Sir Adrian Boult
Neither as colorful a public figure as fellow Briton Thomas Beecham, nor as stormy and commanding on the podium as some of his better-known international contemporaries, Adrian Boult nevertheless was one of Britain's foremost conductors for nearly 70 years. He championed contemporary music, introducing Holst's The Planets and Berg's Wozzeck to the British public, but his pioneering work with the BBC Orchestra, which he created and directed for 20 years, is often regarded as his signature achievement.
Born to a wealthy shipowner, Boult spent his grammar school days in London at Westminster School and took to music early. At Christ Church, Oxford, Boult flourished under the guidance of conductor Hugh Allen. In addition, Boult worked with Artur Nikisch during a stay at the Leipzig Conservatory (1912-1913). Boult also studied with composer Max Reger, but a serious illness that kept him out of World War I cut his continental sojourn short.
Boult made his debut at Queen's Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1918. From that first concert Boult demonstrated support for British music, including Vaughan Williams' then virtually unknown "London" Symphony on the program. The concert led to an invitation from Holst to conduct the premiere of The Planets at a private concert at Queen's Hall. In 1919 Boult joined faculty of the Royal College of Music.
In the years following World War I, Boult conducted both orchestral music and opera. He served as principal conductor for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes during their London stay in 1919, and in 1926 rejoined the staff at Covent Garden. In 1924 Boult accepted the directorship of the recently formed City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which he molded into a first-rank ensemble.
In 1930 Boult received an invitation to organize and direct the newly formed BBC Symphony Orchestra. Boult took the group on numerous international tours and began its long, distinguished recording career. During the Second World War Boult and the orchestra took up residence in Bristol, but German raids drove them to Bedford. In 1950 Boult passed the BBC baton to Malcolm Sargent and assumed directorship of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which he took on a politically significant tour of the USSR in 1956. Following his retirement from the LPO in 1957, Boult rejoined the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for one year, and returned to the Royal College to teach a new generation of conductors from 1962 to 1966. He ceased conducting altogether in 1979, after several years of occasional appearances. According to most accounts, Boult's conducting was unimpaired even at the ripe age of 90. He died in 1983, just two weeks shy of his 94th birthday.
Boult felt it was the conductor's duty to present as much music as possible to the listening public without regard for the conductor's own personal tastes, leaving it to posterity to preserve particular pieces. Describing himself as a musical "purist," Boult believed that everything necessary for a successful performance was to be found within the printed score. Although some critics complained that Boult's musical persona lacked the colorful quality of true greatness, his gentlemanly conduct on the podium earned him respect from his musicians that hours of tirades might not have. On his "off nights," Boult's music-making perhaps came across as dull or workmanlike, but often his clarity of approach and fidelity to the score produced electrifying results.
Boult's autobiography, My Own Trumpet, was published in 1973. He was knighted in 1937 and made a Companion of Honour in 1969. Hundreds of his recordings have enjoyed a long (and profitable) life on LP and compact disc, most notably his various accounts of the symphonies of Vaughan Williams and Elgar, and Holst's Planets, but far beyond the boundaries of English music, his recordings of Wagner's and Brahms' orchestral music have found critical favor. Additionally, various archival releases, most notably two from Testament Records, have solidified Boult's reputation as a trailblazer. The most notable of these, issued by Testament Records in 2008, contains his 1947 BBC Symphony Orchestra performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with Kathleen Ferrier, the first performance of the piece ever given in England.
© TiVo
Similar artists
-
Mozart, W.A.: Piano Concerto No. 27 / Concerto for 2 Pianos in E Flat Major / Rondo in A Minor (Schnabel) (1934-1946)
Artur Schnabel, London Symphony Orchestra, Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 29 jul. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1; Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy III, Vol. 4)
Mischa Elman, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini [1959]; Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song [1959] (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy III, Vol. 12)
Julius Katchen, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rubbra: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, Edmund Rubbra
Klassiek - Released by SOMM Recordings on 2 feb. 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (Remastered 2022)
Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Archipel on 20 mei 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Le Messie, extraits (Mono Version)
Kathleen Ferrier, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Campoli : The Bel Canto Violin II (Bruch, Beethoven...)
Alfredo Campoli, Eduard van Beinum, Royalton Kisch, Josef Krips, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1950
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel : Messiah - Bach : Magnificat
Sacred Oratorios - Released by Decca on 13 sep. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar/Holst - Orchestral Works
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 30 apr. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Violin Concerto (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy I, Vol. 2)
Alfredo Campoli, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3 'A Pastoral Symphony' (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy I, Vol. 5)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov & Liszt: Piano Concertos
Paul Badura-Skoda, London Promenade Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, Artur Rodzinski, Hans Swarowsky
Klassiek - Released by Gramola Records on 17 mrt. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov : Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2
Peter Katin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Sir Colin Davis
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 23 okt. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach, Handel (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy II, Vol. 7)
Kirsten Flagstad, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 7 okt. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (Ruggiero Ricci: Complete Decca Recordings, Vol. 1)
Ruggiero Ricci, London Philharmonic Orchestra, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 8 okt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Diamond Jubilee
Klassiek - Released by Rolled Gold Classics on 26 jun. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen & Kindertotenlieder (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult, Christa Ludwig, Andre Vandernoot
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Récital Bach-Handel (Mono Version)
Kathleen Ferrier, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah (Stereo Version)
Sir Adrian Boult, London Symphony Orchestra
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8; Partita for Double String Orchestra (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy I, Vol. 10)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Job – A Masque for Dancing (Adrian Boult – The Decca Legacy I, Vol. 12)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1954
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo