William Lovelock
Encyclopedia
William Lovelock was an English classical composer
and pedagogue
who spent many years in Australia. He was the first Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane
, and later became the chief music critic for The Courier-Mail
newspaper.
He is not to be confused with the Australian-born song-writer Bill Lovelock.
, his family were originally of Berkshire extraction and two of his great-uncles had emigrated to Australia in the 19th century, long before he did. He was educated at Emanuel School
, Wandsworth, and started piano lessons at the age of six and organ lessons at twelve. At the age of sixteen, he won an organ scholarship to the Trinity College of Music
, where he studied with C. W. Pearce and Henry Geehl
. After service as an artillery
man in World War I
, he returned to Trinity College and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1922. He then joined the teaching staff and later obtained a doctorate in composition in 1932. As an organist, he served at St. Clements in Eastcheap from 1919 to 1923, then as Kapellmeister to Countess Cowdray from 1923 to 1926. He was also organist at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Carshalton from 1928 to 1930.
During the 1930s Lovelock wrote the first of his numerous popular textbooks for college music students. Later, as a roving examiner for the College, he spent a six-year stint in Asia, ending up in the Indian Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War and reaching the rank of major in 1942. While stationed in Varanasi
in 1945 he sketched the beginning of a concerto for piano, the first of the many concertos to come.
On his return to London in 1946, Lovelock rejoined the faculty at Trinity College and eventually became Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of London
in 1954. He was appointed as the first Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane
, Australia
, two years later but left in 1959 after disagreement over his teaching methods. However, he chose to stay on since, for the first time, he found that he had the time and freedom to compose seriously. Meanwhile he supported himself as a free-lance teacher, adjudicator, and as chief music critic for The Courier-Mail
in Brisbane.
In 1926, he had married Winifred Irene Littlejohn, by whom he had a son, Gregory (1931). After the death of his wife in 1981, Lovelock returned to England. He died in 1986 in Shipston-on-Stour
, Warwickshire
.
Because his major music was written there, Lovelock is considered an Australian composer, although he himself commented "I prefer to feel that I am an English composer who happens to live in Brisbane". Of his many textbooks on musical theory, history and composition, some still continue in use even beyond the English-speaking world.
Concertante
Chamber music
Piano
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and pedagogue
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
who spent many years in Australia. He was the first Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, and later became the chief music critic for The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
newspaper.
He is not to be confused with the Australian-born song-writer Bill Lovelock.
Career
Though William Lovelock was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, his family were originally of Berkshire extraction and two of his great-uncles had emigrated to Australia in the 19th century, long before he did. He was educated at Emanuel School
Emanuel School
Emanuel School is a co-educational independent school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded by Lady Dacre and Elizabeth I in 1594. Today it has some 710 pupils, aged between ten and eighteen.-History:...
, Wandsworth, and started piano lessons at the age of six and organ lessons at twelve. At the age of sixteen, he won an organ scholarship to the Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
, where he studied with C. W. Pearce and Henry Geehl
Henry Geehl
Henry Ernest Geehl was an English pianist, conductor and composer.Born in London in 1881, Geehl studied piano with Benno Schönberger and R. O. Morgan in London, and with Anton Schlieber in Vienna...
. After service as an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
man in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he returned to Trinity College and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1922. He then joined the teaching staff and later obtained a doctorate in composition in 1932. As an organist, he served at St. Clements in Eastcheap from 1919 to 1923, then as Kapellmeister to Countess Cowdray from 1923 to 1926. He was also organist at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Carshalton from 1928 to 1930.
During the 1930s Lovelock wrote the first of his numerous popular textbooks for college music students. Later, as a roving examiner for the College, he spent a six-year stint in Asia, ending up in the Indian Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War and reaching the rank of major in 1942. While stationed in Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
in 1945 he sketched the beginning of a concerto for piano, the first of the many concertos to come.
On his return to London in 1946, Lovelock rejoined the faculty at Trinity College and eventually became Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1954. He was appointed as the first Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, two years later but left in 1959 after disagreement over his teaching methods. However, he chose to stay on since, for the first time, he found that he had the time and freedom to compose seriously. Meanwhile he supported himself as a free-lance teacher, adjudicator, and as chief music critic for The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
in Brisbane.
In 1926, he had married Winifred Irene Littlejohn, by whom he had a son, Gregory (1931). After the death of his wife in 1981, Lovelock returned to England. He died in 1986 in Shipston-on-Stour
Shipston-on-Stour
Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish on the River Stour about south of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. It is in the northern part of the Cotswolds, close to the boundaries with Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
Work
It was during Lovelock's residence in Australia that he wrote the bulk of his musical compositions, which range from large orchestral, choral and band works to teaching pieces for children, as well as 14 concertos. Some of his works were intended especially for Australian performers, such as his Trumpet Concerto (1968) for John Robertson, which remains his most performed piece. A number of others filled gaps in the repertoire of certain instruments, such as tuba, double bass, and xylophone. Only occasionally a demanding composer, Lovelock considered himself a romantic and believed that “one of the most important functions of music is to provide entertainment rather than coldblooded intellectual abstractions.”Because his major music was written there, Lovelock is considered an Australian composer, although he himself commented "I prefer to feel that I am an English composer who happens to live in Brisbane". Of his many textbooks on musical theory, history and composition, some still continue in use even beyond the English-speaking world.
Selected works
Orchestral- Sinfonietta (1964)
- Divertimento for string orchestra (1965)
- Toccata (1968)
- Overture for a Cheerful Occasion (1979)
Concertante
- Horn concerto (between 1957/76)
- Concerto for viola and orchestra (1960)
- Concerto for flute and orchestra (1961)
- Concerto for saxophone and orchestra (1963)
- Concertino for trombone and string orchestra (1965)
- Concerto for bass tuba and orchestra (1967)
- Concerto for trumpet and orchestra (1968)
- Sinfonia concertante for organ and orchestra (1968)
- Saxophone Concerto No 2 (1973)
- Rhapsody Concerto for harp and orchestra (1981)
Chamber music
- Sonata for alto-saxophone and piano (1974)
- 4 Sketches for clarinet and piano (1976)
Piano
- Dancing Fairies (1973)
External links
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation audio of Lovelock's Viola Concerto http://www.abc.net.au/classic/australianmusic/stories/s2346686.htm and Second Saxophone Concerto http://www.abc.net.au/classic/australianmusic/stories/s2062928.htm