Richard Austin (conductor)
Richard Dennis Oliver Austin
Early life
The son of Frederic and Amy Austin, Austin was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, the Royal College of Music, and in Munich.[1] At Gresham's, he acted in school plays, in 1921 playing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and in 1922 Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew, opposite W. H. Auden as Katherina.[2]
Career
After his second 6-month stint in Munich, Austin became an assistant conductor for the Royal College opera class.
Chosen from a large number of applicants to succeed Sir Dan Godfrey, from 1934 to 1940 Austin was Musical Director of the Bournemouth Corporation, that is, he was the chief conductor of the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra, which is now the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.[1] In 1935 he married the 'cellist Leily Howell whom he had met when she played a concerto with the Bournemouth orchestra.[3] During his years on the south coast Austin was expected to conduct three concerts per week in the winter and more in summer; requiring him to greatly expand his repertoire. For the annual festival Austin continued the tradition of Godfrey in inviting eminent musicians to take part, these included Thomas Beecham, Henry Wood, Hamilton Harty and Igor Stravinsky.[3]
He resigned from the Municipal Orchestra when Bournemouth Corporation cut the complement to only 24 players.
Concurrently, Austin served as Music Director to the New Era Concert Society (1947–1957) and was a guest conductor at Sadler's Wells Theatre, with other London and provincial orchestras in the UK, and overseas in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, and also in South America.[1]
Recording
Austin recorded a selection of works by
Notes
- ^ a b c d 'AUSTIN, Richard', in Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edition by Oxford University Press (subscription required) December 2007: AUSTIN, Richard, accessed 23 Aug 2008
- ^ The Times, 5 July 1922 (Issue 43075), p. 12, col. D
- ^ a b c d e f g Brook, Donald. Richard Austin. In: International Gallery of Conductors. Rockliff Publishing Corporation Ltd, London, 1951, p19-22.