Bryden Thomson (16 July 1928 – 14 November 1991) was a Scottish conductor remembered especially for his championship of British and Scandinavian composers. His recordings include influential surveys of the orchestral music of Hamilton Harty and Arnold Bax. He was principal conductor of several British orchestras, including the Ulster Orchestra, which flourished under his tenure. [1]
Bryden ("Jack") Thomson was born in Ayr [2] and grew up playing the violin and cello. [3] Soon after entering the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow on a scholarship at the age of 15, he was called up to serve in the Highland Light Infantry, where he played the piano in the regimental band and taught himself the clarinet. [3] After the war, he returned to his studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. [3] In 1954, he moved to Germany to study conducting, first with Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt at the newly founded Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, and then with Igor Markevitch at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. [4]
Following a post as assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Orchestra (1958–1962), Bryden Thomson held posts as principal conductor of several British orchestras, including the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra (1968–1973), the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra (1978–1982) and the Ulster Orchestra (1977–1985). [2] Between 1984 and 1987 he was principal conductor of the Irish RTÉ Symphony Orchestra. He was also briefly chief conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra (1988–1990), being only the second Scotsman to hold that post.
As an opera conductor, Thomson also worked with the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the Royal Swedish Opera and the Scottish Opera. [5]
Thomson was a committed interpreter of British music. He helped revive the popularity of the music of Arnold Bax by making an extensive series of CD recordings for Chandos Records (with the Ulster orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra), including many of the tone poems and an acclaimed cycle of the symphonies. [4] He did a similar service for the music of Irish composer Hamilton Harty by recording the collected orchestral works with the Ulster Orchestra, again for Chandos. [4] He also set down with Chandos well received series of recordings of orchestral music by Vaughan Williams and Walton. [1] Other British composers he championed include Alun Hoddinott, [3] Daniel Jones, [6] Kenneth Leighton, Thomas Wilson [3] and Grace Williams.
A cycle of Martinů symphonies recorded with the Scottish National Orchestra between 1989 and 1990 has been critically praised. [7] Thomson also cultivated a keen interest in Nordic composers such as Holmboe, Nielsen, Sallinen and Sibelius. [5] His interpretations of Nielsen have been much admired, including a recording of the Symphony No. 4 and Symphony No. 6 with the Scottish National Orchestra, [8] which turned out to be his last recording.
Thomson died of cancer in Dublin, in November 1991. In 2003, his widow, Mary Ellison Thomson, bequeathed his collection of scores to the National Library of Ireland, and in 2008 she set up the Bryden Thomson Trust in support of young conductors. [9]
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music. In addition to a series of symphonic poems he wrote seven symphonies and was for a time widely regarded as the leading British symphonist.
Sir John Barbirolli was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 and conducted for the rest of his life. Earlier in his career he was Arturo Toscanini's successor as music director of the New York Philharmonic, serving from 1936 to 1943. He was also chief conductor of the Houston Symphony from 1961 to 1967, and was a guest conductor of many other orchestras, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, with all of which he made recordings.
Sir Colin Rex Davis was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom he was particularly associated were Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide."
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is an international orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an essential part in Scotland’s musical life, including performing at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament building in 2004.
Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist.
Julian Anderson is a British composer and teacher of composition.
Vernon George "Tod" Handley was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, Middlesex. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his father simply summarised: "They toddle". Handley preferred the use of the name "Tod" throughout his life over his given names.
Richard Sidney Hickox was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.
Howard Gordon Shelley is a British pianist and conductor. He was educated at Highgate School and the Royal College of Music. He is married to fellow pianist Hilary Macnamara, with whom he has performed and recorded in a two-piano partnership, and they have two sons.
The Ulster Orchestra is based in Belfast, the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It gives concerts across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including performances at the Belfast Festival, the Wexford Opera Festival, the Kilkenny Arts Festival, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin. The orchestra currently employs 63 full-time musicians and 17 administrative support staff.
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional radio orchestra in Scotland. The orchestra is based at City Halls in Glasgow.
Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.
Martyn Charles Brabbins is a British conductor. The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studied composition at Goldsmiths, University of London. He subsequently studied conducting with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory.
John Wilson is a British conductor, arranger and musicologist, who conducts orchestras and operas, as well as big band jazz. He is the creator of the John Wilson Orchestra and Associate Guest Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Margaret Fingerhut is a British classical pianist. She is known for her innovative recital programmes and recordings in which she explores lesser known piano repertoire.
Rumon Gamba is a British conductor. He studied music at Durham University, and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied conducting with Colin Metters, George Hurst and Sir Colin Davis. He became the first conducting student to obtain the DipRAM. He was a 1998 prize winner in the Lloyds Bank BBC Young Musicians Conductors Workshop. In 1998, he joined the BBC Philharmonic as its Assistant Conductor, and later became Associate Conductor. He left the orchestra in 2002.
The Symphony No. 1, H. 289, is an orchestral composition by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.
Kenneth Alwyn was a British conductor, composer, and writer. Described by BBC Radio 3 as "one of the great British musical directors", Alwyn was known for his many recordings, including with the London Symphony Orchestra on Decca's first stereophonic recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. He was also known for his long association with BBC Radio 2's orchestral live music programme Friday Night is Music Night, appearing for thirty years as a conductor and presenter, and for his contribution to British musical theatre as a prolific musical director in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and married the actress Mary Law in 1960. His website and the first volume of his memoirs A Baton in the Ballet and Other Places were both published in 2015. The second volume Is Anyone Watching? was published in 2017. A Book of Remembrance was opened on his website in December 2020.
Stephen Bryant is an English violinist, best known as the leader of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
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