Jack Beaver (27 March 1900 – 10 September 1963) was a British

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

composer and pianist. Beaver was born in

Clapham, London Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...

. He studied at the Metropolitan Academy of Music, Forest Gate and then at 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 ...

under

Frederick Corder Frederick Corder (26 January 1852 – 21 August 1932) was an English composer and music teacher. Life Corder was born in Hackney, the son of Micah Corder and his wife Charlotte Hill. He was educated at Blackheath Proprietary School and start ...

. After graduating he worked for the BBC. In the early 1930s he played with the Michael Doré Trio and wrote some concert pieces, including the three movement Sonatina for piano. He also contributed music and arrangements for various BBC radio drama and music features, including most of the radio adaptions of films in collaboration with producer Douglas Moodie, throughout the 1930s and 1940s.Huntley, John. ''British Film Music'' (1947), p. 194 As (like Charles Williams) a member of the Gaumont–British Pictures composing team from the 1930s he was a prolific composer of film scores - around 40 scores between 1932 and 1947 - though many of his contributions were not credited. He wrote music for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's '' The 39 Steps'', and composed the pseudo piano concerto ''Portrait of Isla'' from the score for the 1940

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

film '' The Case of the Frightened Lady''. This is perhaps the first example of a Romantic style "Denham Concerto" (or sometimes "tabloid piano concerto") composed especially for a film, a year before

Richard Addinsell Richard Stewart Addinsell (13 January 190414 November 1977) was an English composer, best known for film music, primarily his ''Warsaw Concerto'', composed for the 1941 film ''Dangerous Moonlight'' (also known under the later title ''Suicide Squ ...

's much more famous Warsaw Concerto appeared in the film

Dangerous Moonlight ''Dangerous Moonlight'' (US: ''Suicide Squadron'') is a 1941 British film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Anton Walbrook. Among the costumes, the gowns were designed by Cecil Beaton. The film is best known for its score written ...

(1941). Later in life Beaver was a regular contributor to the recorded music libraries, through which his march ''Cavalcade of Youth'' (1950) became widely known when it was used as signature tune for the BBC radio series ''The Barlowes of Beddington''. Another example of his library music is ''Holiday Funfair'' (1954), performed by

Dolf van der Linden David Gijsbert van der Linden (22 June 1915 – 30 January 1999), known as Dolf van der Linden, was a Dutch conductor of popular music with a reputation which extended beyond the borders of the Netherlands. Biography David Gijsbert van der Linde ...

And His Orchestra. He composed ''Sovereign Heritage'' for the National Brass Band Championships of 1954.Scowcroft, Philip. ''British Light Music'' (2013 edition), p 111 He died, aged 63, in Battersea, London. His son, Raymond Elgar Beaver, (19 August 1929 – 25 January 2008), was also a composer of film music.

Selected filmography

References

External links

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''Sovereign Heritage'', played by the Fairey Aviation Works Band in 1954
1900 births 1963 deaths People from Clapham British film score composers British male film score composers 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians {{UK-composer-stub