Melos ensemble

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The Melos Ensemble is a chamber music ensemble that was founded by musicians in London in 1950 with the aim of performing chamber music in a larger line-up for strings , wind instruments and other instruments. Composers such as Benjamin Britten wrote new music for the Melos Ensemble, Britten especially the chamber music in his War Requiem , which he himself conducted at the premiere in Coventry .

occupation

The Melos Ensemble was founded by musicians in order to perform chamber music in a larger cast in the high musical consistency that only a well-rehearsed ensemble can achieve. The Melos Ensemble played with a changing line-up according to the task at hand and was always composed of outstanding musical personalities who also had other positions in orchestras or as soloists. Initially, a group of 12 players was planned, a string quintet and a wind quintet with harp and piano, which could be expanded to include additional players if necessary, initially to include the major octets by Schubert and Mendelssohn , the septet by Beethoven , the introduction and allegro by Ravel or to perform the Serenade op. 24 by Arnold Schönberg .

Starting from 1950

Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), who played with the ensemble until 1974, is considered to be the initiator . Musicians from the beginning were Cecil Aronowitz , (viola), Richard Adeney (flute), Terence Weil (cello), Neil Sanders (horn) and Adrian Beers (double bass). Other early members were William Waterhouse (bassoon), Osian Ellis (harp), Emanuel Hurwitz (violin, director of the Melos Ensemble 1956–1972), Ivor McMahon (2nd violin), James Blades (drums), Lamar Crowson (piano) and Peter Graeme (oboe).

Melos Ensemble of London 1974

The ensemble temporarily disbanded in 1973 after Ivor McMahon died in 1972 and three other members had left the group, but was re-formed in 1974 by eight previous players. Hugh Maguire was the leader during this period.

Performances

Benjamin Britten wrote many works for the Melos Ensemble, especially in his War Requiem the instrumental accompaniment of Wilfred Owen's English texts by a chamber orchestra. He directed the ensemble himself for the first performance in 1962 and the first recording in 1963. The recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. In 1965, commissioned compositions by the Melos Ensemble were premiered at Wardour Castle Summer School, Tragoedia by Harrison Birtwistle under the direction of Lawrence Foster and Seven In Nomine by Peter Maxwell Davies , directed by the composer. The Melos Ensemble has performed regularly at UK and international festivals, including the Aldeburgh Festival , and has appeared frequently on BBC programs . The first US tour took place in 1966. Gervase de Peyer directed the ensemble's extensive recording program for EMI from 1957 for almost 20 years. Many of the exemplary recordings are still available.

EMI recordings 1963–1973

Gervase de Peyer put together a list of recordings with EMI, which shows the repertoire of the ensemble:

Selected other recordings

New chamber music

Composers created new chamber music for the Melos Ensemble, for example Hans Werner Henze composed chamber music for tenor, guitar and eight solo instruments in 1958 . That encouraged other musicians to form similar groups. The Melos Ensemble had a direct and indirect influence on the creation of new chamber music.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b Melos Ensemble All Music Guide , Joseph Stevenson (English)
  2. ^ War Requiem Premiere , Britten-Pears Foundation
  3. ^ Schott publishing house
  4. ^ Criticism of the recording
  5. ^ Wardour Castle Summer School concert program 1965
  6. EMI recordings 1963–1973 ( Memento from June 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ^ Review by Nielsen Rob Barnett, May 2008
  8. ^ Review Ravel William Hedley, April 2009
  9. Review Ireland August 2007
  10. musicweb-international.com
  11. musicweb-international.com
  12. Prokofiev Shostakovich  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Gramophones@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gramophone.net  
  13. ^ Review Birtwistle William Hedley, June 2009
  14. Seiber
  15. amazon.com
  16. Berkeley May 2008