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{{Short description|British double bass player}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Adrian Beers
| honorific_suffix = [[Member of the Order of the British Empire|MBE]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|01|06|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Glasgow]], UK
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|4|08|1916|1|6|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], UK
| education = [[Royal College of Music]]
| occupation = Classical [[double bass]]ist
| organization = {{plainlist|
* [[Philharmonia Orchestra]]
* [[English Chamber Orchestra]]
* [[Melos Ensemble]]
* [[Royal College of Music]]
* {{nowrap|[[Royal Northern College of Music]]}}
⚫
}}
}}

'''Adrian Simon Beers''' [[Member of the Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (6 January 1916 – 8 April 2004) was a British [[double bass|double bass player]] and teacher at the [[Royal College of Music]] and the [[Royal Northern College of Music]]. He was a principal player in the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] and the [[English Chamber Orchestra]], and a chamber musician, notably in the [[Melos Ensemble]] that he helped found.
'''Adrian Simon Beers''' [[Member of the Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (6 January 1916 – 8 April 2004) was a British [[double bass|double bass player]] and teacher at the [[Royal College of Music]] and the [[Royal Northern College of Music]]. He was a principal player in the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] and the [[English Chamber Orchestra]], and a chamber musician, notably in the [[Melos Ensemble]] that he helped found.


==Biography==
== Career ==
⚫
Beers was born in Glasgow on 6 January 1916, the son of double bass player Aloysius "Wishy" Beers. He attended [[Bellahouston Academy]] and studied the cello, piano and double bass with his father.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/jul/16/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries | title = Obituary: A versatile orchestral musician, he also helped found the Melos Ensemble |work=The Guardian |location=UK| author = [[Gerald Yorke|Yorke, Gerald]] | date= 16 July 2004 |accessdate=14 December 2009}}</ref> Deputising for him as a player in [[music hall]]s, then the dominant form of popular entertainment in Britain, he gained early experience and repertoire. He won a ''Caird Scholarship'' to study at the [[Royal College of Music]] in London with [[Claude Hobday]],<ref name="Independent">{{cite news| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/adrian-beers-730627.html | title = Obituary: Double-bass player and teacher who began his career in the Glasgow music halls |work=The Independent |location=UK | author=Slatford, Rodney | date= 24 June 2004|accessdate=14 December 2009}}</ref> where he also studied composition with [[Herbert Howells]]. He made a living by playing in the [[Gaiety Theatre, London|Gaiety Theatre]] and later the [[London Casino]].


⚫
Beers was born in Glasgow on 6 January 1916, the son of double bass player Aloysius "Wishy" Beers. He attended [[Bellahouston Academy]] and studied the cello, piano and double bass with his father.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web| url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jul/16/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries | title = Obituary: A versatile orchestral musician, he also helped found the Melos Ensemble |work=The Guardian |location=UK| author = Yorke, Gerald| author-link = Gerald Yorke| date= 16 July 2004 |accessdate=14 December 2009}}</ref> Deputising for him as a player in [[music hall]]s, then the dominant form of popular entertainment in Britain, he gained early experience and repertoire. He won a ''Caird Scholarship'' to study at the [[Royal College of Music]] in London with [[Claude Hobday]],<ref name="Independent">{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/adrian-beers-730627.html | title = Obituary: Double-bass player and teacher who began his career in the Glasgow music halls |work=The Independent |location=UK | author=Slatford, Rodney | date= 24 June 2004|accessdate=14 December 2009}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> where he also studied composition with [[Herbert Howells]]. He made a living by playing in the [[Gaiety Theatre, London|Gaiety Theatre]] and later the [[London Casino]].
⚫
After the war he was a member of the newly formed [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] until 1963, occasionally returning until 2002. He also played in the Goldsbrough Orchestra, which later became the [[English Chamber Orchestra]] (ECO). "His secure intonation, precise sense of timing and sonorous tone earned him the respect of everyone, particularly [[Benjamin Britten]], [[Daniel Barenboim]] and [[Raymond Leppard]] during many years with the ECO, and also [[George Solti]], [[Zubin Mehta]], [[Otto Klemperer]] and others who conducted the Philharmonia."<ref name="Independent" />

⚫
After the war he was a member of the newly formed [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] until 1963, occasionally returning until 2002. He also played in the Goldsbrough Orchestra, which later became the [[English Chamber Orchestra]] (ECO). "His secure intonation, precise sense of timing and sonorous tone earned him the respect of everyone, particularly [[Benjamin Britten]], [[Daniel Barenboim]] and [[Raymond Leppard]] during many years with the ECO, and also [[Georg Solti]], [[Zubin Mehta]], [[Otto Klemperer]] and others who conducted the Philharmonia."<ref name="Independent" />


In 1950 Adrian Beers was a founding member of the [[Melos Ensemble]] that "set new standards of music-making".<ref name="Guardian" /> Their cellist [[Terence Weil]] became a close friend. Beers recalled: "Looking back at old diaries, I don't know how I did it. Three sessions a day – sometimes travelling up north and coming home at night – then on again at 9:30, rehearsing sometimes at midnight with the Melos."<ref name="Independent" />
In 1950 Adrian Beers was a founding member of the [[Melos Ensemble]] that "set new standards of music-making".<ref name="Guardian" /> Their cellist [[Terence Weil]] became a close friend. Beers recalled: "Looking back at old diaries, I don't know how I did it. Three sessions a day – sometimes travelling up north and coming home at night – then on again at 9:30, rehearsing sometimes at midnight with the Melos."<ref name="Independent" />


His close working partnership with Benjamin Britten led to performances at the [[Aldeburgh Festival]] as the opening night in 1969, including Schubert's [[Trout Quintet]] with the [[Amadeus Quartet]] and Britten at the piano. That night the [[Snape Maltings]] concert hall was destroyed by fire, also destroying Beers' [[Giovanni Grancino|Grancino]] double bass and Britten's piano.{{cn}} Britten helped with the purchase of a replacement, again a Grancino.<ref>[http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:DpUfBAthl64J:www.theclassicalshop.net/pdf/LM%25207401.pdf Amadeus Quartet and Benjamin Britten] p. 7</ref>
His close working partnership with Benjamin Britten led to performances at the [[Aldeburgh Festival]] as the opening night in 1969, including Schubert's [[Trout Quintet]] with the [[Amadeus Quartet]] and Britten at the piano. That night the [[Snape Maltings]] concert hall was destroyed by fire, also destroying Beers' [[Giovanni Grancino|Grancino]] double bass and Britten's piano.<ref name="Guardian" /> Britten helped with the purchase of a replacement, again a Grancino.<ref>[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:DpUfBAthl64J:www.theclassicalshop.net/pdf/LM%25207401.pdf Amadeus Quartet and Benjamin Britten]{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} p. 7</ref>


Beers became a teacher at the Royal College of Music and in 1973 at the newly formed [[Royal Northern College of Music]] in Manchester. His student [[Rodney Slatford]] described his teaching, concluding: "One gleaned most from Beers from sharing an orchestral desk with him."
Beers became a teacher at the Royal College of Music and in 1973 at the newly formed [[Royal Northern College of Music]] in Manchester. His student [[Rodney Slatford]] described his teaching, concluding: "One gleaned most from Beers from sharing an orchestral desk with him."


Beers was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] in the 1990 [[New Year Honours]], "for services to music".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=51981|supp=yes|startpage=11|date=29 December 1989|accessdate=15 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=52050|startpage=2161|date=16 February 1990|accessdate=15 December 2009}}</ref> He continued playing and teaching into his eighties. He died on 8 April 2004 in London.
Beers was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] in the 1990 [[New Year Honours]], "for services to music".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=51981|supp=y|page=11|date=29 December 1989}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=52050|page=2161|date=16 February 1990}}</ref> He continued playing and teaching into his eighties. He died on 8 April 2004 in London.


== Recordings ==
== Recordings ==
His long discography includes many notable [[Melos Ensemble#EMI recordings 1963-1973|recordings with the Melos Ensemble]]. With the ECO he recorded among others [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]]'s Madrigals<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akuma.de/raymond-leppard/monteverdi-the-madrigals-box-set/album,w133816,index.html |title=Monteverdi Madrigals |publisher=Akuma.de |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> and Purcell's [[Dido and Aeneas]] (with [[Jessye Norman]]), both conducted by Raymond Leppard,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanpoems.com/B0000040XP/Purcell_Dido_And_Aeneas.php |title=Purcell Dido |publisher=Americanpoems.com |date=25 October 1990 |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi's]] ''Laudate Pueri'', conducted by [[Vittorio Negri]],<ref>[http://catalogue.deccaclassics.com/tracklist.p3p?product_id=20012648707 Vivaldi Laudate Pueri]</ref> Handel's [[Saul (Handel)|Saul]], conducted by [[Charles Mackerras]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicalheritage.com/product/Handel-Saul/5348323 |title=Handel Saul |publisher=Musicalheritage.com |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> Bach's [[Brandenburg concertos]], conducted by [[Johannes Somary]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicalheritage.com/product/J-S-Bach-The-Brandenburg-Concertos-Hybrid-SACD/5279621 |title=Bach Brandenburg concertos |publisher=Musicalheritage.com |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> and music conducted by Benjamin Britten: Bach's ''[[St John Passion]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alibris.com/musicsearch.detail?invid=9967545060&browse=1&qwork=700053778&mtype=M&qsort=&page=1 |title=Bach St John Passion |publisher=Alibris.com |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> Mozart's Symphonies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanpoems.com/B00000426O/Mozart_Symphony_Nos.25_29_38__40&47;Serenata_Notturna_In_D_Major.php |title=Mozart Symphonies |publisher=Americanpoems.com |date=11 April 1995 |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> and his opera [[Idomeneo]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akuma.de/benjamin-britten/mozart-idomeneo-dvd-video/album,w176265,index.html |title=Mozart Idomeneo |publisher=Akuma.de |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref>
His long discography includes many notable [[Melos Ensemble#EMI recordings 1963-1973|recordings with the Melos Ensemble]]. With the ECO he recorded among others [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]]'s Madrigals<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akuma.de/raymond-leppard/monteverdi-the-madrigals-box-set/album,w133816,index.html |title=Monteverdi Madrigals |publisher=Akuma.de |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> and Purcell's [[Dido and Aeneas]] (with [[Jessye Norman]]), both conducted by Raymond Leppard,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanpoems.com/B0000040XP/Purcell_Dido_And_Aeneas.php |title=Purcell Dido |publisher=Americanpoems.com |date=25 October 1990 |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi's]] ''Laudate Pueri'', conducted by [[Vittorio Negri]],<ref>[http://catalogue.deccaclassics.com/tracklist.p3p?product_id=20012648707 Vivaldi Laudate Pueri]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Handel's [[Saul (Handel)|Saul]], conducted by [[Charles Mackerras]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicalheritage.com/product/Handel-Saul/5348323 |title=Handel Saul |publisher=Musicalheritage.com |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> Bach's [[Brandenburg concertos]], conducted by [[Johannes Somary]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicalheritage.com/product/J-S-Bach-The-Brandenburg-Concertos-Hybrid-SACD/5279621 |title=Bach Brandenburg concertos |publisher=Musicalheritage.com |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> and music conducted by Benjamin Britten: Bach's ''[[St John Passion]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alibris.com/musicsearch.detail?invid=9967545060&browse=1&qwork=700053778&mtype=M&qsort=&page=1 |title=Bach St John Passion |publisher=Alibris.com |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> Mozart's Symphonies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanpoems.com/B00000426O/Mozart_Symphony_Nos.25_29_38__40&47%3BSerenata_Notturna_In_D_Major.php |title=Mozart Symphonies |publisher=Americanpoems.com |date=11 April 1995 |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref> and his opera [[Idomeneo]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akuma.de/benjamin-britten/mozart-idomeneo-dvd-video/album,w176265,index.html |title=Mozart Idomeneo |publisher=Akuma.de |accessdate=13 January 2012}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}


{{Authority control|VIAF=79707508}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
|NAME=Beers, Adrian
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
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|SHORT DESCRIPTION=British double bass player
|DATE OF BIRTH=6 January 1916
|PLACE OF BIRTH=Glasgow
|DATE OF DEATH=8 April 2004
|PLACE OF DEATH=London
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}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beers, Adrian}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beers, Adrian}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1916 births]]
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[[Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music]]
[[Category:Academics of the Royal College of Music]]
[[Category:Academics of the Royal College of Music]]
[[Category:British people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:British double-bassists]]
[[Category:Double-bassists]]
[[Category:British male double-bassists]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Bellahouston Academy]]
[[Category:People educated at Bellahouston Academy]]
[[Category:Scottish people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Scottish people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:20th-century double-bassists]]
[[Category:20th-century British male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century British musicians]]

Latest revision as of 08:19, 1 April 2024

Adrian Beers
MBE
Born(1916-01-06)6 January 1916
Glasgow, UK
Died8 April 2004(2004-04-08) (aged 88)
London, UK
EducationRoyal College of Music
OccupationClassical double bassist
Organizations

Adrian Simon Beers MBE (6 January 1916 – 8 April 2004) was a British double bass player and teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. He was a principal player in the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, and a chamber musician, notably in the Melos Ensemble that he helped found.

Career[edit]

Beers was born in Glasgow on 6 January 1916, the son of double bass player Aloysius "Wishy" Beers. He attended Bellahouston Academy and studied the cello, piano and double bass with his father.[1] Deputising for him as a player in music halls, then the dominant form of popular entertainment in Britain, he gained early experience and repertoire. He won a Caird Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London with Claude Hobday,[2] where he also studied composition with Herbert Howells. He made a living by playing in the Gaiety Theatre and later the London Casino.

After the war he was a member of the newly formed Philharmonia Orchestra until 1963, occasionally returning until 2002. He also played in the Goldsbrough Orchestra, which later became the English Chamber Orchestra (ECO). "His secure intonation, precise sense of timing and sonorous tone earned him the respect of everyone, particularly Benjamin Britten, Daniel Barenboim and Raymond Leppard during many years with the ECO, and also Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, Otto Klemperer and others who conducted the Philharmonia."[2]

In 1950 Adrian Beers was a founding member of the Melos Ensemble that "set new standards of music-making".[1] Their cellist Terence Weil became a close friend. Beers recalled: "Looking back at old diaries, I don't know how I did it. Three sessions a day – sometimes travelling up north and coming home at night – then on again at 9:30, rehearsing sometimes at midnight with the Melos."[2]

His close working partnership with Benjamin Britten led to performances at the Aldeburgh Festival as the opening night in 1969, including Schubert's Trout Quintet with the Amadeus Quartet and Britten at the piano. That night the Snape Maltings concert hall was destroyed by fire, also destroying Beers' Grancino double bass and Britten's piano.[1] Britten helped with the purchase of a replacement, again a Grancino.[3]

Beers became a teacher at the Royal College of Music and in 1973 at the newly formed Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. His student Rodney Slatford described his teaching, concluding: "One gleaned most from Beers from sharing an orchestral desk with him."

Beers was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1990 New Year Honours, "for services to music".[4][5] He continued playing and teaching into his eighties. He died on 8 April 2004 in London.

Recordings[edit]

His long discography includes many notable recordings with the Melos Ensemble. With the ECO he recorded among others Monteverdi's Madrigals[6] and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (with Jessye Norman), both conducted by Raymond Leppard,[7] Vivaldi's Laudate Pueri, conducted by Vittorio Negri,[8] Handel's Saul, conducted by Charles Mackerras,[9] Bach's Brandenburg concertos, conducted by Johannes Somary,[10] and music conducted by Benjamin Britten: Bach's St John Passion,[11] Mozart's Symphonies.[12] and his opera Idomeneo[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Yorke, Gerald (16 July 2004). "Obituary: A versatile orchestral musician, he also helped found the Melos Ensemble". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Slatford, Rodney (24 June 2004). "Obituary: Double-bass player and teacher who began his career in the Glasgow music halls". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 14 December 2009.[dead link]
  3. ^ Amadeus Quartet and Benjamin Britten[permanent dead link] p. 7
  4. ^ "No. 51981". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1989. p. 11.
  5. ^ "No. 52050". The London Gazette. 16 February 1990. p. 2161.
  6. ^ "Monteverdi Madrigals". Akuma.de. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Purcell Dido". Americanpoems.com. 25 October 1990. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  8. ^ Vivaldi Laudate Pueri[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Handel Saul". Musicalheritage.com. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Bach Brandenburg concertos". Musicalheritage.com. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Bach St John Passion". Alibris.com. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Mozart Symphonies". Americanpoems.com. 11 April 1995. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Mozart Idomeneo". Akuma.de. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
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