British music lost one of its greatest advocates on Wednesday, September 10. The 77-year-old Vernon Handley passed away at home in Monmouthshire, Wales. The British conductor had tirelessly promoted works by British composers throughout his lifetime and had regularly appeared at the BBC Proms.
In tribute, the BBC Proms dedicated its Wednesday concert to Dr. Handley. The controller of BBC Radio 3 and the director of the BBC Proms Roger Wright noted that "Vernon Handley was a wonderful musician and an extraordinary champion of British music."
Taking Risks with the Repertoire
Over the course of a 45-year career, Handley recorded over 150 albums, of which more than 60% featured the works of British composers. He was considered the definitive conductor of Elgar's works, and he often conducted the works of Vaughan Williams.
Yet while his repertoire included these more prominent names on the list of British composers, he also managed to persuade three different labels to record the complete symphonies of more unpopular (and risky) composers: Robert Simpson (recorded on the Hyperion label), Sir Malcolm Arnold (on Conifer) and Arnold Bax (on Chandos).
In an unusual turn of affairs, Handley also managed to make a genuine recording of Bax's Symphonic Variations (1970) with Joyce Hatto, the pianist who gained notoriety in 2007 when it was discovered that her husband had faked many of her recordings.
A Decorated Self-Taught Composer
George Vernon Handley came from rather modest roots: he was born at Enfield, Middlesex in 1930 to working-class parents. His family couldn't afford music lessons, despite Handley's demonstrated musical abilities. A hand injury at 8, however, destroyed any dreams of becoming a concert pianist, and Handley immersed himself in recordings and scores. Though he read Philology at Balliol College, Oxford, he spent a good deal of time conducting music societies, orchestras and choirs.
Handley managed to secure an audience with Adrian Boult, who was impressed with the young conductor's treatment of Bax's Third Symphony. Boult helped Handley get his first professional engagement, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1961.
Since that time, Vernon Handey has received several awards. Fittingly, he received the Arnold Bax Memorial Medal for Conducting in 1962. He was also awarded the lifetime achievement awards from Gramophone magazine in 2003 and the Classical Brits in May 2007. Though he declined an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1988, he was later appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2004.
Sources
"Vernon Handley." September 10, 2008. The Telegraph.
"Conductor Vernon Handley Dies." September 10, 2008. BBC News.
 |
