Sidney Torch
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Sidney Torch
Sidney Torch MBE (born Sidney Torchinsky; 5 June 1908 – 16 July 1990) was a British pianist, cinema organist, conductor, orchestral arranger and a composer of light music. Early life Torch was born of Russian Jewish origin to a Ukrainian father, Morris Torchinsky, and an Estonian mother, Annie, at 27 Tottenham Court Road in St Pancras, London. He learned the rudiments of music quickly from his father, an orchestral trombonist, who used to sit next to fellow trombonist Gustav Holst in such places as the old Holborn Empire. Torch studied piano at the Blackheath Conservatoire in south east London. His gift for memory came to his rescue when he entered an examination room and realised that he had left the compulsory music back at his home in Maida Vale. He thus had no choice but to play from memory; he passed with distinction. Following his studies, his first professional job was as accompanist to the violinist Albert Sandler. He worked as an accompanist before getting a ...
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Metropolitan Borough Of St Pancras
St Pancras was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of St Pancras became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Camden in Greater London. Geography It included Tottenham Court Road, Camden Town, St Pancras, Kings Cross, Somers Town, Kentish Town, Euston, and part of Regent's Park. There are still a few street name signs with "Borough of St Pancras" on them. Governance St Pancras was just outside the area of London mortality statistics known as the bills of mortality, and was counted as one of the "five villages beyond the Bills ...
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Encyclopedia Of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Knowledge'', Christmas edition, 22 December 2007- 4 January 2008. It was described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". History of the encyclopedia Larkin believed that rock music and popular music were at least as significant historically as classical music, and as such, should be given definitive treatment and properly documented. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is the result. In 1989, Larkin sold his half of the publishing company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an encyclopedia of popular music. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a pre-internet age, "relying instead on information gleaned from music magazines, individual expertise ...
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Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash (architect), John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today the three-bayed, central projection of the palace containing the well-known balcony. In 1851, on the initiative of architect and urban planner Decimus Burton, a one-time pupil of John Nash, it was relocated to its current site. Following the widening of Park Lane (road), Park Lane in the early 1960s, the site became a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane and Edgware Road, isolating the arch. Admiralty Arch, Holyhead in Wales is a similar arch, also cut off from public access, at the other end of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5. Only members of the British Royal Family, Royal Family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery are said to be permitted to pass through the arch; this happens ...
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Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. Description The word "piano" is a shortened form of ''pianoforte'', the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ''clavicembalo col piano e forte'' (key cimbalom with quiet and loud)Pollens (1995, 238) and ''fortepiano''. The Italian musical terms ''piano'' and ''forte'' indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the grea ...
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Accompaniment
Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of music. In homophonic music, the main accompaniment approach used in popular music, a clear vocal melody is supported by subordinate chords. In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment parts typically provide the "beat" for the music and outline the chord progression of the song or instrumental piece. The accompaniment for a vocal melody or instrumental solo can be played by a single musician playing an instrument such as piano, pipe organ, or guitar. While any instrument can in theory be used as an accompaniment instrument, keyboard and guitar-family instruments tend to be used if there is only a single instrument, as these instruments can play chords and basslines simultaneously (chords and a bassline are easier to pla ...
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Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is part of the City of Westminster, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It has many late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats. The area is home to the BBC Maida Vale Studios. Name The name derives from a pub called ''The Maida'', the hanging board of which used to show a likeness of Sir John Stuart, under which was the legend ''Sir John Stuart, the hero of Maida''. General Sir John Stuart was made Count of Maida, a town in Calabria, by King Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily, after victory at the Battle of Maida in 1806. The pub stood on Edgware Road near the Regent's Canal until about 2000. In recent years, a different pub (formerly ''The Truscott Arms'') has been renamed ''The Hero of Maida'', but is in ...
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South-east London
Greater London is divided into five sub-regions for the purposes of the London Plan. The boundaries of these areas were amended in 2008 and 2011 and their role in the implementation of the London Plan has varied with each iteration. Purpose Sub-regions are a feature of the London Plan intended to encourage partnership working across London borough boundaries. History From 2004 to 2008, the sub-regions were initially the same as the Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ... areas set up in 1999. These 2004–2008 sub-regions each had a ''Sub-Regional Development Framework''. The sub-regions were revised in February 2008 as part of the ''Further Alterations to the London Plan''. The 2008–2011 sub-regions, each had its own ''Sub-regiona ...
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Blackheath Conservatoire
The Conservatoire (formally The Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts) is an educational charity in Blackheath, on the border of the London boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham. The Conservatoire of Music and the Arts took on its current structure in 1991 with the merger of the Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Blackheath School of Art, which until that point had operated separately on the adjoining sites, but under the same board. The Conservatoire is so called as it was a generic term for a music school at the time of its establishment, but it is not one in the present sense of a higher education establishment dedicated to music, and does not award its own qualifications. It does, however, offer GCSEs and A-levels, along with graded music exams. The Conservatoire offers classes in art, music and drama for adults and children. History Blackheath Conservatoire of Music (1881–1991) The Conservatoire of Music was founded by a local group led by William Webste ...
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Holborn Empire
Weston's Music Hall was a music hall and theatre that opened on 16 November 1857 at 242-245 High Holborn in London, England. In 1906, the theatre became known as the Holborn Empire. History Early years The theatre was constructed on the site of the ''Six Cans and Punch Bowl Tavern''. Edward Weston, nephew of the previous licensee of the pub, bought the former Holborn National Schoolrooms immediately behind the pub and rebuilt it as a music hall in six months. This purpose built hall was his response to the success of Charles Morton's Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth. In 1861, Morton struck back by opening the Oxford Music Hall, nearby in Oxford Street; a development Weston opposed on the grounds there were already too many music halls in the area.Weston's Music Hall, at Arthur Lloyd music hall history
31 Mar ...
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Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folk music#Folk revivals 1890–1969, English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a car ...
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Naxos (company)
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 17 labels including Naxos Records, Naxos Audiobooks, and Naxos Books (ebooks). There are about an additional 50 labels that are independent of the Naxos Musical Group with a wide range of offerings. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong. Naxos Records Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. The company was known for its budget pricing of discs, with simpler artwork and design than most other labels. In the 1980s, Naxos primarily recorded central and eastern European symphony orchestras, often with lesser-known conductors, as well as upcoming and unknown musicians, to minimize recording costs and maintain its budget prices. In more recent years, Naxos has taken advan ...
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Robert Farnon
Robert Joseph Farnon CM (24 July 191723 April 2005) was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a composer of original works (often in the light music genre), he was commissioned by film and television producers for theme and incidental music. In later life he composed a number of more serious orchestral works, including three symphonies, and was recognised with four Ivor Novello awards and the Order of Canada. Life Born in Toronto, he was commissioned as a captain in the Canadian Army and became the conductor/arranger of the Canadian Band of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force sent overseas during World War II, which was the Canadian equivalent of the American Band of the SHAEF led by Major Glenn Miller. He was noted as a jazz trumpeter–his longtime friend Dizzy Gillespie once stated that he was pleased that Farnon took up composing, arranging and conducting, because Robert was the better jazz trumpeter.Davi ...
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