Coates began his career as a violist, playing in orchestras conducted by notable figures like Thomas Beecham and Henry Wood. However, in 1919, he shifted his focus entirely to composition due to neuritis in his left hand. His works are characterized by their melodic charm and orchestral colour, often reflecting the light music tradition of Arthur Sullivan and Edward German.
Among his most famous
compositions are the ‘Knightsbridge March’ from the London Suite (1932),
By the Sleepy Lagoon (1930), and The Dam Busters March (1954).
Coates’s music was widely popular, with pieces like “Knightsbridge” becoming
synonymous with BBC Radio’s In Town Tonight.
Coates’s legacy endures through
his contributions to light music, blending traditional orchestral elements with
contemporary influences, including jazz and dance-band music. His work
continues to be celebrated for its enduring appeal and melodic brilliance.
Eric Coates contributed to the Arnold Bax memorial letters published in Music & Letters, January 1954. Although the two composers were quite different in their aims and styles, there was clearly sympathy and genuine friendship between the two men. Bax had died on 3 October 1953 aged 69 years.
Sir Arnold Bax's death on October 3rd has meant a great loss to English music, for we had hoped to have many more lovely works from the pen of this shy, retiring composer. Arnold Bax was a great musician with a vivid imagination and a superb command of the orchestra. Whichever instrument he wrote for, it was as if he played that instrument himself, so well did he seem to write for it. He always wrote grateful and interesting parts for every member of the orchestra, and his music is therefore a delight to listen to and to play. I first became friendly with him in 1907 at the Royal Academy of Music, and during the years between that time and his death I saw him frequently. He was a kindly, lovable, companionable person, tolerant of others and loyal to his friends. His words were few but always to the point, and he had a delightful way of telling a story. Sometimes, when with others, he would lapse into a long silence and, just when one thought he was fast asleep, he would rap out some pithy remark showing how closely he had been following the conversation. He detested parties and public functions and avoided them when he could, though I often found myself seated next to him at official banquets, dinners, and luncheons. He had a habit of turning up at my flat on festive occasions, and he was with me on VE Day. He was also with me on the Board of the Performing Right Society where, when bored by the proceedings, he would push his writing-pad towards me with the words: "Eric, draw me a ship!" To which request I would oblige by sketching a liner at full steam, and he would add some clouds and a few seagulls. I remember asking him one day how he managed to think of his fascinating orchestral effects - to which he replied, with a "What does it feel like to have written world-famous melodies?" The last time I saw him on the concert platform was last year at Cheltenham [1] when he received an ovation from a delighted audience after Sir John Barbirolli and the Halle Orchestra had given a magnificent performance of his Sixth Symphony. Well, he has gone. The slightly stooping, diffident, shy figure we all knew so well will be seen no more, but the music that came from that imaginative and creative mind will still live on. Dear Arnold Bax - the world has lost a great musician and I, personally, have lost an old and loved friend. Music & Letters, January 1954.
Notes[1] The concert was held at the Cheltenham Town Hall on Wednesday, 16th July 1952. Besides Bax’s Symphony No.6 there was a performance of E.J. Moeran’s Serenade in G and John Gardener’s Variations on a Waltz of Carl Nielsen. This latter work, despite positive reviews, has fallen by the wayside
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