Edmund Rubbra

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Edmund Rubbra , CBE (born May 23, 1901 in Northampton , † February 14, 1986 in Gerrards Cross , Buckinghamshire ) was an English composer and pianist .

Life

Edmund Rubbra came from a humble background and showed musical talent at an early age. From the age of 8 he received piano lessons. At the age of fourteen he dropped out of school in order to be able to support his family financially and worked as an office clerk, later as a railroad clerk. As a 17-year-old he organized a concert with works by Cyril Scott in Northampton , which he accepted as a private student. This was followed by studying music, first at the University of Reading , then from 1921 on with a scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London , where he a. a. Gustav Holst taught. After graduating in 1925, Rubbra earned his living mainly by teaching, playing the piano and as a music journalist. During his military service in World War II , he founded a piano trio that included Joshua Glazier (violin) (later replaced by Norbert Brainin , then Erich Gruenberg ) and William Pleeth (cello). The trio lasted until 1956. 1947 to 1968 taught Rubbra as a music teacher at Worcester College, Oxford University . From 1961 to 1974 he was also professor of composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama . In 1960 Rubbra was named a CBE .

plant

Rubbra's musical output comprises 164 works with opus numbers. These include 11 symphonies (he died while working on a 12th symphony), 4 string quartets and concertante works. He also wrote a number of mainly religious vocal works, such as a Missa Cantuarensis and - after his conversion to Catholicism in 1948 - a Missa in honorem Sancti Dominici .

Rubbra's work remained committed to tonality throughout his life . His interest in English Renaissance music is reflected in the pronounced use of contrapuntal techniques, so that his compositions in this regard sometimes remind one of Brahms . Rubbra himself wrote a textbook on counterpoint. The development of organic compositional structures from small initial motifs is characteristic.

While his first three symphonies, written in the 1930s, made him known to a wider audience, the composer, who is considered a traditionalist, later declined in popularity again, but he was always valued by experts. A complete recording of his symphonies on phonograms was only made after his death under the direction of Richard Hickox .

Selection of works

  • Symphonies:
    • 1st Symphony op.44 (1936)
    • 2nd Symphony in D major op.45 (1937)
    • 3rd Symphony op.49 (1939)
    • 4th Symphony, Op. 53 (1941)
    • 5th Symphony in B flat major op.63 (1947)
    • 6th Symphony, Op. 80 (1954)
    • 7th Symphony in C major, Op. 88 (1956)
    • 8th Symphony op.132, Hommage à Teilhard de Chardin (1968)
    • 9th Symphony op.140, Resurrection (1971)
    • 10th Symphony, op.145, da Camera (1974)
    • 11th Symphony, op.153, à Colette (1979)
  • Concerts:
    • Concerto for piano and orchestra (withdrawn) op.30
    • Sinfonia Concertante in C major op.38 (1936)
    • Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in A major op.75
    • Concerto for piano and orchestra in G major, op.85
    • Concerto for violin and orchestra in A major op.103
    • Improvisation for violin and orchestra op.89
    • Soliloquy for violoncello and orchestra
  • Orchestral works:
    • Improvisations on virginal pieces by Giles Farnaby op.50
    • The Morning Watch op.55 (1941)
    • A Tribute op.56 (1942)
    • Ode to the Queen op.83 (1953)
  • Sonatas:
    • Sonata for violin and piano No. 1 op.11
    • Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 op.31
    • Sonata for violoncello and piano in G major op.60
    • Sonata for oboe and piano in C major op.100
    • Sonata for violin and piano No. 3 op.133
  • Further chamber music:
    • String quartet No. 1 in F major op.35
    • Piano trio No. 1 in one movement, op.68
    • String Quartet No. 2 in E major op.73
    • String quartet No. 3 op.112
    • Piano trio No. 2 op.138
    • String Quartet No. 4 op.150
    • Duo for cor anglais and piano op.156

Web links

literature

personal data
SURNAME Rubbra, Edmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English composer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Northampton
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 1986
Place of death Gerrards Cross , Buckinghamshire