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Musical Heroes
A Personal View of Music and the Musical World Over Sixty Years

Synopsis:

Robert Ponsonby has been at the centre of the music world both in Britain and elsewhere for some sixty years, and "Musical Heroes" is a distillation of his experiences, achievements and friendships in that world. With its deft touch and its empathy, it is both captivating and inspiring, and it is often full of humour. It paints portraits in many formats of the fifty or so figures he knew best, including conductors, composers, performers and administrators: Boult, Beecham, Giulini, Pritchard, Kubelik, Boulez, Walton, Tippett, Berio, Ligeti, Henze, Menuhin, Sena Jurinac, Rostropovich, Jacqueline du Pre, John Ogdon, William Glock, John Drummond, Thomas Armstrong and Robert Mayer are some of those featured. There has been a widespread renaissance in the appreciation of classical music in the past few years, above all among talented young musicians and composers and in schools, where music is now taught systematically. "Musical Heroes" will therefore have a wide appeal not only among established lovers of classical music but also among people who have discovered it for themselves more recently. There is probably more active music-making in Britain today than there has ever been, and concerts in all parts of the country are often packed out. Dame Janet Baker: 'One of the truly great privileges is to spend one's working life among charismatic, interesting and gifted people. It has clearly been the experience of Robert Ponsonby during his many years of artistic administration and he writes about it with obvious delight...How refreshing...to read [his] collection of portraits which steer such a well-judged course between the light and darker sides of the human condition and give us a balanced picture of his subjects. He has a delightful turn of phrase and describes aspects of character which I found immediately recognizable and true. It is all done with wit, perception, kindness, honesty, affection and humour, leaving this reader wanting more'.

Reviews:

Dame Janet Baker CH, DBE on Musical Heroes: 'One of the truly great privileges is to spend one's working life among charismatic, interesting and gifted people. It has clearly been the experience of Robert Ponsonby during his many years of artistic administration and he writes about it with obvious delight. The world of the arts is a fascinating one, but those involved in it don't have an easy ride through life and the stress often shows itself in something which is commonly described as temperament. This is perfectly understandable; in the constant search for perfection, a certain degree of stress arises; to meet deadlines, or deal with the inevitable clash of egos, miracles are both required and achieved on a daily basis. There is never a dull moment and to deal with the creative, performing and administrative sides of the profession demands the utmost from everybody. In former times it was the practice to draw a kindly veil over the idiosyncracies of others, but now we are told that the public needs to know the truth and so a character or a life is opened up to the public gaze in ways formerly unheard of, warts and all. How refreshing then, to read Robert Ponsonby's collection of portraits which steer such a well-judged course between the light and darker sides of the human condition and give us a balanced picture of his subjects. He has a delightful turn of phrase and describes aspects of character which I found immediately recognizable and true. It is all done with wit, perception, kindness, honesty, affection and humour, leaving this reader wanting more.'

Author Biography:

Robert Ponsonby was Organ Scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, from 1948 to 1950, and President of the University Opera Club. Engaged by Glyndebourne in 1951, he organized the Festival of Sussex, a county-wide celebration, under the umbrella of the Festival of Britain. At the same time, he worked as assistant to the Director of the Edinburgh Festival, Ian Hunter, whom he succeeded in 1956. Resigning after the 1960 festival, he eventually gained a job with the Independent Television Authority. He returned to music in 1964, being appointed to administer the Scottish National Orchestra. His eight years in Glasgow were professionally happy and apparently successful, for he was head-hunted by the BBC, who in 1972 appointed him Controller, Music, in succession to William Glock. This post he held until 1985. He directed the Canterbury Festival in 1987 and 1988; and since 1985 he has filled advisory roles with the Purcell School, the Young Concert Artists' Trust, the Council for Music in Hospitals and Wingate Scholarship. Currently, he is on the Committee of the Michael Tippett Musical Foundation. He holds the Janaeek Medal from the Czech Government, is Hon RAM and was made a CBE in 1983.

Table of Contents:

Contents Prospects 1951 Conductors *** Adrian Boult Thomas Beecham John Pritchard Paul Sacher Carlo Maria Giulini Rafael Kubelik Alexander Gibson Rudolf Kempe Jascha Horenstein Norman del Mar Djura Jaksic Charles Groves Gunter Wand Hans-hubert Schonzeler Composers *** Hans Gal William Walton Michael Tippett Robin Orr Iain Hamilton Luciano Berio John Buller Gyorgy Ligeti Performers *** Sena Jurinac John Kentish Clara Haskil Yehudi Menuhin Evelyn Rothwell Mstislav Rostropovich Jacqueline du Pre John Ogdon Sidonie Goossens Philip Jones Administrators *** Moran Caplat Ian Hunter John Drummond Chris Samuelson William Glock Ernest Warburton Norman Platt Friends *** Andrew Pavlovsky Anthony Besch Thomas Armstrong Robert Mayer Ursula Vaughan Williams Miscellany *** Moving South, Walton, Henze and Boulez Hungary Diary, Music for a Lime-green Cat Langham Diary Prom-bashing Planning The 1986 Proms A Mysterious Business Pierre Boulez in Conversation Retrospect 2009

Additional Information:

Illustrations: 13 black and white Related subjects: Biography & autobiography: film, television, music, theatre Music