Page 383 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2017. Glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti - Musical Migrations: Crossroads of European Musical Diversity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 1
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Escape from Catalonia:
The Composing Experience
of Roberto Gerhard
Niall O’Loughlin
Univerza v Loughboroughu
Loughborough University
Migration from mainland Europe to the United Kingdom in the 1930s was
quite frequent. Five composers notably did so to escape religious persecu-
tion. Two Austrians, Egon Wellesz and Hans Gál, happily worked in ac-
ademic environments and continued composing, Wellesz in Oxford1 and
Gál in Edinburgh,2 with little change in style. The Germans, Franz Reizen-
stein3 and Berthold Goldschmidt, had very differing experiences. Reizen-
stein’s already established neo-classical style, his skill as a concert pianist
and his involvement in community and film music meant that he became
successfully integrated into English musical life. Goldschmidt composed in
his modernist German style, attempting to establish himself in his adopted
country, but his music was less acceptable. In 1951 he won a national com-
petition to write an opera for the Festival of Britain with his magnificent
Beatrice Cenci, but the Royal Opera House in London which was to stage
1 Egon Wellesz (1885–1974) distinguished himself in the musicological field with
extensive studies of Byzantine chant, for example: A History of Byzantine Music and
Hymnography (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1949) and in early music, when these topi-
cs were not fashionable. As a composer he was adopted by the English publisher Al-
fred Lengnick, whose publications of Wellesz’s music were later transferred to the
Viennese publisher Doblinger.
2 Hans Gál (1890–1987) taught in the Faculty of Music of the University of Edinburgh
for many years, while at the same time continued his composing. His music has
experienced a notable revival in recent years, especially with new recordings.
3 Franz Reizenstein (1911–68) left Germany in 1934, later teaching at the Royal College
of Music in London. He composed two operas, much piano music and some music
for films. He was also a well-known concert pianist.
381
The Composing Experience
of Roberto Gerhard
Niall O’Loughlin
Univerza v Loughboroughu
Loughborough University
Migration from mainland Europe to the United Kingdom in the 1930s was
quite frequent. Five composers notably did so to escape religious persecu-
tion. Two Austrians, Egon Wellesz and Hans Gál, happily worked in ac-
ademic environments and continued composing, Wellesz in Oxford1 and
Gál in Edinburgh,2 with little change in style. The Germans, Franz Reizen-
stein3 and Berthold Goldschmidt, had very differing experiences. Reizen-
stein’s already established neo-classical style, his skill as a concert pianist
and his involvement in community and film music meant that he became
successfully integrated into English musical life. Goldschmidt composed in
his modernist German style, attempting to establish himself in his adopted
country, but his music was less acceptable. In 1951 he won a national com-
petition to write an opera for the Festival of Britain with his magnificent
Beatrice Cenci, but the Royal Opera House in London which was to stage
1 Egon Wellesz (1885–1974) distinguished himself in the musicological field with
extensive studies of Byzantine chant, for example: A History of Byzantine Music and
Hymnography (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1949) and in early music, when these topi-
cs were not fashionable. As a composer he was adopted by the English publisher Al-
fred Lengnick, whose publications of Wellesz’s music were later transferred to the
Viennese publisher Doblinger.
2 Hans Gál (1890–1987) taught in the Faculty of Music of the University of Edinburgh
for many years, while at the same time continued his composing. His music has
experienced a notable revival in recent years, especially with new recordings.
3 Franz Reizenstein (1911–68) left Germany in 1934, later teaching at the Royal College
of Music in London. He composed two operas, much piano music and some music
for films. He was also a well-known concert pianist.
381
