Richard Capell (23 March 188521 June 1954) was a British journalist who was music critic for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' (1911–1933) and thereafter at ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''."Obituary in ''

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'' (fou ...

'', ''Mr. Richard Capell'', 22 June 1954, p.10

Biography

Capell was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

. He then studied the cello in London and

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, before becoming a journalist. He served in France during the First World War; he was awarded a

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

for gallantry at the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

.Brown, Maurice J.E
" Capell, Richard"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed 23 April 2012 From 1928 to 1933 he worked on the ''Monthly Musical Record'', where, according to ''

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the History of music, ...

'', his abilities as an editor were evident. He became chief music critic of ''The Daily Telegraph'' from 1933 until his death in 1954. In 1937 he took on the proprietorship of the journal ''

Music and Letters ''Music & Letters'' is an academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press with a focus on musicology. The journal sponsors the Music & Letters Trust, twice-yearly cash awards of variable amounts to support research in the music fi ...

'', and he was its editor from 1950 until his death. During the Second World War he served as a war correspondent in France, the western

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and Greece for the ''Daily Telegraph''. He was awarded the OBE in 1946. In 1944 Capell went to Greece with Brig Turnbull and the Aegean Raiding Force on a trip to Khios and Athens. He was in Athens when

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

arrived on Christmas Day 1944 to hold talks with ELAS and other Greek patriots. His book ''Simiomata'' (Greek jottings) about his experiences and his understanding of the

Dekemvriana The ''Dekemvriana'' ( el, Δεκεμβριανά, "December events") refers to a series of clashes fought during World War II in Athens from 3 December 1944 to 11 January 1945. The conflict was the culmination of months of tension between the c ...

is an important contemporary account of these tumultuous days and somewhat contradicts the views expressed by Geoffrey Hoare, ''The Times'' correspondent (also published in ''The Manchester Guardian'')''. Simiomata'' was referenced by

Louis de Bernières Louis de Bernières (born 8 December 1954) is an English novelist. He is known for his 1994 historical war novel ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin''. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Novelists", part of a pr ...

in his novel ''

Captain Corelli's Mandolin ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin'', released simultaneously in the United States as ''Corelli's Mandolin'', is a 1994 novel by the British writer Louis de Bernières, set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Italian and German occupatio ...

''. ''Grove'' comments that Capell "was chiefly drawn to

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 that his study, ''Schubert's Songs'' (London, 1928, revised 1973 by Martin Cooper), "established itself as an important book on the composer." His other books included ''Opera'' (1930, 2nd edition 1948). Several extracts from his notes for a study of

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

were published as articles in ''

'' and ''The Monthly Musical Record''.''The Monthly Musical Record'', 1 February 1927 Capell made English translations of many songs by Schubert,

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, Grieg and

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

. He also translated

Joseph Gregor Joseph Gregor (* 26 October 1888 Czernowitz – 12 October 1960 Vienna) was an Austrian writer, theater historian and librettist. He served as director of the Austrian National Library. Life and career Joseph Gregor was born in Czernowitz. He stud ...

's libretto for

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 ...

's opera ''

Friedenstag ''Friedenstag'' (''Peace Day'') is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his Opus 81 and TrV 271, to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor. The opera was premiered at the National Theatre Munich on 24 July 1938 and dedicated to the leading singer ...

''. He died in London in 1954, aged 69.

References

External links

''Schubert's Songs''
on Archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Capell, Richard 1885 births 1954 deaths People educated at Bedford Modern School British music critics Classical music critics British writers about music Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Medal 20th-century British musicologists