Andrew Porter (music critic)
Encyclopedia
Andrew Porter, born 26 August 1928, in Cape Town
, South Africa
, is a British music critic, scholar, organist, and opera director. He studied organ at University College
, Oxford University, in the late nineteen-forties, then began writing music criticism for various London newspapers, including The Times
and The Daily Telegraph
. In 1953 he joined The Financial Times, where he served as the lead critic until 1972. Stanley Sadie
, in the 2001 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
, wrote that Porter "built up a distinctive tradition of criticism, with longer notices than were customary in British daily papers, based on his elegant, spacious literary style and always informed by a knowledge of music history and the findings of textual scholarship as well as an exceptionally wide range of sympathies."
In 1960, Porter became the editor of The Musical Times
. From 1972 to 1973 he served a term as the music critic of The New Yorker
. He returned in 1974 and remained the magazine's music critic until he moved back to London in 1992. His writings for The New Yorker won respect from leading figures in the musical world. The composer and critic Virgil Thomson
, in a 1974 commentary on the state of music criticism, stated, "Nobody reviewing in America has anything like Porter's command of [opera]. Nor has The New Yorker ever before had access through music to so distinguished a mind."
In more recent years he has written for The Observer
and The Times Literary Supplement
. He has translated 37 operas, of which his English translations of Der Ring des Nibelungen
and The Magic Flute
have been widely performed. He has also directed several operas for either fully staged or semi-staged performance. He authored the librettos for John Eaton
's The Tempest and Bright Sheng
's The Song of Majnun.
His most significant achievement as a scholar was his discovery of excised portions of Verdi's Don Carlos
in the library of the Paris Opera
, which led to the restoration of the original version of the work.
In 2003 he was honored with the publication of a festschrift, Words on Music: Essays in Honor of Andrew Porter on the Occasion of His 75th Birthday.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, is a British music critic, scholar, organist, and opera director. He studied organ at University College
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
, Oxford University, in the late nineteen-forties, then began writing music criticism for various London newspapers, including The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. In 1953 he joined The Financial Times, where he served as the lead critic until 1972. Stanley Sadie
Stanley Sadie
Stanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
, in the 2001 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
, wrote that Porter "built up a distinctive tradition of criticism, with longer notices than were customary in British daily papers, based on his elegant, spacious literary style and always informed by a knowledge of music history and the findings of textual scholarship as well as an exceptionally wide range of sympathies."
In 1960, Porter became the editor of The Musical Times
The Musical Times
The Musical Times is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It is currently the oldest such journal that is still publishing in the UK, having been published continuously since 1844. It was published as The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular until...
. From 1972 to 1973 he served a term as the music critic of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. He returned in 1974 and remained the magazine's music critic until he moved back to London in 1992. His writings for The New Yorker won respect from leading figures in the musical world. The composer and critic Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, in a 1974 commentary on the state of music criticism, stated, "Nobody reviewing in America has anything like Porter's command of [opera]. Nor has The New Yorker ever before had access through music to so distinguished a mind."
In more recent years he has written for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
. He has translated 37 operas, of which his English translations of Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
and The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
have been widely performed. He has also directed several operas for either fully staged or semi-staged performance. He authored the librettos for John Eaton
John Eaton (composer)
John Charles Eaton is an American composer , MacArthur Fellow, is professor emeritus of composition at the University of Chicago John Charles Eaton (born 30 March 1935 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) is an American composer (Anon. [n.d.]; Morgan 2001), MacArthur Fellow, is professor emeritus of...
's The Tempest and Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng is a Chinese-American composer, conductor, and pianist. He has lived in the United States since 1982 and is on faculty at the University of Michigan. In 1999, the White House commissioned Sheng to compose a piece to honor the Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji at a state dinner hosted by...
's The Song of Majnun.
His most significant achievement as a scholar was his discovery of excised portions of Verdi's Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
in the library of the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, which led to the restoration of the original version of the work.
In 2003 he was honored with the publication of a festschrift, Words on Music: Essays in Honor of Andrew Porter on the Occasion of His 75th Birthday.
Works
- A Musical Season: A Critic from Abroad in America, Viking Press (1974), ISBN 0670496502
- The Ring of the Nibelung (translation), Norton (1976) ISBN 0393021920
- Music of Three Seasons, 1974-1977, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1978), ISBN 0374216460
- Music of Three More Seasons, 1977-1980, Knopf (1981), ISBN 0394518136
- Verdi's Macbeth: A Sourcebook (with David RosenDavid Rosen (musicologist)David Rosen is an expert in nineteenth and early twentieth century Italian opera. He is noted for having discovered the complete score of Messa per Rossini, presumed lost, in the archives of the Italian music publishing house G. Ricordi & Co in 1986. A Verdi expert, he was responsible for the...
), Cambridge University Press (1984), ISBN 0521265207 - Musical Events: A Chronicle, 1980-1983, Summit Books (1987), ISBN 0671635387
- Musical Events: A Chronicle, 1983-1986, Summit Books (1989), ISBN 0671635395