| Hamilton Harty |
Website Links For Herbert |
Information AboutHamilton Harty |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HERBERT HAMILTON HARTY | |
| 1879 births | |
| 1941 deaths | |
| 20th century classical composers | |
| rnvr wartime service | |
| northern irish composers | |
| people from county down | |
| royal philharmonic society gold medallists | |
Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty ( December 4 , 1879 – February 19 , 1941 ), British Conductor , Composer and Accompanist , is known for the unmistakably Irish sound in many of his compositions, was a respected conductor, and was at one time considered the premier accompanist in London. Harty was born in Hillsborough , Ireland , the fourth of ten children of church organist William Michael Harty (1852–1918) and his wife, Annie Elizabeth, the daughter of Joseph Hamilton Richards, a soldier from Bray . Raised an Anglican , Harty played viola, piano, and organ as a child. Initially following in his father's footsteps, he held positions as a church organist from age twelve. He moved to London in 1901 to pursue a musical career as accompanist, and accompanied an impressive list of soloists, among them John McCormack , W.H. Squire , Joseph Szigeti , Fritz Kreisler , and soprano Agnes Nicholls , whom he married on 15 July 1904. Nicholls' professional relationship with the Hungarian conductor and was posted for duties in the North Sea , and he rose to the rank of lieutenant in 1917 before leaving in June 1918. In December he substituted for an indisposed Sir Thomas Beecham at a performance of Handel's ''Messiah'' with the Hallé Orchestra, and on 27 March 1919 he again replaced Beecham at a performance of J. S. Bach's mass in B minor. Harty did most of his composing between 1901 and 1920, including his ''An Irish Symphony'', his tone poem ''With the Wild Geese'', his '' Violin Concerto '', and his setting of ''Ode to a Nightingale'' for soprano and orchestra, premiered by Nicholls. After short stints with the London Symphony Orchestra and elsewhere in England , Harty became permanent conductor of The Hallé in 1920, a position that he held until 1933. Under his baton, the Hallé became one of the premier orchestras in England. He was Knighted in 1925. From 1931 to 1936, Harty toured in America and elsewhere, conducting in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Rochester, as well as in Sydney, Australia. Harty's health began to deteriorate sharply in 1936: a malignant brain tumour was discovered and surgery was required. After both the growth and his right eye were removed, Harty convalesced in Ireland and ; after cremation his ashes were placed in Hillsborough parish church. REFERENCES
|
|
|