David Fotheringham McCallum (26 March 1897 – 21 March 1972) was the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

(principal first

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist) of the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, and the

Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Or ...

. He was also the father of actor

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCallum ...

and of author Iain McCallum.

Life and career

McCallum was born in

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; Scottish Gaelic ''Cill Saidhe'') is a town and civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 9,860. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the relig ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, to a musical family. He studied at the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Academy of Music and the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he studied under Maurice Sons, a pupil of

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were al ...

and leader of the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...

Orchestra. He modelled his violin playing on

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...

. Early in his career, he arranged music for several local silent cinemas. He also played in the cinema trio; and it was here that he met his wife, cellist Dorothy Dorman. In 1922, he broadcast as a solo violinist for the first time. Between 1932 and 1936, he led the

Scottish Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...

in Glasgow under

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

, then was asked by

Sir Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

to lead the

in succession to Paul Beard, who had joined the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, McCallum led the National Symphony Orchestra and played with the London Studio Players and the BBC's Overseas Music Unit. After the war, McCallum rejoined Beecham, this time as leader of the

. On the First American Tour of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950, Beecham fell ill. McCallum stood in as conductor, and his stint on the conductor's podium earned positive reviews. He had several small roles in movies. His hands are seen playing the violin for

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

in an uncredited role in ''

The Magic Bow ''The Magic Bow'' is a 1946 British musical film based on the life and loves of the Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini. It was directed by Bernard Knowles. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Stewart ...

'' (1946). He played the blind fiddler in the film '' Last Holiday'' (1950), which starred

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...

. He also appeared as himself in "

Prelude to Fame ''Prelude to Fame'' is a 1950 British drama film set in Italy, directed by Fergus McDonell and starring Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron and Kathleen Ryan. It is based on the 1924 story "Young Archimides" by Aldous Huxley, about a mathematical prodigy w ...

". In 1967, McCallum was one of 40 musicians assembled to perform on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' track " A Day in the Life". From 1961 to 1971 he was leader of Annunzio Mantovani's orchestra. At this time, his son

Jr. was at the height of his fame, prompting Mantovani to introduce his leader to audiences with the quip, "We can afford the father but not the son!" Indeed, McCallum Sr. played on several tracks arranged and conducted by his son which featured on the

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

LPs ''Music...A Part Of Me'' and ''Music...A Bit More Of Me'' released in 1966. McCallum Sr. died at

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

on 21 March 1972, five days before his 75th birthday. Guitarist

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

credits McCallum with giving him the idea of playing his

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

with a

violin bow In music, a bow is a tensioned stick which has hair (usually horse-tail hair) coated in rosin (to facilitate friction) affixed to it. It is moved across some part (generally some type of strings) of a musical instrument to cause vibration, which ...

according to

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's Led Zeppelin

rockumentary A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCallum, David Sr. 1897 births 1972 deaths people from Kilsyth Musicians from Glasgow Alumni of the Royal College of Music Scottish violinists British male violinists Concertmasters 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century British male musicians Male classical violinists