Charles Villiers Stanford String Quartet No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 99 a critical performance edition

Transcription

1 University of Iowa Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations Fall 2015 Charles Villiers Stanford String Quartet No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 99 a critical performance edition Colleen Renee Ferguson University of Iowa Copyright 2015 Colleen R. Ferguson This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: Recommended Citation Ferguson, Colleen Renee. "Charles Villiers Stanford String Quartet No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 99 a critical performance edition." DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Music Commons

2 CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD STRING QUARTET NO. 4 IN G MINOR OP. 99 A CRITICAL PERFORMANCE EDITION by Colleen Renee Ferguson A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa December 2015 Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Scott Conklin

3 Copyright by COLLEEN RENEE FERGUSON 2015 All Rights Reserved

4 Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL D.M.A. THESIS This is to certify that the D.M.A. thesis of Colleen Renee Ferguson has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the December 2015 graduation. Thesis Committee: Scott Conklin, Thesis Supervisor William LaRue Jones Christine Getz Christine Rutledge Alan Huckleberry

5 For my parents ii

6 Stanford s memorial plaque at his grave in the North Choir Aisle at Westminster Abbey. Photo taken by the author in person at Westminster Abbey, November iii

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my deepest thanks to the many people who provided their encouragement and support throughout the duration of this project. I would especially like to thank my advisor, Dr. Scott Conklin, and the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Christine Getz, Dr. Alan Huckleberry, Dr. William Jones, and Professor Christine Rutledge for their invaluable guidance and advice. I was fortunate to be awarded the T. Anne Cleary International Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Iowa, which enabled me to travel to the Royal College of Music in London and to the Robinson Library at Newcastle University in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England where I was able to view, in person, the manuscripts that Stanford himself created. I would also like to acknowledge the librarians and staff at the Royal College of Music, London. Dr. Peter Horton and Dr. Michael Mullen in particular not only made me feel welcome during my visits, but also assisted me by means of their extensive knowledge of the library and expertise in British music history. My thanks also go to Elaine Archbold at the Robinson Library at Newcastle University in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England; James Harte at the National Library of Ireland, Dublin; and Erin Kaufman at the University of Iowa Graduate College. Most importantly, my most heartfelt gratitude goes to my parents for their unconditional love and support. iv

8 PUBLIC ABSTRACT Irish born British composer, teacher, conductor, and organist Sir Charles Villiers Stanford ( ), is today best known for his choral works and as teacher to some of Britain s most successful composers of the twentieth century. Stanford was a prolific composer of numerous genres of music, and his chamber works for strings comprise a significant portion of his total compositional output. A great many of Stanford s chamber compositions were never published and are absent among today s standard chamber music repertoire. Until now, Stanford s String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 99 has never been published. This project comprises the first published edition of the String Quartet No. 4, making the work more readily available to performers and scholars. The String Quartet No. 4 is the last of Stanford s string quartets to be published, and this project makes the publication of his works in this genre complete. The author hopes that this project will help generate interest in Stanford as an important figure in British music history and bring his works to a greater public awareness through performance and study. v

9 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 I. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3 II. BIOGRAPHY 6 Growing Up in Dublin 6 Cambridge University 9 The Royal College of Music 19 III. DISCUSSION OF THE QUARTET 27 IV. MANUSCRIPT SOURCES AND CRITICAL COMMENTARY 35 Description of Sources 35 Editorial Policy 37 Critical Commentary 41 V. CRITICAL EDITION 46 BIBLIOGRAPHY 211 vi

10 INTRODUCTION My first experience with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford s music occurred quite unexpectedly when I heard his Six Irish Fantasies for Violin and Piano, Op. 54 on a local classical radio station. I was instantly struck by the Irish flavor of the Six Irish Fantasies, and, in particular, by the fact that although the music was clearly influenced by Irish folk styles, it was enhanced by a polished rendering of the folk melodies that was clearly intended for the concert hall. I immediately turned up the radio and waited for the announcer to give the name of the composer and work. Intrigued, I began to investigate Stanford, and I was truly stunned to find that he had composed numerous works for violin, chamber works, character pieces, and concertos of which I was entirely unaware. The more I learned about his life and the corpus of compositions in nearly every music genre, the more invested I became in researching his life and music. Many of Stanford s chamber works were as yet unpublished, and owing to the fact that my interest in music editing had been peaked by a recent course on the subject, I began to investigate the possibility of bringing one of Stanford s unpublished works to publication. The Stanford Society and Dr. Jeremy Dibble of Durham University in Durham, England, proved immensely helpful in this pursuit, and I soon decided upon the composition that would also become my doctoral dissertation: Stanford s String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 99. The purpose of this project is to create a critical performance edition of the String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 99 by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford from the original manuscript sources. The String Quartet No. 4 was never published during the composer s lifetime, and heretofore has never appeared in print. To provide 1

11 context, a biographical sketch of Stanford and a discussion of the String Quartet No. 4 are included. I have made every effort to create an edition that is true to the composer s original intentions and that also presents supporting historical information about the work. A physical examination of the original manuscripts made it possible to discern markings and details that would otherwise be indistinguishable or undecipherable in a photo or photocopy. I observed the binding of the manuscripts, the volumes in which they were bound, the paper on which they were written, and the differences among the composer s original ink markings and pencil emendations added by another hand. Being able to conduct research at the Royal College of Music, the very place where Stanford himself spent so much of his career, was a singular experience. In the RCM library, I was surrounded by the College s history; portraits of Stanford and of Joseph Joachim hang in the reading room, and a bust of Sir George Grove overlooks the study area. Carefully handling Stanford s original manuscripts there gave me a deep sense of familiarity with Stanford and his world at the turn of the twentieth century. It is my sincere hope that this project will be for the readers, much as first hearing Stanford s music on the radio was for me, a catalyst that stimulates interest in and enjoyment of Stanford s music for musicians and audiences alike. 2

12 I. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Charles Villiers Stanford was a prolific writer in addition to being a productive composer. He frequently wrote to British newspapers, such as The Times, to voice his concerns on musical, and sometimes political, issues of the day. Stanford s manuscripts and writings can be found in several archives worldwide, but the most complete collection, the Stanford Collection, is housed in the Robinson Library at Newcastle University in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. The Collection contains approximately seventy- five percent of Stanford s published and unpublished works, including, autograph manuscripts, photocopies of autographs, transcripts of Stanford s letters to the Times, essays, and articles. The Royal College of Music in London holds many autograph manuscripts and letters. The largest collection of letters between Stanford and Joseph Joachim are housed at the Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung Stiftung Preußischer in Berlin. Stanford published his autobiography Pages From an Unwritten Diary in He recounts his childhood in Dublin, his travels abroad in Germany as an undergraduate student, and his professional career as composer, conductor, and teacher at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music. Recollections of his friendships with many illustrious artistic figures of his day offer insight into Stanford as a person. 1 Because Stanford was notoriously guarded when it came to his personal life, his wife and children are mentioned only briefly. 1 Stanford s friends and acquaintances included Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Henry Irving, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Charles Darwin. 3

13 In addition to his autobiography, Stanford s writings include several books. Musical Composition (1911) was a widely read publication in the early twentieth century. By 1930 it had been reprinted four times and was regarded as a seminal text until World War II. 2 The success of this book likely contributed to the fact that its publisher, Macmillian, continued to seek Stanford s input for the Musician s Library series and to commission A History of Music (1916) jointly with Cecil Forsyth. Studies and Memories (1908) and Interludes, Records, and Reflections (1922) are primarily compilations of Stanford s previously published articles and essays. John F. Porte compiled a catalogue of Stanford s works in 1921 titled Sir Charles V. Stanford. Porte s book is chiefly a chronological listing of Stanford s published and unpublished works, with a brief description of each. In the introductory biographical sketch, Porte clearly shows a bias toward Stanford and his music. The catalogue is incomplete as it was published three years before Stanford s death in Sir George Grove himself wrote Stanford s biographical entry in the first edition of his A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1889). Grove was not only Stanford s colleague at the Royal College of Music, but also a lifelong friend. It was Grove who invited Stanford to be among the faculty at the newly founded RCM in The articles on Stanford in Grove s Dictionary follow Stanford s career during his lifetime, and later, in the twentieth century, chronicle his death and reception. The early entries are of particular interest as they contain several details not 2 Jeremy Dibble, Charles Villiers Stanford: Man and Musician (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002),

14 appearing in the current edition of the Dictionary and also provide a perspective on Stanford by his contemporaries. Stanford s close friend Harry Plunkett Greene published the first biography of Stanford in Written five years after Stanford s death, Greene s account is perhaps the most personal one we have of Stanford. Much of the information Greene recounts about Stanford s childhood and early career was related to him by Stanford and corresponds closely to Stanford s own accounts in his autobiography, Pages From an Unwritten Diary. Filled with charming personal anecdotes from their longtime friendship, Greene s biography provides a look at Stanford from the perspective of a close and trusted friend. As such, this biography is best taken with a certain amount of caution. Regardless of Green s personal bias towards Stanford, however, Green s book is among the chief sources of information pertaining to Stanford s personal life. Greene s biography is in many ways a companion to Pages. In the twenty- first century, there has been an increased interest in Stanford. Two biographies were published independently of one another in 2002: Charles Villiers Stanford, Man and Musician by Jeremy Dibble, and Charles Villiers Stanford by Paul Rodmell. Both biographies are extremely thorough, and discuss Stanford s works as well as his childhood, career, and reception. Each provides a complete listing of Stanford s compositions and writings, including supporting information about each work. Rodmell s biography also includes a discography. Each of these resources provided valuable insight about Stanford s life and career. Musical Composition proved to be exceptionally useful in understanding Stanford s compositional style and attitudes towards composition in general. 5

15 II. BIOGRAPHY He is, indeed, a figure of great historical significance, if only for the very marked influence his personality and attainments had upon the work of his contemporaries and successors. - Thomas F. Dunhill Growing Up in Dublin Charles Villiers Stanford was born on September 30, 1852 at 2 Herbert Street, Dublin, Ireland. Both of his parents, John and Mary Stanford, were accomplished amateur musicians. The Stanfords were part of the Anglo- Irish Protestant middle class prevalent in Ireland during the second half of the nineteenth century. John Stanford was a distinguished Dublin lawyer, and Mary came from a prestigious Irish legal family. This put them in a position to raise their only child in a rich cultural and musical environment. In mid- nineteenth century Dublin, it was considered fashionable, as well as a sign of good breeding, to engage in music activities either as an amateur performer or as a patron of the arts. John Stanford s legal career allowed him both the time and financial means to support his music interests. He was well known in Dublin music circles as a capable cellist and vocalist, and made regular professional appearances in Dublin until around Mary Stanford was herself a well- known amateur pianist, and appeared as the piano soloist in a performance of Mendelssohn s Piano Concerto No. 1 at a Dublin Musical 3 Charles Villiers Stanford, Pages from an Unwritten Diary (London: Edward Arnold, 1914), 23. 6

16 Union concert. 4 The Stanford home at 2 Herbert Street was a regular meeting place for numerous amateur and professional musicians. Stanford recalls his childhood surroundings in his autobiography Pages from an Unwritten Diary: I found myself in a centre of real music, where amateurs were cultivated performers, who had taken their art as seriously as if it were their means of livelihood. 5 Young Charles Stanford received a formal education at an elite Dublin private school, but he received his music education informally, thanks in large part to his father s connections to the Dublin music community. Charles received instruction in piano and composition at an early age and came into contact with various concert artists as they passed through Dublin. As Stanford himself recalled in Pages: Our house used to be, during the early sixties, a great port of call for some very interesting visitors on their way from England to the country parts of Ireland. 6 One visitor to the Stanford household during these years was the famous Austro- Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim ( ). Joachim later became one of Charles s closest lifelong friends and colleagues. Charles s earliest music influences provided him with a foundation in the traditions of J. S. Bach, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Mozart and Beethoven. His earliest piano teachers were students of the Bohemian pianist and composer Ignaz 4 Harry Plunket Greene, Charles Villiers Stanford (London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1935), 27. Greene notes that Mary Stanford was musical to her fingertips and played the pianoforte delightfully. 5 Stanford, Pages, Ibid., 65. 7

17 Moscheles ( ), who had befriended Beethoven and later, Mendelssohn. During these formative years, Charles also received violin lessons from Richard M. Levey 7 ( ), leader of the Dublin Theater Royal, and organ lessons from Robert Prescott Stewart ( ), Dublin s premiere organist of the day. This training shaped Stanford s musical and compositional philosophy and style by laying a solid foundation in Classical aesthetics and traditions. A gifted pianist from an early age, Charles presented his first piano recital at the age of nine and soon became a regular participant with his father and other local professionals in solo and chamber music performances in and around Dublin. 8 It was not long before he began presenting his own compositions to the public on concerts at 2 Herbert Street. One such notable performance occurred in The program included piano solos and piano trios and featured Charles s youthful piano composition A Venetian Dirge. Members of the press attended the concert and favorable reviews peaked public interest in him and predicted a promising future. 9 Charles s early music education was further enhanced by family trips to London during the summers of 1862, 1864, and These visits afforded him the opportunity to experience culture and music beyond the scope of Dublin and to meet leading music figures of the day, including Sir George Grove ( ), Sir Arthur Sullivan ( ) and Sir August Manns ( ). Grove in 7 Levy was also known by his stage name, O Shaughnessy. 8 Greene, IRELAND. The Orchestra, Oct Mar , no. 37 (Jun11, 1864): 590-1, 8

18 particular would become a close friend in future years, playing an influential role in Stanford s career at the Royal College of Music. 10 According to Stanford, his father hoped he would pursue a legal career, as was the family tradition. However, since Charles expressed sincere interest in a music career, his father agreed to a compromise and allowed him to pursue formal studies in music after first completing a general or classical university education. 11 As it turned out, Charles s abilities as an organist proved invaluable. He was granted an organ scholarship at Cambridge. Stanford entered Queen s college, Cambridge in 1870, having subsequently secured a classical scholarship in addition to the organ scholarship. Cambridge University Stanford quickly made a name for himself at Cambridge through his duties as organist and, more importantly, through his work with the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS). Stanford joined the CUMS immediately after his arrival in Cambridge and scarcely a month later made his debut appearance as a pianist with the Society. He worked tirelessly and by 1873 was appointed as the new director of the CUMS as well as the organist at Trinity. 12 Stanford s work with the CUMS became the foundation of his career at Cambridge. Stanford notes in Pages: Grove s 10 Stanford, Pages, 83. Here Stanford describes his early encounters with Grove at the Crystal Palace, where Grove was at that time secretary under its music director, Sir August Manns. 11 Ibid., Stanford transferred his studies from Queens to Trinity in 1874, taking up residence in the same rooms that had once been occupied by Sir Isaac Newton. 9

19 Dictionary of Music did not say a word too much, when it put on record that the society had become a pioneer and a power in the country. 13 He achieved distinction for himself and the Society by using his skills as conductor, pianist, and composer to quickly transform the CUMS from an average local ensemble into a nationally recognized music organization. Stanford had accepted the post at Trinity with the understanding that he be allowed to travel to Germany in the summers and during school vacations to pursue his studies in music composition. Between 1873 and 1876 he made several trips to the European continent, centering his studies in Leipzig. For Stanford, Leipzig was clearly the location to pursue his music education. There he could expect to experience opera, concerts and church music, with the added bonus of being well placed geographically to make short trips to other parts of Germany such as Berlin, Dresden and Weimar. He began his composition studies with Karl Reinecke ( ) in Leipzig, but, being unsatisfied with his instruction under Reinecke, transferred his studies to Berlin with Joachim s colleague Friedrich Kiel ( ). 14 In addition to studying composition in Germany with Kiel, Stanford also studied piano with Robert Papperitz. Leipzig was a favorite base for students from Britain, the USA, and Scandinavia seeking to study composition, and Stanford was in good company with 13 Stanford, Pages, Joachim was influential in helping Stanford make this transfer. 10

20 other British students studying at the Conservatorium. 15 In Stanford s view, England could not possibly offer comparable opportunities: In England in the early seventies [there was] a lack of means to teach composition the man to teach it, and the surroundings which enable a student to hear and judge of his own work but the opportunities of hearing first rate music were far fewer. 16 Stanford s assessment of the state of music in England in the latter half of the nineteenth century may have been bleak, but it provides a point of reference that demonstrates how dramatically this state of affairs had changed by the time of his death in 1924, a change of which Stanford could be proud to have been an integral part. While in Germany, Stanford took full advantage of opportunities to travel and had more than the occasional encounter with famous musicians of the day. In 1873 he attended the Schumann Festival in Bonn where his friend Joseph Joachim was conductor. Stanford made the acquaintance of Ferdinand Hiller, an association that led to Stanford s first meeting with Johannes Brahms at a private gathering in Hiller s Cologne home shortly after the Festival. No doubt one of the highlights of Stanford s travels in Germany occurred in the summer of 1876, when he attended the second performance of Wagner s Der Ring des Nibelungen in Bayreuth. 17 According to Pages, Stanford sat directly behind Wagner and Liszt during the 15 Dibble, Stanford, Pages, Ibid., See also, Interludes, Records, and Reflections. There Stanford provides an interesting and detailed first hand account of his experience in Bayreuth in

21 performances. Trips to Germany also gave Stanford the opportunity to visit Joachim, and it was not long before the violinist was making annual visits to Cambridge and appearing regularly with the CUMS as an honorary member. Under Stanford s direction, the reputation of the CUMS and its director grew quickly. In 1876 Stanford, in conjunction with a small group of undergraduates, helped introduce the Wednesday Popular Concerts, which featured smaller scale works including chamber music and songs performed by both amateurs and professionals. Joachim frequently performed at these concerts, usually in the Lent and Easter terms. 18 From 1888 to 1893 Stanford expanded the Wednesday Popular Concerts to a series of both orchestral and chamber works. Stanford was known for initiating the practice of performing a wide range of the finest choral and orchestral works with the Society, a tradition that was carried on by future directors. 19 Stanford quickly became known for his innovative programming strategies with the CUMS. His concert programs included lesser- known works, works of British composers, and many first performances, either world premieres or British premieres. At Stanford s suggestion, Cambridge agreed to offer honorary doctoral degrees to both Joachim and Brahms. Brahms ultimately could not be enticed to make the trip to receive his degree, but Joachim received his degree on a concert of 18 William Barclay Squire, Henry C. Colles, Philip F. Radcliffe, ed., Cambridge, Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th Ed., Eric Blom, ed., (New York: St. Martin s Press Inc., 1966), vol. 2, Ibid. 12

22 March 8, This concert was one of the highlights of Stanford s early career at Cambridge. Although Brahms was not there in person, Joachim conducted the British premiere of Brahms s Symphony No. 1 from the manuscript. Stanford s close friend, Harry Plunket Greene, gives an account of the evening s events in which he notes several important artistic figures in attendance, the atmosphere of the concert hall itself, and the importance of the evening to the future reception of Brahms s music in England: The concert was given in a room packed with professionals and amateurs from all over the country. Robert Browning, Leighton, Felix Moscheles, Manns, Grove, Manuel Garcia and a host of others were there. The Guildhall platform was somehow induced to hold 51 players and 150 singers and, as experience invariably shows us, over crowding keyed up both performers and audience to a high pitch of excitement. The concert marched from one success to another, and ended in a demonstration of affection for the two conductors (aged 24 and 45 respectively), and, as Joachim wrote to Brahms, Since Cambridge the future of your work in England is assured. The newspapers were warm in their praise. The world was talking, and the CUMS was definitely accepted as the home of enterprise. 20 Almost overnight, Stanford had brought national attention to himself and the CUMS. The British music world took notice and confirmed the university city as an important focus for contemporary music. 21 Stanford s professional responsibilities at Cambridge kept him very busy. He was often featured in chamber ensembles performing at CUMS events in addition to his duties as its director. His position as organist at Trinity was multifaceted. He was responsible for providing music at services and college feasts, and was in charge of 20 Greene, Dibble,

23 the choir and ran rehearsals for them as well. Despite a busy schedule, he always made time for composition, as evidenced by the steady stream of compositions that he produced throughout his life. Stanford s student years in Germany had put him in touch with many prominent musicians of the day, and he continued to visit the European continent throughout his career for performances, often of his own works. In 1878 Stanford made such a visit to Germany hoping to generate interest in his new opera The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan and to attend a private performance of his Cello Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 9, at Ferdinand Hiller s home. Perhaps the most important outcome of this visit was a meeting with Hans Richter ( ) in which Stanford persuaded the Austro- Hungarian conductor to come to London for a series of concerts. The concerts were so successful that Richter returned to England regularly to produce concerts with English orchestras, and over the next twenty- three years the Richter Concerts were immensely well received by English audiences. Richter applied his expert skills to improving the abilities of the orchestras with which he worked, and as the quality of the performances improved, audience attendance increased. German conductor, pianist, and composer Hans von Bülow ( ) became another close friend during these years. Stanford met von Bülow through their mutual friend, Joachim, shortly after von Bülow had been appointed director of the Berlin Philharmonic. Von Bülow gave the premiere of Stanford s Third Symphony, the Irish, in 1888, and it was here that von Bülow introduced Stanford to Richard Strauss for the first time. The trip to Berlin for the premiere of the Irish 14

24 symphony was valuable for Stanford s reputation both at home and abroad as it not only led to his meeting Tchaikovsky 22 for the first time, but also resulted in von Bülow s inviting Stanford to return to Berlin later that year to conduct a concert entirely of his own works. 23 Another important personal association in Stanford s life was his friendship with Alfred Lord Tennyson. Stanford became acquainted with Tennyson s sons, Hallam and Lionel, when they were students together at Cambridge in the 1870 s. Stanford set many of Tennyson s works during his career and maintained a very close friendship with the literary figure until Tennyson s death. One of Stanford s most popular and enduring works, The Revenge, Op. 24 came from this association. The 1880 s were prosperous years for Stanford. He had established himself as one of the most prominent conductors and composers of the day and was well known by his work both at Trinity and with the CUMS. 24 He continued to compose at a regular and rapid rate, and his works were frequently published and performed. Increasingly, his work was reaching beyond Cambridge. He began receiving commissions from music festivals around the country, including Birmingham and Norwich, and was sought after for engagements as conductor, organist, and pianist. 25 The commissions and attention Stanford received from three of the most 22 Tchaikovsky commented on the Irish Symphony in his diary writing, huge success of Stanford s symphony. 23 Dibble, Greene, Dibble,

25 prestigious music Festivals (Birmingham, Leeds and the Three Choirs) were evidence of his stature during these years. 26 Stanford s career took a significant step forward with his appointment as Professor of Composition, Orchestration and Orchestral Conducting at the newly founded Royal College of Music in London in Not only were Stanford s accomplishments at Cambridge well known by this time, but also Sir George Grove, the RCM s first director, knew Stanford personally. During the next ten years Stanford split his time between Cambridge and London, maintaining his residence near the University and commuting to London on Tuesdays and Thursdays for his duties at the RCM. Stanford s life became increasingly centered in London as the years progressed. The London Bach Choir hired Stanford as its new conductor in Stanford developed and ran an opera program at the RCM, and the orchestra program, under his direction, was gaining momentum. The RCM students gave dozens of performances over the years in London, many of which were attended by the royal family or were performed at one of the royal palaces. Stanford was appointed Professor of Music at Cambridge in 1888, a position through which he would exert a profound impact on the status of music in England for future generations because of his reforms to the music degree programs at the University. His reforms were highly innovative for the day and directly impacted the future of music degrees in terms of status, content, and instruction for music 26 Paul Rodmell, Charles Villiers Stanford (Aldershot England: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2002),

26 programs in the Western world. Stanford desired that music enjoy an equal status with the academic degree programs. Therefore, Stanford held that candidates in music should be required to undergo the same procedures and requirements to which candidates in academic programs adhered. The foundations of the reforms were: 1) that Bachelor of Music students be required to maintain residency, attending a regular curriculum of classes on campus for a minimum of three years, 2) that musicians should have the benefit of a well- rounded education in addition to their areas of music specialization, comparable to the academic disciplines with general courses in classics, literature, and math, 3) that the current Music Doctorate degree no longer be solely an honorary degree, but also an earned degree with a new set of regulations, 4) and that a Master of Music degree be created that included final examinations in addition to a final original project. 27 Thanks to Stanford s reforms, music became a respected academic field of study at Cambridge, and other British universities eventually followed the Cambridge model. 28 By the time Stanford was thirty- nine years old, he had earned a prominent place among the leading musicians of the day in England and Europe. He enjoyed numerous conducting engagements that extended to the European continent, and his compositions were known both nationally and abroad. Through his tireless work at Trinity and Cambridge, he had made a name for himself as well as for the CUMS. 27 The full details of Stanford s degree reforms can be read as reported by The Musical Times, January Rodmell, 173. These changes were also particularly beneficial to the development of the fledgling fields of musicology and analysis. 17

27 In London, at the Royal College of Music, he was applying the same enthusiasm and energy to his duties as Professor of Composition and director of the orchestra and opera programs. In addition to his activities in Cambridge and London, which included conductorship of the Bach Choir, he frequently traveled throughout England, and on occasion to the European continent, conducting his own works and promoting the works of British composers. 29 By 1893 Stanford s duties at the RCM and with the London Bach Choir required that he spend the majority of his time in London. He retained his Professorship with Cambridge for the rest of his life, but gave up his duties with the CUMS and Trinity. Stanford s departure coincided with the CUMS s Golden Jubilee, and for his final concert he organized a singular event to honor five of the most eminent composers of the day. Stanford invited Camille Saint- Saëns, Max Bruch, Peter Tchaikovsky, Arrigo Boïto, and Edvard Grieg to Cambridge to receive honorary doctorates and to perform a work of their own on a concert in their honor. 30 Stanford held a private party attended by friends and dignitaries from Cambridge and London at his London home the Friday before the concert and degree ceremony. The concert took place on June 12, 1893 in the Cambridge Guildhall with an array of celebrities from Britain s music world converging on 29 Dibble, 284. Dibble notes, His work and engagements in England were healthy and vigorous, and his music was widely performed. 30 Grieg was ill and had to postpone his visit until the following year. Stanford conducted his Peer Gynt suite in his absence. 18

28 Cambridge for the event. 31 Stanford took the stage last, conducting a work of his own in his final appearance as the conductor of the ensemble he had reinvented and directed for twenty- one years. A dinner at King s College followed at which Stanford acknowledged each of his guests individually. 32 Stanford s years at Cambridge were significant, not only for his career, but for the state of music in Cambridge as a whole. He had been a vitalizing and energetic force, bringing changes to the CUMS concerts and to Trinity chapel that benefited the local community as well as the students and the amateur musicians who were members of the Society. Through these activities, he had ultimately succeeded in raising the standards of music making in Cambridge. The Royal College of Music In 1893 Stanford moved his family from Cambridge to London, where the focus of his responsibilities now lay, primarily with the Royal College of Music and the London Bach Choir. At the RCM, Stanford was well placed to exert a considerable influence on British music, principally through the higher education of England s musicians. Stanford s time at the RCM was defined by his role as the director of the orchestra and opera programs, as well as Professor of Composition. The foundation of the College orchestra, and the choice of good singers who were attracted to the school, made it possible to go a step farther and produce annually a complete opera 31 Dibble, Stanford, Pages,

29 on the stage. 33 Stanford produced thirty- one operas during his first thirty years at the RCM, several of which received royal performances. The orchestra also flourished under Stanford s direction. Graduates from the RCM soon began to fill English orchestras. One after another passed almost automatically into the great orchestras of the country and never failed to make good. Sixty years ago British orchestras were mainly foreign; to- day they are British to a man and Stanford their greatest trainer. 34 Stanford s efforts with the orchestral and opera programs at the RCM are notable; however, the position for which he ultimately became best known was as Professor of Composition. A steady stream of promising young British composers began to flow from Stanford s studio. Stanford naturally gave his pupils his vigorous support, using his various prestigious positions to promote their works whenever he could. Among Stanford s Students at the RCM were Arthur Somervell, Charles Wood, Henry Walford Davies, Alexandar Cecil Forsyth, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Thomas Dunhill, William Hurlstone, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Ireland, Cyril Rootham, Harold Samule, Frank Bridge, Edward Dent, George Dyson, Ivor Gurney, Eugène Goossens, Herbert Howells, and Arthur Bliss Ibid., Greene, 190. Although Greene was one of Stanford s closest friends, making him naturally biased regarding Stanford s accomplishments, it is notable that there were few alternatives outside the RCM for the training of musicians in England at this time. 35 Ibid.,

30 Stanford s professional career was by no means limited to the RCM. Throughout the 1890 s Stanford continued his regular conducting engagements in England and abroad, promoting his own works, those of British composers, and also those of his own students. His music was performed across the nation and in Europe, Australia, and America. Stanford now stood amongst the greatest composers of late Victorian Britain, and his success as a composer was increasingly recognized both by reputation and by honors. 36 Throughout the final decade of the nineteenth century, Stanford continued to enjoy a prosperous and successful career as one of England s leading musicians. He resigned from the Bach Choir in 1902, but secured the directorship of both the Leeds Philharmonic Society and the Leeds Triennial Festival in 1897 and 1900 respectively. With these ensembles he continued to employ the innovative programming policies that had been so successful with the CUMS. These years also saw the emergence of Stanford s first string quartets. Although the twentieth century had begun well for Stanford, and he maintained his usual busy schedule, his fortunes were slowly beginning to decline. This was perhaps most apparent in the gradual slowing of interest in his most recent compositions. While he continued to compose at his usual prolific rate, the number of unperformed manuscripts lining his shelf began to grow, and commissions from festivals were fewer. Stanford almost certainly felt the spotlight was no longer shining as brightly on him as it once had, thanks in part to the rapid rise of Elgar and the flourishing careers of his own students. 36 Rodmell,

31 Elgar had become something of a national celebrity, gaining recognition on a level Stanford had never quite achieved. Stanford s current and former students at the RCM were themselves experiencing success and were increasingly well represented at music festivals throughout Britain. Stanford was proud of the fact that his students were thriving, and he actively supported them in their pursuits, but these circumstances increasingly drew attention away from his own work. The situation was a source of frustration for Stanford, as he also desired recognition for the work he himself had accomplished. These circumstances had financial repercussions, too, as royalties declined, and his income from his professional duties at the RCM and Cambridge remained relatively fixed with little increase over the years. By the time Stanford s autobiography, Pages from an Unwritten Diary was published in 1914, the effects of World War I were spreading across Europe, bringing significant changes to life in England and disrupting, among other things, music festivals. Nearly all of the provincial music festivals throughout Britain were cancelled or suspended during the war, and many never resumed their activities. Stanford saw less income from royalties, and student enrollment at the RCM declined. Many changes came to the RCM after World War I. The number of faculty members increased substantially with twenty- six new appointments, and the student body swelled to nearly New classes were added to the curriculum, 37 Many of the faculty members hired were former RCM students. 22

32 including ear training, music appreciation, and conducting. Two additional orchestras were formed, and a new opera class curriculum was created in conjunction with the construction of a new opera theater. 38 Stanford continued to direct one of the orchestras and to teach composition, assisted now by his former students John Ireland and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Stanford finally received an increase in salary from the RCM in 1920 and continued to give an annual lecture series at Cambridge. 39 Stanford had begun to experience a decline in his health during the war, and by 1921 his health deteriorated to a point where it began to disrupt his regular activities. His final public appearance as conductor was at the Royal Albert Hall on March 5, 1921, and his last performance with the RCM orchestra was on June 3, He officially remained the conductor of the RCM orchestra until his death in 1924, but his colleagues assisted him heavily during these years. Stanford continued to compose almost to the end of his life. A few of his new compositions received performances, and some of his older works continued to endure or experience brief revivals, but publishers accepted fewer works from him. When he was well enough to do so, he attended concerts featuring his music or that of his students and attended small gatherings either at his home or the homes of friends in London. The Leeds Philharmonic Society gave a concert in Stanford s honor in November Dibble, Ibid., 446. The salary was less than Stanford had hoped for and did not take inflation into account. 23

33 On March 17, 1924, 40 Stanford suffered a stroke while getting ready to go out for dinner and passed away twelve days later on March 29, The funeral service took place at Westminster Abbey on April 3, 1924, and the church was filled with family, friends, students, and colleagues. The RCM orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, played selections from Stanford s Stabat Mater, Fifth Symphony, and Beckett. Stanford s final resting place is in the North Choir Aisle near the graves of William Croft, Herbert Howells, Henry Purcell and family, and Ralph Vaughn Williams. 41 George V granted Stanford s wife, Jennie Wetton Stanford, a pension in acknowledgement of her husband s work. Shortly after his death she moved to a small house in Westminster, and finally, in 1941, to a nursing home in Wimborne Minster. Stanford s son, Guy, became an antique dealer and owned a shop on South Audley Street in Mayfiar. He passed away in Brighton in Geraldine, Stanford s daughter, became a nurse, never married, and died in Neither Guy nor Geraldine had any children. Stanford s copyrights are now in the care of the Royal School of Church Music and the British Empire Cancer Campaign. 42 Stanford had already given notice of his resignation of the Professorship at Cambridge effective April 1, His teaching duties at the RCM were taken over by several of his former students including John Ireland, Ralph Vaughan Williams, 40 Incidentally, this was St. Patrick s Day. 41 The North Choir Aisle at Westminster Abbey also houses memorials (not graves) to other British musicians including William Wlaton, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, and Adrian Boult. 42 Rodmell,

34 Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells, and Frank Bridge. He was remembered by his students in several articles as well as by friends like J. A. Fuller Maitland and Plunket Greene. 43 There were several performances of his music as memorials shortly after his death, but Stanford s music fell largely into obscurity, with the exception of the Anglican church music, which is still revered. 44 Stanford s contributions to the music culture of his time directly influenced British music life for generations to follow. He raised the standards of music- making wherever he went, broadened the repertoire to which audiences were exposed, and continuously supported and promoted British musicians. He advocated vigorously throughout his life for state support of the arts, particularly opera and education, and argued fervently for better and fairer dealings between composers and publishers. During his thirty- eight years at the RCM, he directly affected the future of British music by training a large number of its musicians, composers, instrumentalists, and vocalists. Through his reforms to the degree program in music at Cambridge, he played a vital role in transforming the status of music as a valued and scholarly pursuit in the university culture, particularly at a time when the fields of musicology and theory were emerging as dedicated fields of study. In many ways Stanford is best remembered through his students from the RCM. These students went on to become leaders of the British music world and make significant contributions in their own right. Stanford s teaching career 43 See Charles Villiers Stanford by some of his Pupils, Music and Letters, 5 (1924), Dibble,

35 included the instruction of many of the most well- known British composers and musicians of the twentieth century. 45 Few musicians throughout history can make such a claim. 45 Rodmell, 351. Rodmell provides a table listing many of Stanford s students from the RCM, the years they studied with him, and their subsequent careers. 26

36 III. DISCUSSION OF THE QUARTET The two most vital qualities for an artist are sincerity and nobility. Without them he may gain notoriety, but will forfeit respect. With them he will take his place, be it in the lower or the higher circles of the musician s paradise, with those who have given of their best for the advancement of their art Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, 1911 Stanford s String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 99 is an ideal choice for musicians interested in performing works that are outside the standard repertoire. Although it was almost certainly available through Stainer & Bell s hire library, the work is not well known today primarily because it never reached full publication, and a recording has yet to be produced. This state of affairs is likely to change in the coming years, as an effort is underway by the Stanford Society to publish and record as many of Stanford s works as possible. Most likely when this quartet is heard and played, it will quickly find its way onto many concert programs. The String Quartet No. 4 is a four- movement work in G minor that displays elements characteristic of late classical romanticism. Harmonic direction throughout the quartet is generally straightforward and moves through the related keys of E- flat major, C minor, and G major. The first movement is cast in a modified sonata form with clearly defined melodies. The second movement is a scherzo, while the third is a ternary song form and the fourth is another scherzo. Each movement is based on a distinctive melody that forms the basis for the movement s individual character and development. Stanford employs cyclic processes in the fourth 46 Charles Villiers Stanford, Musical Composition: A Short Treatise for Students (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1911),

37 movement by incorporating the theme from the third movement into the fabric of the fourth. He sets a fairly rapid pace throughout the quartet with three of the four movements marked in a quick tempo. Despite the relatively rapid pacing, the quartet is lengthy with 884 total bars that take approximately thirty minutes to perform. The stimulating musical surroundings Stanford experienced growing up in Dublin laid the foundation for his lifelong interest in chamber music as performer and composer. Chamber music was part of Stanford s life from a very young age. Concerts at 2 Herbert Street, Dublin often included chamber music, with young Charles Stanford at the piano. In June 1864, the Orchestra enthusiastically reviewed one such concert in which Stanford performed a lengthy two- part program that included Haydn s Piano Trio in G major. 47 On other occasions the young Stanford collaborated in chamber music with his father, who sometimes participated in the ensemble as cellist. These youthful performances laid the foundation for events that would unfold in Stanford s adult life. Stanford regularly took the stage as pianist early in his career in concerts with the Cambridge University Musical Society. It was not long before these performances also included the premieres of his latest works. This trend continued throughout much of his career, and soon Stanford s performance activities expanded beyond Cambridge. Though not a concert artist or career performer, he performed as soloist and chamber ensemble pianist in many venues both in England and in Europe. These performances often included solo and 47 Dibble,

38 chamber works of his own composition, just as they had in his early days in Cambridge. Given the rich music environment in which Stanford was raised, it is not surprising that chamber music became a significant part of his compositional output. His contributions to the genre of string chamber music include eight string quartets, four piano trios, two piano quartets, two string quintets, two cello sonatas, and four violin sonatas. He also wrote numerous other chamber works for various combinations of strings and winds, and several character pieces for violin and piano. Stanford s chamber music output was composed almost exclusively for stringed instruments. Only two chamber works were not originally scored with stringed instruments in mind, the Three Intermezzi for Clarinet, Op. 13 and the Clarinet Sonata in F major, Op It was only when his career was well established, and he had numerous successful compositions to his credit that Stanford first ventured into the realm of the string quartet. Stanford had ample experience writing chamber music by this time in his career, but he had yet to write expressly for string quartet. The fact that Stanford s first string quartets did not appear until well into his career raises the question of whether or not he consciously waited to pursue this type of composition. This is a plausible enough theory, but there appears to be no evidence in the form of letters or personal accounts by Stanford that this was the case. If 48 Stanford subsequently transcribed the Three Intermezzi for Violin and the Clarinet Sonata for Viola at the request of the publishers of these works, Novello and Stainer & Bell, respectively. 29