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Sir George Dyson (28 May 188328 September 1964) was an English musician and composer. After studying at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...
(RCM) in London, and army service in the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, he was a schoolmaster and college lecturer. In 1938 he became director of the RCM, the first of its alumni to do so. As director he instituted financial and organisational reforms and steered the college through the difficult days of the
Second World War 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 opposi ...
. As a composer Dyson wrote in a traditional idiom, reflecting the influence of his teachers at the RCM,
Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...
and
Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...
. His works were well known during his lifetime but underwent a period of neglect before being revived in the late 20th century.


Life and career


Early years

Dyson was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, the eldest of the three children of John William Dyson, a blacksmith, and his wife, Alice, ''née'' Greenwood, a weaver.Foreman, Lewis
"Dyson, Sir George (1883–1964)"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2017
Dyson senior was also organist and choirmaster at a local church, and both parents were members of amateur choirs. They encouraged their son's musical talent, and at the age of 13 he was appointed as a church organist. Three years later he secured an FRCO (Fellowship of the
Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...
), and in 1900 he won an open scholarship to the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...
(RCM) where he studied composition with
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...
. He supported himself during his years studying at the RCM by working as assistant organist at
St Alfege Church, Greenwich St Alfege Church is an Anglican church in the centre of Greenwich, part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London. It is of medieval origin and was rebuilt in 1712–1714 to the designs of Nicholas Hawksmoor. Early history The church is ded ...
. He won the
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
prize for composition while still an RCM student, and in 1904 was awarded a
Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship (german: Mendelssohn-Stipendium) refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to co ...
, "Dyson, Sir George"
''Who Was Who'', online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2017
which enabled him to spend three years in Italy, Austria and Germany. He met leading musicians including
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
, whose style is believed to have influenced Dyson's early compositions. His
symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
''Siena'' (1907) was considered by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' to stand out from many works by other young composers, but the score has not survived.Foreman, Lewis
"Dyson, Sir George"
Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
When he returned to Britain in 1907 Dyson was appointed director of music at the
Royal Naval College, Osborne The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921. Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course last ...
, on the recommendation of
Sir Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...
, director of the RCM. From there he moved to Marlborough College in 1911. On the outbreak of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in 1914 Dyson joined the
Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...
, becoming
grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...
officer of the 99th infantry brigade. In that role he wrote a training pamphlet on
grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...
warfare for which he became well known. In 1916, incapacitated by
shell-shock Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a reac ...
, he was invalided back to England. Parry recorded in his diary how shaken he was when he saw Dyson, "a shadow of his former self".Foreman, Lewis. Notes to Naxos CD 8.557720 (2004) In November 1917 Dyson married Mildred Lucy Atkey (1880–1975), daughter of a London solicitor. They had a son,
Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...
, who became a noted theoretical physicist and mathematician, and a daughter, Alice. In 1917 Dyson received the degree of DMus from the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. After a long convalescence Dyson was commissioned as a
major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
in the newly formed
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF), serving until 1920. In this capacity, organising RAF bands, he completed the
short score Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, ...
of
Henry Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, d ...
's RAF March Past, adding a slow middle section and fully scoring the whole piece.


Schoolmaster and professor

In 1920 Dyson's composing career advanced when his Three Rhapsodies for string quartet were chosen for publication under the
Carnegie Trust The Carnegie United Kingdom Trust is an independent, endowed charitable trust based in Scotland that operates throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Originally established with an endowment from Andrew Carnegie in his birthplace of Dunfermline ...
's publication scheme. In 1921 he took up the posts of music master at
Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: * Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New ...
and professor of composition at the RCM. In 1924, while remaining at the RCM he switched schools, moving to
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
. His biographer Lewis Foreman comments that it was during his dual tenure at the RCM and Winchester that "the various strands of his mature career as a composer developed". In addition to teaching at the RCM and Winchester and directing the school's music, Dyson was conductor of an adult choral society, and a visiting lecturer at
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
and
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 popu ...
universities; composing had to be fitted into what spare time he had. Works from this period include the
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...
''In Honour of the City'' (1928), described by ''
The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...
'' as "a virile fantasia for chorus and orchestra
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
illustrates memorably the composer's talent for diatonic melody of impressive eloquence, his predilection for enharmonic modulation contrived with apposite ingenuity, and his accomplished handling of orchestral subtleties." Foreman writes that the cantata was so successful that Dyson soon produced a more ambitious piece, ''The Canterbury Pilgrims'' (1931) "a succession of evocative and colourful Chaucerian portraits … and probably his most famous score". British choral festivals commissioned new works from Dyson. For the Three Choirs Festival he composed ''St Paul's Voyage to Melita'' (1933) and ''Nebuchadnezzar'' (1935) and for
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
, ''The Blacksmiths'' (1934). Purely orchestral works included a Symphony in G (1937), which ''The Times'' praised for originality, underivative nature and avoidance of "the freakishly obscure or the pompously grandiose". From the early 1930s Dyson and others had been concerned about the future of amateur music making in Britain, which was under increasing pressure from the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and what Dyson called "the invasions of mechanical music" – the
gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
and the radio.Dyson, George
"Towards National Co-operation: An Outline and a Policy"
''The Musical Times'', February 1936, pp. 121–125
With the aid of the Carnegie Trust Dyson co-founded the
National Federation of Music Societies Making Music (formerly the National Federation of Music Societies) is a UK membership organisation for leisure-time music groups of all musical genres, representing over 200,000 musicians and promoters of all levels and experience. Making Music ...
in 1935 as an umbrella organisation and financial bulwark for music groups and performing societies.


RCM director and later years

In 1938 Dyson was appointed director of the RCM on the retirement of Sir Hugh Allen; he took great pride in being the first former student of the RCM to become its director. He secured funding for the college from the University Grants Committee, and set up a pension scheme for the staff. He instituted an overhaul of the college's facilities, from rehearsal space down to lavatories, to provide a better working environment for the students. He also modernised the curriculum and examination system of the college. He held the strong view that with first-rate performances of music now easily and regularly available on radio and record, people now coming into the musical profession needed to attain the highest standards if they were to compete. His emphasis on technical excellence led to criticism; ''The Times'' said that he "reversed the humanistic trend that had been the ideal of the college"."Obituary: Sir George Dyson", ''The Times'', 30 September 1964, p. 17 When the
Second World War 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 opposi ...
began in 1939 many educational and other organisations were evacuated from London to avoid the expected bombing. Dyson was adamant that the RCM should remain in its home in
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
. His decision had important consequences beyond the college, as other institutions followed suit, with the result that continuity of training was possible and standards were maintained. At the RCM,
Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...
took charge of the college orchestra, and Karl Geiringer, displaced by the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s from the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Thea ...
in Vienna, joined the faculty. After the war, Dyson had to deal with a surge in demand for places at the college: students who had interrupted their studies to join the armed forces and the post-war generation of new applicants swelled the numbers of applicants, and Dyson and his board were obliged to make the requirements for entry more stringent. His emphasis on practical musicianship led him to cull the college's library and archives, disposing of many old books and manuscripts, to the outrage of some colleagues. Dyson's encouragement of talent sometimes showed itself in a willingness to depart from normal practice when he felt it necessary. Although
Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...
, as a clarinet student, was not allowed to take part in the conducting class because his pianistic skills were judged inadequate, Malcolm Arnold fared better: even though he decamped from the college, Dyson encouraged him to return and smoothed his path in doing so; for
Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perce ...
Dyson made special arrangements to enable him to pursue his guitar studies, not hitherto part of the college's curriculum. Dyson received a
knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
in the 1941 New Years Honours List and was appointed
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
(KCVO) in 1953. He held
honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from the universities of
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
and
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
and honorary fellowships of the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
and
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
. In 1952 Dyson retired from the RCM. He moved to
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, and enjoyed what Foreman describes as "a remarkable Indian summer" of composition, although by this time his music seemed old-fashioned to some listeners. His late works were published and performed, but did not, according to Foreman, "have quite the immediate following" of the music from earlier in his career. Dyson died at his home in Winchester on 28 September 1964, aged 81.


Music

Dyson said of himself as a composer, "My reputation is that of a good technician … not markedly original. I am familiar with modern idioms but they are outside the vocabulary of what I want to say". The music critic of ''The Times'' remarked that Dyson's works had a certain ambiguity, "due probably to the fact that great musical skill was allied, exceptionally, with an extrovert temperament." The same writer observed that although everything Dyson wrote was well made, he never developed a personal idiom, "nor engendered much emotional sap in his larger works". Dyson's biographer Paul Spicer writes that of the composer's works only ''The Canterbury Pilgrims'' and two sets of evening
canticles A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy. Catholic Church ...
in D and F are performed with any frequency. Dyson himself chose to include the following works in his ''
Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a group of not ...
'' entry: ''In Honour of the City'', 1928; ''The Canterbury Pilgrims'', 1931; ''St Paul's Voyage'', 1933; ''The Blacksmiths'', 1934''; ''Nebuchadnezzar'', 1935''; Symphony, 1937; Quo Vadis, 1939; Violin Concerto, 1942; ''Concerto da Camera'' and ''Concerto da Chiesa'' for Strings, 1949; ''Concerto Leggiero'' for Piano and Strings, 1951; ''Sweet Thames Run Softly'', 1954; ''Agincourt'', 1955; ''Hierusalem'', 1956; ''Let's go a-Maying'', 1958; and ''A Christmas Garland'', 1959. In addition to those mentioned by the composer, the Dyson Trust lists the following compositions as available as at 2017: ''A Spring Garland'', ''Children's Suite'' for orchestra, Evening Service in C Minor, Evening Service in D, Morning Service in D, ''Prelude, Fantasy and Chaconne'' for cello and orchestra, ''Te Deum Laudamus'', and ''Three Rhapsodies'' for string quartet. The Trust has published a full list of works, totalling nine orchestral works, seven chamber works, thirteen pieces or sets of pieces for piano, four solo organ pieces, twenty works for chorus and orchestra, seventy-nine works for chorus with piano, or organ or unaccompanied, five hymns, six songs, and thirteen lost or destroyed works from the composer's early career.


Legacy

Foreman writes that a revival of Dyson's music was started by
Christopher Palmer Christopher Francis Palmer (9 September 194622 January 1995) was an English composer, arranger and orchestrator; biographer of composers, champion of lesser-known composers and writer on film music and other musical subjects; record producer; and ...
, who published ''George Dyson: a Centenary Appreciation'' (1984) and ''Dyson's Delight'' (1989), a selection of Dyson's uncollected articles and talks on music, and also promoted the first modern recordings of Dyson's music. The Sir George Dyson Trust was established in 1998, with the declared aim of advancing public education in the understanding and appreciation of Dyson's music, and making available his manuscripts, writings, scores, drafts and memoranda for the encouragement of the study of his work.
Freeman Dyson Freeman John Dyson (15 December 1923 – 28 February 2020) was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum m ...
, who died aged 96 on 28 February 2020, was also a champion of his father's music.Freeman Dyson, Math Genius Turned Visionary Technologist, Dies at 96'
in the ''New York Times'', 28 February 2020


Books by Dyson

*
Grenade Warfare: Notes on the Training and Organisation of Grenadiers
' (1915) * ''The New Music'' (1924) * ''The Progress of Music'' (1932) * ''Fiddling While Rome Burns'' (1954)


References


Notes


Sources

* *


External links


Sir George Dyson Trust
* * by Julian Lloyd Webber and the
Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy o ...
conducted by
Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the ...

Audio track of Dyson Magnificat in F available from Cardiff Cathedral Choir.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, George 1883 births 1964 deaths People from Halifax, West Yorkshire English composers Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music Directors of the Royal College of Music Instructors of the Royal Naval College, Osborne Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Bachelor Composers awarded knighthoods Freeman Dyson Musicians from Yorkshire Pupils of Charles Villiers Stanford Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Fusiliers officers Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force musicians British Army personnel of World War I British military musicians