1949 in British music

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This is a summary of 1949 in music in the United Kingdom.

Events

• February – On hearing of the death of Ernest Walker, Albert Schweitzer writes: "Now the dear, gentle, kind, distinguished Dr. Walker has left this life. Seeing him impressed me deeply each time."^[1]
• 14 July – Kathleen Ferrier performs in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Spring Symphony in Amsterdam, with Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, a work written specifically for her.^[2]
• 5 September – Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop makes his last appearance at The Proms, singing an aria from Lohengrin, only one day before his sudden death.
• date unknown – The Tempo Records jazz record label is founded by Colin Pomroy, Jack Clough, and R.E.G. (Ron) Davies.

Popular music

• "Snowy White Snow and Jingle Bells" by Billy Reid, performed by Dorothy Squires^[3]
• "The Wedding of Lili Marlene" by Tommie Connor^[4]

Classical music: new works

• Malcolm Arnold – Symphony No. 1
• Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 8 in B flat Minor
• Benjamin Britten – Spring Symphony^[5]
• William Walton – Sonata for violin and piano (written for Yehudi Menuhin and Louis Kentner)

Opera

• Benjamin Britten – Let's Make an Opera (The Little Sweep)
• Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Pilgrim's Progress (original version)

Film and Incidental music

• Richard Addinsell – The Passionate Friends directed by David Lean.^[6]
• Arthur Bliss – Christopher Columbus, starring Fredric March.
• Ernest Irving –
  • Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring Alec Guinness.
  • A Run for Your Money, starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards.
  • Whisky Galore! directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson.

Musical theatre

• 22 June – Her Excellency starring Cicely Courtneidge opens at the London Hippodrome
• 15 September – King's Rhapsody, with music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, opens at the Palace Theatre, London.

Musical films

• Maytime in Mayfair, starring Anna Neagle^[7]
• Melody in the Dark, starring Eunice Gayson
• Trottie True, starring Jean Kent and Hugh Sinclair

Births

• 4 January – Margaret Anne Marshall, Scottish soprano
• 19 January – Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003)
• 22 January – Phil Miller, English guitarist
• 6 February – Mike Batt, singer and composer
• 7 February – Alan Lancaster, bass player (Status Quo and The Party Boys)
• 16 February – Lyn Paul, English singer and actress (The New Seekers)
• 26 February – Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano
• 24 March – Nick Lowe, singer-songwriter
• 11 April – Lee Sheriden, singer with Brotherhood of Man
• 13 May – Jane Glover, conductor
• 18 May – Rick Wakeman, multi-instrumentalist and composer
• 21 May – Rosalind Plowright, operatic mezzo-soprano
• 14 June – Alan White, rock drummer (Yes) (died 2022)
• 17 June – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Residents and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) (died 1987)
• 24 June – John Illsley, singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Dire Straits)
• 3 July – John Verity, guitarist (Argent)
• 12 July – John Wetton, bass guitarist (King Crimson, Roxy Music)
• 15 July
  • John Casken, composer
  • Trevor Horn, record producer, songwriter, musician and singer, sometimes called "The Man Who Invented the Eighties".^[8][9]
• 17 July
  • Geezer Butler, bass player and songwriter (Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler Band, GZR, and Heaven & Hell)
  • Wayne Sleep, actor, dancer, and choreographer
• 28 July – Simon Kirke, English drummer (Bad Company and Free)
• 12 August
  • Mark Knopfler, singer, songwriter, guitarist and composer
  • Lou Martin, Irish-English pianist, songwriter, and producer (died 2012)
• 28 August – Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers)
• 1 October – Allan Barty, folk musician (died 2008)
• 29 October – David Paton, guitarist, singer and songwriter
• 2 November – Frankie Miller, rock singer-songwriter
• 23 November – Sandra Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man
• 26 November – Martin Lee, singer with Brotherhood of Man
• 3 December – Nicky Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man
• 5 December – John Altman, film composer, arranger and conductor
• 8 December – Ray Shulman, violinist, guitarist, and producer
• 17 December – Paul Rodgers, rock vocalist
• 22 December – Robin Gibb (died 2012) and Maurice Gibb (died 2003) (Bee Gees
• date unknown – Eleanor Alberga, composer

Deaths

• 11 January – Edward Goll, Bohemian-born pianist, 64
• 15 January – Robert Evett, singer, actor, theatre manager and producer, 74
• 21 February – Ernest Walker, composer, pianist, organist, teacher and writer on music, 78
• 3 April – Basil Harwood, organist and composer, 89
• 3 May – David John Tawe Jones, composer, 64^[10]
• 6 September – Walter Widdop, operatic tenor, 51^[11]
• 30 October – Stanley Kirkby, baritone singer and variety artist, 71
• date unknown – Frank Clifford Harris, lyricist, 74

See also

• 1949 in British television
• 1949 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1949

References

1. Margaret Deneke, Ernest Walker, 1951
2. Blyth, Alan (2007). "Ferrier, Kathleen (Mary)". Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 2 June 2011.(subscription required)
3. "Song:Snowy White Snow and Jingle Bells". Secondhand Songs. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
4. Colin Larkin (2000). The encyclopedia of popular music. Oxford Univ. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
5. Mitchell, Donald (ed) (2004). Letters From A Life: Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Vol. 3 1946–51. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22282-X. p. 408
6. Melanie Williams (8 June 2017). David Lean. Oxford University Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-5261-1681-9.
7. Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p489
8. "Interview: Trevor Horn | the Stool Pigeon". Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
9. "Amsterdam Dance Event 2012". www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
10. "Jones, David John Tawe". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
11. Steane, John. "Widdop, Walter." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, accessed 4 November 2010 (subscription required)