George Hurst

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George Hurst (born May 20, 1926 in Musselburgh , † September 15, 2012 in Edinburgh ), son of a Romanian father and a Russian mother, was a British conductor and professor of music at the Royal College of Music in London .

youth

Hurst studied piano with Julius Isserlis , the grandfather of cellist Steven Isserlis . After the outbreak of World War II , he was sent to Canada , where he continued his education at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec and at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario . During his student days in Toronto, people recognized his talent for composing.

Artistic work and teaching

As early as 1947, at the age of 21, he received a professorship for composition at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore , where he worked with Pierre Monteux during his stay in the United States and with whom he further deepened his practical and theoretical routine. During his time in North America, he was artistically associated with the York Symphony Orchestra ( Pennsylvania ) from 1950 . The time of this collaboration lasted until 1955 although he returned to Great Britain in 1953. After returning to the United Kingdom, he took on the post of second conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult, with whom he went on a tour of the Soviet Union in 1956 . He then took over from 1958 to 1968 the position of chief conductor of the BBC Northern Orchestra, the later renamed BBC Philharmonic Orchestra . Under his direction he performed the oratorio of Gurre-Lieder by Arnold Schoenberg for the first time in Manchester in 1966 , as well as the premiere of the Lyric Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Thomas Pitfield . At the same time he held the post of guest teacher at the Sherborne Summer School of Music , the former Canford Summer School of Music, from 1960 .

In 1968 he moved to Bournemouth to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which is based there, where he founded the Bournemouth Sinfonietta that same year, where he was artistic director until 1974. His dislike of administrative tasks declared the vacancy of music director in the years 1969-1972 even though he has something to apply more or less at this time as chief conductor of the orchestra, Hurst ran in London with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Second Symphony of Malcolm Williamson at October 31, 1969. As a visiting professor, he taught at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1983 , where he held the position of conductor until his death. From 1986 to 1989 he was principal guest conductor with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and from 1990 to 1993 in the same position with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.

Hurt's recordings include operas by Richard Wagner with the New Philharmonia , Gustav Holst's The Planets with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, suites from Edward Elgar's King Arthur and the Starlight Express with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and Elgar's First Symphony .

Hurst was married twice. After his death, he left behind his second wife, Denis Ham, whom he married in 2007 and a daughter from his first marriage.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in The Scotsman . September 21, 2012, accessed December 28, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b George Hurst. The Telegraph, September 17, 2012, accessed November 13, 2014 .
  3. ↑ a b George Hurst. Acclaimed conductor. Born May 20, 1926. Died September 15, 2012. Aged 86. In: Daily Express. September 22, 2012, accessed November 13, 2014 .
  4. ^ Presto News - October 22nd, 2012 George Hurst. Retrieved November 13, 2014 .
  5. ^ A b Barry Millington: George Hurst obituary. In: The Guardian. September 24, 2012, accessed January 4, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b Boult, Adrian C. My Own Trumpet. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1973, p. 151
  7. ^ Kennedy, Michael, "Reports: Manchester" (May 1966). The Musical Times , 107 (1479): pp. 425-429.
  8. ^ Turner, John, "In Memoriam Thomas Pitfield: Master of Arts" (Spring 2000). The Musical Times , 141 (1870): pp. 9-14.
  9. ^ Cole, Hugo, "Music in London: Orchestral - BSO / Hurst" (December 1969). The Musical Times , 110 (1522): pp. 1261-1271.
personal data
SURNAME Hurst, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British conductor and university lecturer
DATE OF BIRTH May 20, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Musselburgh
DATE OF DEATH 15th September 2012
Place of death Edinburgh