David Clifford Brown (8 July 1929, in Gravesend – 20 June 2014)
[Peter Le Huray 1980] was an English
musicologist, most noteworthy for his major study of
Tchaikovsky’s life and works.
Brown attended
Gravesend Grammar School and then studied English, Latin and music at the
University of Sheffield, graduating in 1951, and took his MusB there (1952).
During national service (1952-4) he studied Russian and was commissioned in the
Intelligence Corps.
He taught in secondary schools before becoming music librarian of the
University of London, working at
Senate House Senate House may refer to:
* The building housing a legislative senate
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**Senate House State Historic Site, in Kingston, New York, where the state's first Constitution was ratified in 1777.
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1959–62.
In 1962 he became a lecturer at the
University of Southampton, becoming senior lecturer in 1970 and reader in 1975;
he was awarded a doctorate for his book on
Thomas Weelkes in 1971.
His book on
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...
(published 1974) was the first major study of the composer in English.
This was surpassed by his four volume study of Tchaikovsky (published between 1978 and 1991), both a biography and in-depth analyses of Tchaikovsky’s works. He was also editor of the
New Grove
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...
''Russian Masters'' series, and served on the editorial committee of
Musica Britannica, the national collection of British music.
[Author biographical note, Brown ''Musorgsky''] He retired as Professor of Musicology in 1989.
He died in Romsey, Hampshire aged 84 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[
]
Books
*''Thomas Weelkes : a biographical and critical study'' (London: Faber & Faber, 1969)
*''Mikhail Glinka: a Biographical and Critical Study'' (London: Oxford University Press, 1974)
*''Tchaikovsky: A Biographical and Critical Study'': Vol. 1: “The Early Years (1840–1874)” (London: Gollancz, 1978); Vol. 2: “The Crisis Years (1874–1878)” (London: Gollancz, 1982); Vol. 3: “The Years of Wandering (1878–1885)” (London: Gollancz, 1986); Vol. 4: “The Final Years (1885–1893)” (London: Gollancz, 1991); paperback edition (2 vols) includes minor corrections and updated Work List (London: Gollancz, 1992)
*''Musorgsky: His Life and Works'' (London: Oxford University Press, 2002)
*''Tchaikovsky: The Man and His Music'' (London: Faber & Faber, 2006)
Bibliography
*Peter Le Huray “David (Clifford) Brown” in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (London: Macmillan, 1980)
*Peter Le Huray/Rosemary Williamson “David (Clifford) Brown” in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: Second Edition'' (London: Macmillan, 2001)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, David
English musicologists
Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Academics of the University of Southampton
1929 births
2014 deaths
Music librarians
20th-century British musicologists
20th-century English non-fiction writers
20th-century English male writers
21st-century musicologists
21st-century British non-fiction writers
21st-century English male writers
English male non-fiction writers
People educated at Gravesend Grammar School
Tchaikovsky scholars