Page 392 - 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
P. 392
glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti
very specific the generalised statements made by Drew and Benoliel. If this
is the case, and it is difficult to disprove, it suggests that the symphony act-
ed to purge the ill feelings that Gerhard had toward the then current régime
in Spain and set him on the final stage of his compositional quest.
In this artistic aim he was greatly helped by two people, David Drew35
and William Glock.36 Drew had studied much of Gerhard’s music and made
every effort to publicise its attraction and merits, as writer, journal editor
and publisher; Glock, as the editor of the short-lived but influential maga-
zine, The Score, had produced in 1956 an issue devoted entirely to the music
of Gerhard which helped to prepare the musical public for his music, at the
time virtually unknown.37 In 1959 Glock became the Controller of Music of
the BBC and was thus in a position to champion Gerhard’s music in a prac-
tical way with commissions and performances. Another serious problem
for Gerhard was the small number of published works.38 The other chal-
lenge was the complete absence of recordings until 1965. The British compa-
nies EMI and Decca gradually put this right with recordings of three of the
symphonies, the Concerto for orchestra, the cantata The Plague and some
of the chamber works. It was only long after Gerhard’s death that record-
ings appeared from Spain and other mainland continental countries, and
from other British recording companies.
Gerhard’s output after the First Symphony was considerable. There
were three further symphonies, with a nearly complete major revision of
the Symphony No.2 in addition, two other important orchestral works, a
large-scale cantata, The Plague, after Albert Camus, and nearly a dozen
chamber works for from two to ten players. This outpouring was proba-
bly the result of the fact that Gerhard had now refined his serial technique
to a form that took what he wanted from Schoenberg’s teachings and had
absorbed all that he was able to accept from the ideas that were being em-
braced by the Central European avant-garde, especially Boulez, Stockhaus-
en and their colleagues. We might expect that Gerhard had completely
abandoned elements of his Spanish influence, but now these have become
35 David Drew was a director of the publisher Boosey & Hawkes which acquired the
rights to Gerhard’s music originally published by Keith Prowse and Mills Music.
36 Glock was knighted in 1970 for services to music in the United Kingdom, becoming
Sir William Glock.
37 William Glock, ed., The Score, 17 (September 1956).
38 Initially a very few works were published by Mills Music and Keith Prowse (both
taken over by Boosey & Hawkes) and later more than a dozen works by Oxford
University Press.
390
very specific the generalised statements made by Drew and Benoliel. If this
is the case, and it is difficult to disprove, it suggests that the symphony act-
ed to purge the ill feelings that Gerhard had toward the then current régime
in Spain and set him on the final stage of his compositional quest.
In this artistic aim he was greatly helped by two people, David Drew35
and William Glock.36 Drew had studied much of Gerhard’s music and made
every effort to publicise its attraction and merits, as writer, journal editor
and publisher; Glock, as the editor of the short-lived but influential maga-
zine, The Score, had produced in 1956 an issue devoted entirely to the music
of Gerhard which helped to prepare the musical public for his music, at the
time virtually unknown.37 In 1959 Glock became the Controller of Music of
the BBC and was thus in a position to champion Gerhard’s music in a prac-
tical way with commissions and performances. Another serious problem
for Gerhard was the small number of published works.38 The other chal-
lenge was the complete absence of recordings until 1965. The British compa-
nies EMI and Decca gradually put this right with recordings of three of the
symphonies, the Concerto for orchestra, the cantata The Plague and some
of the chamber works. It was only long after Gerhard’s death that record-
ings appeared from Spain and other mainland continental countries, and
from other British recording companies.
Gerhard’s output after the First Symphony was considerable. There
were three further symphonies, with a nearly complete major revision of
the Symphony No.2 in addition, two other important orchestral works, a
large-scale cantata, The Plague, after Albert Camus, and nearly a dozen
chamber works for from two to ten players. This outpouring was proba-
bly the result of the fact that Gerhard had now refined his serial technique
to a form that took what he wanted from Schoenberg’s teachings and had
absorbed all that he was able to accept from the ideas that were being em-
braced by the Central European avant-garde, especially Boulez, Stockhaus-
en and their colleagues. We might expect that Gerhard had completely
abandoned elements of his Spanish influence, but now these have become
35 David Drew was a director of the publisher Boosey & Hawkes which acquired the
rights to Gerhard’s music originally published by Keith Prowse and Mills Music.
36 Glock was knighted in 1970 for services to music in the United Kingdom, becoming
Sir William Glock.
37 William Glock, ed., The Score, 17 (September 1956).
38 Initially a very few works were published by Mills Music and Keith Prowse (both
taken over by Boosey & Hawkes) and later more than a dozen works by Oxford
University Press.
390
