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Edward German (1862–1936) German was born German Edward Jones in Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, the second of five children. He was the older of two sons of John David Jones, a liquor merchant, brewer, church organist and lay preacher at the local Congregational Chapel, and Elizabeth (Betsy) Cox, a teacher of Bible classes for young women. His parents called him Jim. He began to study piano and organ with his father at the age of five. At the age of six, he formed a boys' concert band to perform locally, teaching himself the violin, composition, and music arrangement in the process. He later sang alto in the church choir and participated in family entertainments above his uncle's grocery shop, often playing piano duets and performing comic sketches with his elder sister Ruth. He also wrote comic poems. In his mid-teens, German's parents attempted to apprentice him to a shipbuilding firm, as they believed their son had an aptitude for engineering. His studies at a boarding-school in Chester had been delayed by a serious illness, however, and so he was turned away for being too old to begin an apprenticeship. In his teens he formed a second band, a quintette, including himself on the violin, his sister on the pianoforte or the bass and three friends of the family, for which German prepared the orchestrations. He also led the town orchestra, did some amateur acting and sang comic songs in local village halls.
At the age of 18, following private study with Cecil Walter Hay of Shrewsbury, the conductor of the Whithurch choral society, German entered the Royal Academy of Music, where he eventually changed his name to J. E. German (and later simply Edward German) to avoid confusion with another student named Edward Jones. He continued his studies of violin and organ, also beginning a more formal study of composition under Ebenezer Prout. Many of German's student works were played at Academy concerts. In 1884, the Academy appointed German a sub-professor of the violin. During his time as an instructor, he was well regarded and won several medals and prizes such as the Tubbs Bow for his skill with the violin. In 1885, he won the Charles Lucas Medal for his Te Deum for soloists, choir and organ, leading him to change his focus from violin to composition. He soon wrote a light opera, The Two Poets (for four soloists and piano) in 1886, which was produced at the Academy and then performed at St. George's Hall. In 1887, his first symphony, in E Minor, was also performed at the Academy. In 1890 he conducted a revised version of this symphony at the Crystal Palace, and The Two Poets toured successfully in England.
During his time at the Royal Academy, German taught at Wimbledon School and played the violin in theatre orchestras, including the Savoy Theatre. He visited Germany in 1886 and 1888–89 and was impressed by its opera, particularly at Bayreuth. He also became engaged to Ethel Mary Boyce (1863–1936) from Chertsey, Surrey, who was also a promising composition student at the Academy. She won the Lady Goldsmid scholarship in 1885, the Sterndale Bennett Prize in 1886 and the Charles Lucas Medal in 1889. Though the engagement was broken off, they remained friends. German never married. Though German had little experience with opera or choral music, Richard D'Oyly Carte invited him to finish Arthur Sullivan's The Emerald Isle for the Savoy Theatre after Sullivan's death in 1900. He accepted, giving up his violin concerto commission for the Leeds Festival to meet the deadlines. The success of his score for the opera (which was performed into the 1920s) opened up a new career for him. His next comic opera, in 1902, was Merrie England, with Basil Hood, the librettist for The Emerald Isle. This was perhaps German's greatest success, and its dance music was popular separately. Indeed, it was revived frequently, becoming a light opera standard in Britain, and several of its songs, including "The English Rose", "O Peaceful England" and "The Yeomen of England" were popular until the middle of the twentieth century.
After this, German and Hood collaborated again in 1903 to write A Princess of Kensington. This opera was unsuccessful, although it toured briefly and had a New York production. German turned to other endeavours, composing music to Rudyard Kipling texts, including the twelve songs in the Just So Song Book in 1903. He also received a steady flow of orchestral commissions, leading to works such as his Welsh Rhapsody for the Cardiff Festival in 1904, featuring as its climax "Men of Harlech". German returned to writing comic operas, achieving another success with Tom Jones for the Apollo Theatre in 1907, produced by Robert Courtneidge for the Fielding bicentenary. The score is one of German's finest works and received a production in New York (with German conducting), was performed for decades and spawned separate performances of its dance music. He next collaborated with W. S. Gilbert on his final (and unsuccessful) opera, Fallen Fairies, at the Savoy in 1909. In the wake of the failure of Fallen Fairies and his unhappy experience with it, German effectively ended his career as a composer of new works, only returning to composition on a few rare occasions, including a march and hymn for the coronation of King George V in 1911, his Theme and Six Diversions in 1919, and his final major work, the Othello-inspired tone poem The Willow Song in 1922.
Wikipedia
Tom Jones, ópera cómica en tres actos (1907). Comienzo del primer acto.
Última edición por Zelenka el 25 May 2014 8:27, editado 2 veces en total
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