post that involved him more deeply than any other in his life. He accepted the position and returned to Manchester to find a skeleton of an orchestra, depleted to 23 musicians by war. In one month he recruited orchestral players from diversified musical backgrounds, enen wooing a lady trombonist away from the Salvation Army, and virtually single-handed pieced together the Halle Orchestra. Endowing his hand-picked ensemble with his own pervasive spirit Barbirolli and the 70 members of the Halle triumphantly toured the world's great cities as one of Europe's finest orchestras.
In recognition of his devoted work on behalf of British music and musicians, H.M. George VI conferred upon Barbirolli the honor of Knighthood in 1949 and in 1958 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Manchester. He has received honorary degrees fom many universities and was elected an Honorary Academician of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome in 1960.Americans will remember with parficular fondness the years from 1960-67, when Barbirolli returned to America to serve as conductor of the Houston Symphony succeeding Leopold Stokowski he built the symphony to 90 by adding six string players, and when the cellists faltered, he reportedly would take the instrument to demonstrate, saying: "If you don't mind an old fellow's advice, sweetheart, don't you think that was better?" Wrote Roger Dettmer in the Chicago American in 1965: "Barbirolli's effect upon the Houston Symphony Orchestra has been singularly salutary And of the "Grand Alliance" Time magazine noted: "Sir John's touch has made Houston the finest orchestra in the Southwest...."But Barbiroll's association with the Houston Symphony did not diminish his other activities. He continued as guest conductor of the world's leading ensembles and as permanent conductor of the Halle Orchestra, becoming in 1968 laureate conductor for life.


During the summner of 1966, Sir John, in Rome for a series of concerts with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra, recorded Puccini's "Madama Butterflv" with a distinguished assembly of international stars and the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus. It was the first thne Barbirolli had appeared in an opera house for 13 years. It was a grueling schedule with orchestra, rehearsals in the morning, recording sessions in the late afternoon and early evening followed by a concert later the evening. Remarked EMI producer Ronald Kinloch Anderson of Barbirolli: "It is no secret that he thrives on an almost superhuman amount of work. The ever-ebullient conductor who though small in stature and slightly frail in appearance, displated no frailty whatsoever once he mounted the podium. Always he brought with him a sense of quiet authority, old world refinement and a big vital drive which was instantly communicated to every orchestra member, Every chorus member, every soloist Then the Italian Record Critics Society awarded Barbirollis "Butterfly" the prize for the best opera recording, the citation read in part: for.. . for the impressive performance by the principals, for the high standard of the vocal cast, and for the extraordinary care with which a foreign conductor of distinguished reputation has performed one of the best loved operas in the repertoire"In 1969 Sir John made lf his debut at at the Rome Opera House on the evening of April 14, when he conducted a performance of a Aida!' Of that historic event Italian critics were ecstatic and the reviews read (i.e.): "Sir John displayed the precision and flexibility of a great conductor, inspiring us with his superbly musical enthusiasm in a splendidly successful performance: In the same year Sir John recorded "Otello" and made even more conclusive The Gramophone's conviction that "he was without a doubt one of the few English conductors who has true operatic blood in his veins". Sir John was once described as a conductor who possessed some of Toscanini's genius, much of Beechan's fire, some of Boult's spirituality and a great deal of Sargent's intensity. Yet Barbirolli himself placed the crown on his art. He gave his conducting an open-hearted humanity. And this was the manner in which he responded to music - to all the music he knew with humanity and discipline. A thorough and impeccable musician he knew his orchestra and music from the inside out. Yet he invariably conducted with the score in front of him on the desk, and was highly appreciative If the story of Munich conductor Knaappertsbusch who in his old age was asked: "Why do you always have a score when you are conducting?" And Knappertsbusch would reply: Why should I not use a score? I can read one. So indeed could Barbirolli read a score, and his interpretations were based on authorative readings. Said Harold C. Schonberg: "Barbirolli . . illuminated for us, incandescently the meaning of the notes that great men put on paper:' He did: with humanity, with emotion and with logic.

- KAROLYNNE GEE

 

Click here To View Classic Record Cover Art Featuring Sir John

Among the many CD labels that have released recorded performances by Sir John Barbirolli are: Dutton As Disc Music and Arts EMI

http://www.classicalrecordings.org