Sir John Barbirolli

about

Sir John Barbirolli, CH (2 December 1899 – 29 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. John Barbirolli was particularly associated with the Hallé Orchestra, Manchester, which he conducted for nearly three decades. He was also music director of the New York Philharmonic and the Houston Symphony, and conducted many other orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He was particularly associated with the music of English composers such as Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams. He also developed a strong reputation as a conductor of the music of Gustav Mahler. Early years 1899-1937: Giovanni Battista Barbirolli was a Londoner, from a musical family. His father and uncle were violinists in London theatre orchestras, notably the Leicester Square Empire, though they had also played at La Scala, Milan, under Arturo Toscanini. Thus the young John Barbirolli (as he became known) was destined to be a string player, a specialist in British music, and to have a love of Italian opera. Barbirolli won a scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music, and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music where the Sir John Barbirolli Collection of photographs and memorabilia is now archived. As a young cellist he made some acoustic records, played in the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), notably at the first performance of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, and was soon after the soloist in the

top songs

albums

English String Music

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Bax - Delius - Ireland

English String Music: Various

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Tchaikovsky: Serenade, Op. 48 - Arensky: Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a

Elgar: Cello Concerto; Sea Pictures

Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Concertos and Vocal Music: Chopin, Bach, Ravel...

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Sir John Barbirolli in New York (1962)

Dido & Aeneas

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Le Carnaval Des Animaux

Ireland, Bax & Delius: English Tone Pictures

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Glorious John Barbirolli

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