Robert Kemsley (Robin) Orr (2 June 1909 – 9 April 2006) was a Scottish organist and composer.

Life

Born in

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

, and educated at

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. L ...

, he studied the organ at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London under

Walter Galpin Alcock Sir Walter Galpin Alcock (29 December 186111 September 1947) was an English organist and composer. He held a number of prominent positions as an organist and played at the coronations of three monarchs. He was professor of organ in the Royal Co ...

, and piano with

Arthur Benjamin Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of '' Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the ''Storm Clouds Cantata'', f ...

.Griffiths,_Paul._'Orr,_Robin_[Robert
/nowiki>_(Kemsley)'_in''_Grove_Music_Online.html" ;"title="obert">Griffiths, Paul. 'Orr, Robin [Robert
/nowiki> (Kemsley)' in'' Grove Music Online">obert">Griffiths, Paul. 'Orr, Robin [Robert
/nowiki> (Kemsley)' in'' Grove Music Online/ref> He then continued his studies at Pembroke College, Cambridge under Cyril Rootham. Following studies with Alfredo Casella and Nadia Boulanger in Paris he returned to Cambridge in 1938 as Organist of Choir of St John's College, Cambridge, St John's College, succeeding Rootham. During his war service in the

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) and ...

Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucest ...

deputised for him. After

World War II 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 opposin ...

he became a lecturer at Cambridge and a professor at the Royal College of Music, then Gardiner Professor of Music at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1956 to 1965. While in Glasgow he worked with Alexander Gibson to set up the

Musica Viva Musica Viva was founded in 1945 by Romanian-born violinist Richard Goldner, with the aim of bringing chamber music to Australia. The co-founder was a German-born musicologist, Walter Dullo. At its inception, Musica Viva was a string ensemble per ...

contemporary music festival, promoting the work of (among others)

Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groundb ...

, Schoenberg,

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, Iain Hamilton,

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Musgrave was educated at Moreton Hall School, a boarding independent ...

, and Orr himself. Gibson also asked Orr to help him form

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

in 1960, and Orr served as the founding chairman between 1962 and 1976. He returned to Cambridge in 1965 as Professor of Music, a post he held until his retirement in 1976 (later Emeritus). He was made a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1972. Robin Orr married Margaret Mace, the daughter of Egyptologist

Arthur Cruttenden Mace Arthur Cruttenden Mace (17 July 1874 – 6 April 1928) was a Tasmanian-born English archaeologist and Egyptologist. He is best known for his work for the New York Metropolitan Museum, and as a part of Howard Carter's team during the excavat ...

, in December 1937. They had three children. In 1979 they divorced and Orr married again, to Doris Winny-Meyer.McLeod, John
'Orr,_Robert_Kemsley_[Robin
/nowiki>'.html" ;"title="obin">'Orr, Robert Kemsley [Robin
/nowiki>'">obin">'Orr, Robert Kemsley [Robin
/nowiki>'in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' An "entertaining if somewhat personally reticent" autobiography, ''Musical Chairs'', was published in 1999. He was not related to Buxton Orr (1924-1997) - also a Scottish composer.

Music

The overture ''The Prospect of Whitby'' (after the Prospect of Whitby, London pub) attracted some attention in 1948. But it was the ''Symphony in One Movement'' (1960–63), first championed by

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. H ...

and the

BBC Scottish Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional ra ...

, but soon taken up and recorded by the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five National performing arts companies of Scotland, national performing arts compa ...

under Alexander Gibson, that put Orr on the map as a composer. Gibson subsequently conducted the work at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

in 1966. There were two further symphonies (1970 and 1978), both also one movement works. He wrote three operas: the "pithy, socially perceptive" ''Full Circle'' (commissioned by

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is the ...

for Scottish Opera in 1968), the "tense and powerful" ''Hermiston'' (

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

1975) and the "witty, artful comic opera" ''On the Razzle'' (1988), based on

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's play. And Orr also made a substantial contribution to Anglican church music, much of it written for St John's College. Notable is the anthem ''Come and let yourselves be built'' (1961). A CD of his orchestral music, including the ''Italian Overture'' (1952), ''From the Book of Philip Sparrow'' for soprano and strings setting

John Skelton John Skelton may refer to: *John Skelton (poet) (c.1460–1529), English poet. * John de Skelton, MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (died 1439), MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (American footb ...

(1969), ''Rhapsody'' for string orchestra (1958) and ''Journeys and Places'' for soprano and orchestra setting

Edwin Muir Edwin Muir CBE (15 May 1887 – 3 January 1959) was a Scottish poet, novelist and translator. Born on a farm in Deerness, a parish of Orkney, Scotland, he is remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry written in plain language and wit ...

(1971) was issued in 2000 to mark the composer's 90th birthday. A further CD of his chamber music, including

Max Rostal Max Rostal (7 July 1905 – 6 August 1991) was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship. Biography Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn to a Jewish merchant family. As a child prodigy, he started studyin ...

's historic 1948 recording of the Sonatina for Violin and Piano (1941), as well as other archive recordings of the Violin Sonata (1947), Serenade for String Trio (1948, rev. 1989) and Duo for Violin and Cello in one movement (1953, rev. 1965), was issued for the centenary in 2009. The chamber music shows a growing maturity of compositional technique and intensity of feeling, especially after the war (for instance in the slow ''dolente'' movement of the 1947 Violin Sonata). The Serenade shows the growing influence on Central European expressionism on his music. The Duo for violin and cello is so dense it sometimes sounds almost like a string quartet. The ''Sinfonietta Helvetica'' (1990) was his final orchestral work. It written in Switzerland, where he had a second home near

Klosters Klosters is a Swiss village in the Prättigau, politically part of the municipality of Klosters-Serneus, which belongs to the political district Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden. In 2021, the municipality shortened its name to Kl ...

, to mark the 700th anniversary of the Swiss confederation. It was first performed at the

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket v ...

on 6 December 1991 by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Feodor Glushchenko.''Radio Times'', issue 3545, 21 November 1991, p 104
/ref>

References

External links

Symphony in One Movement
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Alexander Gibson (Conductor) {{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Robert 1909 births 2006 deaths Scottish classical composers British male classical composers Scottish opera composers Male opera composers Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge English classical organists British male organists Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Glasgow Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the Royal College of Music People from Brechin Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Scottish Renaissance 20th-century organists 20th-century British male musicians Professors of Music (Cambridge) Male classical organists 20th-century musicologists