The Feeney Trust was established
in 1907 after the death of John Feeney (1839-1905). Feeney was the son of the
founder of the Birmingham Post
newspaper. He worked for the newspaper from 1863 and latterly became its
proprietor. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the arts as well as having a
scholarly understanding of them.
Feeney was a philanthropist,
contributing to local hospitals, the University and other charitable causes. The
Trust was to be used for the ‘benefit of public charities in Birmingham or for
the promotion of art in the city or the acquisition of open spaces in or near
the city…’
Since 1955, when it was decided
that music fell into their scope, the Feeney Trust has been responsible for
commissioning a wide variety of new music for Birmingham based musicians. The
first commission was Arthur Bliss’ much undervalued Meditations on a Theme of John Blow. Over the past 60 years many
well-known composers, including Michael Tippett, Richard Rodney Bennet, John Tavener
and Judith Weir have contributed important works. Alas, few of them seem to
have become established works in the orchestral repertoire. Some have gained a
toehold, a number have been recorded: others have fallen by the wayside. Maybe
that is the way things should be. However, there are many worthy pieces of
music included in this list that demand our appreciation.
I have listed the works
commissioned by the Feeney Trust for the first 20 years. It is instructive to
see how the various works have fared. I have indicated which works have been
commercially recorded. This is as far as
I can discover. There may be other private or commercial releases in existence.
It is interesting, if somewhat disappointing to note that a number of pieces are
represented by a single recording.
1955 Arthur Bliss:
Meditations on a Theme by John Blow [5 recordings]
1956 Michael Tippett:
Piano Concerto [5 recordings]
1957 Peter Wishart:
Concerto for Orchestra
1957 Edmund Rubbra:
Symphony No.7 [2 recordings]
1959 Lennox Berkeley:
Symphony No.2 [2 recordings]
1959 Alan Rawsthorne:
Symphony No.2 [3 recordings]
1961 Alun Hoddinott:
Violin Concerto
1961 John Gardner:
Herrick Cantata
1962 Andrzej Panufnik:
Piano Concerto [4 recordings]
1962 Humphrey Searle:
Symphony No.4 [1 recording]
1963 Robert Simpson:
Symphony No.3 [4 recordings]
1963 Arthur Bliss:
Mary of Magdela
1963 Elizabeth
Maconchy: Serenata Concertante for violin and orchestra [1 recording]
1964 John Gardner:
The Noble Heart
1965 Don Banks: Divisions
for orchestra
1965 Gordon Crosse:
Sinfonia Concertante (revised as Symphony No.1, 1976)
1967 Peter Racine
Fricker: Symphony No.4
1968 Thea Musgrave:
Concerto for Orchestra [1 recording]
1969 Richard Rodney
Bennett: Piano Concerto [1 recording]
1970 Richard Henninger:
Catena
1970 Kenneth Leighton: Piano Concerto No.3 [1 recording]
1970 Peter Dickinson:
Satie Transformations [1 recording]
1971 John McCabe:
Symphony No.2 [1 recording]
1971 Humphrey Searle:
Labyrinth
1974 Anthony Gilbert:
Ghost and Dream Dancing
1975 Nicola le Fanu:
Columbia Falls
No comments:
Post a Comment