The Melos Ensemble is a group of musicians who started in 1950 in London to play

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

in mixed

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

string instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...

s, wind instruments and others.

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

composed the chamber music for his ''

War Requiem The ''War Requiem'', Op. 66, is a large-scale setting of the Requiem composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. The ''War Requiem'' was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was b ...

'' for the Melos Ensemble and conducted the group in the first performance in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. They should not be confused with two other chamber groups of similar name, the

Melos Quartet The Melos Quartet was a much-recorded, Stuttgart-based string quartet active from 1965 until 2005, when its first violin died. It also went by the name Melos Quartett Stuttgart, partly to distinguish itself from the equally prominent chamber group ...

or the Melos Art Ensemble (an Italian group).

Founding period, 1950

The Melos Ensemble was founded by musicians who wanted to play chamber music scored for a larger ensemble in a combination of strings, winds and other instruments with the quality of musical rapport only regular groups can achieve. The Melos Ensemble played in variable instrumentation, flexible enough to perform a wide repertory of pieces. All its members were excellent musicians who held positions in notable orchestras and appeared as soloists. The founding members, namely

Gervase de Peyer Gervase Alan de Peyer (11 April 1926 – 4 February 2017) was an English clarinettist and conductor. Professional career Gervase Alan de Peyer was born in London, the eldest of three children of Everard Esmé Vivian de Peyer, and his wife, Edith ...

(clarinet),

Cecil Aronowitz Cecil Aronowitz (4 March 19167 September 1978) was a British viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. ...

(viola),

Richard Adeney Richard Gilford Adeney (25 January 1920 – 16 December 2010) was a British flautist who played principal flute with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, was a soloist and a founding member of the Melos Ensemble. ...

(flute), and

Terence Weil Terence Weil (9 December 1921 in London – 25 February 1995 in Figueras) was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teache ...

(cello) planned a group of twelve players, a

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet" ...

and a

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the in ...

with harp and piano, that might be expanded by other players, to perform the great octets by

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, the

septet A septet is a formation containing exactly seven members. It is commonly associated with musical groups but can be applied to any situation where seven similar or related objects are considered a single unit, such as a seven-line stanza of poetry. ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, Ravel's '' Introduction and Allegro'' and the ''Serenade'' by

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

.Melos Ensemble
''All Music Guide'', Joseph Stevenson Neill Sanders (horn, a member for 29 years until 1979), and

Adrian Beers Adrian Simon Beers MBE (6 January 1916 – 8 April 2004) was a British double bass player and teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. He was a principal player in the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Eng ...

(double bass) were members from the beginning. All these musicians stayed with the group for decades.

Early members

Other early members included Gervase de Peyer (first clarinet)

Emanuel Hurwitz Emanuel Hurwitz (7 May 1919 – 19 November 2006) was a British violinist. He was born in London to parents of Russian-Jewish ancestry. He started playing the violin when he was five years old, and took up a scholarship at the Royal Academy of ...

(leader 1956–1972),

Ivor McMahon Ivor McMahon (1924–1972) was an English violinist. He played with notable orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra and is best known for playing second violin in the Melos Ensemble. Career In ...

(second violin), William Waterhouse (bassoon), Osian Ellis (harp),

James Blades James Blades OBE (9 September 190119 May 1999) was an English percussionist. He was one of the most distinguished percussionists in Western music, with a long and varied career. His book ''Percussion Instruments and their History'' (1971) is a s ...

(percussion),

Lamar Crowson John Lamar Crowson (May 27, 1926 – August 25, 1998) was an American concert pianist and a chamber musician.'' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (2009) Crowson was born in Tampa, Florida. His early education was in Portland, Oregon, wit ...

and

Ernst Ueckermann Ernst Ueckermann (born Estcourt in 1954) is a South African composer and pianist. His formal music studies were conducted at the Johannesburg Art School, Royal College and Royal Academy of Music in London, the ''Musikhochschulen'' of Würzbur ...

(piano),

Peter Graeme Graeme Peter Crump (1921 – 1 March 2012), known professionally as Peter Graeme and as 'Timmy' Crump to friends and family, was an English oboist and academic teacher. He was best known as the principal oboist of the Melos Ensemble. Career ...

and Sarah Barrington (oboe), James Buck (horn),

Edgar Williams Brigadier Sir Edgar Trevor Williams (20 November 1912 – 26 June 1995) was a British historian and Army military intelligence officer who played a significant role in the Second Battle of El Alamein in World War II. He was one of the few off ...

(bassoon) and Keith Puddy (clarinet), expanded by Colin Chambers (flute and piccolo),

Alan Hacker Alan Ray Hacker (30 September 1938 – 16 April 2012) was an English clarinettist, conductor, and music professor. Biography He was born in Dorking, Surrey in 1938, the son of Kenneth and Sybil Hacker.''Who’s Who 1975'', page 1302, (A&C Bl ...

(bass clarinet), Eric Roseberry (piano), Leonard Friedman (violin), Kay Hurwitz (viola),

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...

(flute), Stephen Pruslin (piano), Leonard Friedman (violin), Hilary Wilson (harp)Wardour Castle Summer School
Concert programme 1965 and Timothy Brown (horn). In the opinion of William Waterhouse (writing in 1995), "it was the remarkable rapport between this pair of lower strings" (i.e. Terence Weil and Cecil Aronowitz) "which remained constant throughout a succession of distinguished leaders, that gave a special distinction to this outstanding ensemble.", Obituary Gervase de Peyer"the Guardian"

Special projects

A remarkable premiere for the group was Jacques-Louis Monod's 1962 presentation of

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish Catalan composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' in ''Grove Music Onl ...

's ''Concerto for Eight''. This was followed by the 1962 premiere, and subsequent 1963 recording, of

's ''

'', for which the instrumental sections accompanying the English texts had been written specifically for the Melos, and were directed by the composer in the performance. The recording received a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1998. In 1964 and 1965 the Melos Ensemble played several concerts at the new ''Wardour Castle Summer School'', founded by

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

and

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; born 10 August 1932) is an English composer and academic. Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and composer Walter Goehr, a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In his early twenties he emerged as a centra ...

.Wardour 1964 1965
Dr. Michael Hooper, 2009 On 16 August 1964 they played among others '' Monody for Corpus Christi'' by Birtwistle, ''Five Little Pieces'' (first performance) by Davies, and ''Suite'' Op.11 by Goehr. A chamber concert on 17 August featured the

Horn Trio Horn trio can mean a work written for three horns or horns as well as one for horn and two other instruments. In the latter category, an important genre is the trio for horn, violin and piano. Although there are a few earlier examples, the traditi ...

by Brahms, on 18 August the ''

Quatuor pour la fin du temps ''Quatuor pour la fin du temps'' (), originally ''Quatuor de la fin du temps'' ("''Quartet of the End of Time''"), also known by its English title ''Quartet for the End of Time'', is an eight-movement piece of chamber music by the French composer ...

'' by Messiaen. In 1965, the Melos Ensemble played on 16 August ''

Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a me ...

'' by Schoenberg. On 18 August parts of ''In Chymick Art'', a cantata on texts by Edward Benlowes that

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

wrote for the Summer School, were performed for the first time. On 20 August they premiered two works they had commissioned, ''Tragoedia'' by Birtwistle, conducted by

Lawrence Foster Lawrence Foster (born October 23, 1941) is an American conductor of Romanian ancestry. He is currently the artistic director and chief conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the music director of the Marseille Opera and th ...

, and two 'In Nomine" of ''Seven in Nomine'' by Davies, conducted by the composer.

Festivals, broadcasts, tours

The Melos Ensemble performed regularly at British and International Festivals, among others Warsaw, Venice, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Bordeaux and the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

, their first US tour was in 1966. The group gave many

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 exam. ...

...

Founding period, 1950

Early members

Special projects

Festivals, broadcasts, tours

EMI recordings 1963–1973

Other selected recordings

Melos Ensemble of London 1974

New chamber music

Publications

References

External links