Mark Hugh Lubbock (17 November 1898 – 10 November 1986) was a British conductor and composer, especially of operetta and light music.

Life

Lubbock was born in

Downe Downe, formerly Down, () is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and ...

, Kent, the son of Hugh Nevile Lubbock and Margaret Tiarks. His grandfather was the Kent county cricketer Sir Nevile Lubbock, and his cousin was the politician

Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury Eric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury (29 September 1928 – 14 February 2016), was an English politician and human rights campaigner. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Orpington from 1962 to 1970. He then served in the House o ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and later in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

.''Who's Who in Music'', 1st edition (1935) He also served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and the Labour Corps. He began his career as a singer in the choruses of several musical comedies, making his conducting debut with theatrical touring companies in 1920,Obituary, ''The Times'', 18 November, 1986, p.22 initially with the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

. The earnings from this funded his study period in Dresden, where he also became a

répétiteur A (from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. A feminine form, , also appears but is comparatively rare. Opera In opera, a is the person ...

and assistant conductor to

Kurt Striegler Kurt Emil Striegler (7 January 1886 – 4 August 1958) was a German composer and director. Life and career Born in Dresden, the son of a chamber musician at the Saxon State Theatre, he attended the Royal Saxon Kapellknaben Institute in Dres ...

. In 1933, he and

Harry S. Pepper Harry Stephen Pepper (27 August 1891 – 26 June 1970) was a British pianist, songwriter, composer, actor, and BBC producer, whose career stretched from Edwardian era seaside entertainments to BBC television in the 1950s. Life Born at Putney,'' ...

were recruited by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, both being noted as "established composers of light music". Lubbock was the BBC's Light Music Conductor from 1933 to 1944, replacing

Stanford Robinson Stanford Robinson OBE (5 July 190425 October 1984) was an English conductor and composer, known for his work with the BBC. He remained a member of the BBC's staff until his retirement in 1966, founding or building up the organisation's choral g ...

. On 15 January 1930 he married the writer Bea Howe, author of the group biography ''A Galaxy of Governesses'' (1954), regular contributor to '' Country Life'' and a close friend of

Sylvia Townsend Warner Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner (6 December 1893 – 1 May 1978) was an English novelist, poet and musicologist, known for works such as ''Lolly Willowes'', '' The Corner That Held Them'', and ''Kingdoms of Elfin''. Life Sylvia Townsend Warner wa ...

. They lived in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London and at The Old Forge,

Althorne Althorne is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located east-southeast from the county town and city of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Maldon district and in the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & East Chelms ...

in Essex.''Who's Who in Music'', 5th edition (1969) Lubbock also had a relationship with the actress Barbara Shotter (sister of

Winifred Shotter Winifred Florence Shotter (5 November 1904 – 4 April 1996) was an English actress best known for her appearances in the Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s. Initially a singer and dancer in the ensembles of musical comedies, Shotter ...

), with whom he had a daughter. Lubbock appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

'' on 15 June 1974.

Works

His 1931 operetta ''The King Can Do No Wrong'' was one of the first to be commissioned and broadcast by the BBC specifically for radio broadcast. It was one of at least 12 musical comedies he wrote in collaboration with the playwright and BBC producer C. Denis Freeman, including ''Seat in Hyde Park'' (1931), ''His Majesty Proclaims'', ''Fame in a Night'', ''Uplift'', ''Wonderful Weekend'' (1932) and ''The Castle on the Hill'' (1933). A later radio operetta was ''The Rose and the Violet'' (1942), with book and lyrics by

Barbara Cartland Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) published as Barbara Cartland was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary romance, contemporary and historical romance novels, the lat ...

, set against the Edwardian background of

Rotten Row Rotten Row is a broad track running along the south side of Hyde Park in London. It leads from Hyde Park Corner to Serpentine Road. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Rotten Row was a fashionable place for upper-class Londoners to be seen hors ...

. His other compositions include light orchestral pieces such as ''Fiesta'', ''Moon Lullaby'', ''Polka Dots'' and ''Saltarello'', and songs such as ''A Smuggler's Song'', ''Blackbird in the Apple Tree'', ''Dance Again'', ''Lullaby River'', ''The Whispering Poplar'', and ''Winter Rose''. He also wrote the incidental music for the 1952 London production of '' An Italian Straw Hat'' at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

. In 1962 Lubbock published a reference work, ''The Complete Book of Light Opera'', a book of synopses conceived as a companion to Kobbé with an American section by David Ewen.''The Musical Times'', Vol. 103, No. 1438 (December 1962), p. 848

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubbock, Mark 1898 births Place of birth missing 1986 deaths Place of death missing People educated at Eton College British expatriates in Austria BBC people British military personnel of World War I British male conductors (music) 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians