Willy (or Willie) Redstone (24 September 1883 – 30 September 1949) was a French composer and conductor of light music who had a substantial career in England and Australia, where he became music editor for the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
.
History
Redstone (originally Rottenstein)
was born in Paris, a nephew of the composer
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
(his mother was a half-sister). and cousin of
Albert Carré
Albert Carré (born Strasbourg 22 June 1852, died Paris 12 December 1938) was a French theatre director, opera director, actor and librettist. He was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré (1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director Michel Carré ( ...
, director of the Paris
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
.
His parents were in Paris as refugees from
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, which had fallen to Germany in 1870.
He trained in Paris to be an engineer, but was more interested in music. He was four years at the
Paris Conservatoire
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
, on a scholarship won through his talent as a pianist.
[ He studied harmony and counterpoint under ]Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...
. His first composition, at the age of 20, was a light opera which ran at the Théâtre des Arts for thirty weeks in 1905, setting his future as a writer of light music.
He was also in demand by theatre directors in Paris and London as a conductor, arranger and orchestrator.
For Georges Gabriel Thenon
Georges Gabriel Thenon, pen name and stage name Rip, (28 February 1884 – 25 May 1941 ) was a French chansonnier, draughtsman, librettist and revue creator. Rip wrote successful revues ( une suite de tableaux, où l'on évoque sur le mode comi ...
he wrote the revue '' À perte de revue'' (1906), staged at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal
The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais.
Brief history ...
starring Paul Ardot, the operetta '' Le Trou d'Almanzor'' (1907) at the Théâtre des Arts.
He was commissioned to write a three-act burlesque on Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...
's '' Chantecler'',[ named ''Mik 1ier'', with libretto by Charles-Alexis Carpentier (died 1929), published in 1911.][ Carpentier also wrote libretti for composers ]Édouard Mathé
Édouard Mathé (1886–1934) was a French silent film actor.
He starred in some 51 films between 1914 and 1924.
Mathe appeared ''Barabbas'' in 1920. He regularly appeared in films directed by Louis Feuillade, such as the 1915 ''Les Vampires'' ...
(1863–1936), José Padilla (1889–1960), Maurice Yvain
Maurice Yvain (12 February 1891 – 27 July 1965) was a French composer noted for his operettas of the 1920s and 1930s. Some of which were written for Mistinguett, at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...
(1891–1965)
England
Redstone wrote some music for the Tiller Girls
The Tiller Girls were among the most popular dance troupes of the 1890s, first formed by John Tiller in Manchester, England, in 1889. In theatre Tiller had noticed the overall effect of a chorus of dancers was often spoiled by lack of discipline. ...
, who were at the time performing in Paris. This led to an invitation by John Tiller
John Thomas Ibbotson Tiller (13 June 1854 in Blackburn, Lancashire – 22 October 1925 in New York) was a musical theatre director who was credited with inventing precision dance and was the originator of the 'Tiller Girls'.
Biography
John Till ...
to visit his dance school in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, and incidentally married one of his star performers.[
In 1907 he conducted a ]Christmas pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
in Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, and later was associated with George Grossmith
George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...
and George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond.
Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...
at the London Gaiety, writing scores for musical comedies
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
and revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
s.[
He wrote the revue '' Everybody's Doing It'' which was produced at the ]Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
.[
He worked as musical adviser for ]André Charlot
André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films.
Early li ...
at the Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...
, writing the revues '' Eight pence a Mile'' and '' Keep Smiling'' with Lee White.
He composed the operetta ''Les Petits Crevés'' for Thenon, staged in 1913 at the Théâtre des Capucines
The Théâtre des Capucines was a former theatre on the boulevard des Capucines in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Built in 1889 by architect Édouard-Jean Niermans, it was taken over by two brothers, Émile Isola and Vincent Isola, in 1892 ...
, starring Jacques Bousquet
Jacques Bousquet (1883–1939) was a French actor and screenwriter.Waldman p.43
Selected filmography
* '' Dancing Mad'' (1925)
* '' A Gentleman of the Ring'' (1926)
* '' Rendezvous'' (1930)
* ''Love Songs'' (1930)
* ''My Wife's Teacher'' (1930)
...
.
Songs published around this time include ''Lucy'' (1913) and ''Arabella'' (1914), both with lyrics by Pierre Chapelle.[
He contributed to ]Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100.
Hahn was born in Caracas b ...
's operetta '' Miousic'', libretto by Paul Ferrier
Paul Ferrier (29 March 1843 - September 1920) was a French dramatist, who also provided libretti for several composers, especially Varney and Serpette.
Ferrier was born in Montpellier. He had already produced several comedies when in 1873 he ...
, staged in 1914 at the Paris Olympia
The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra G ...
.
He composed the operetta '' Berlingot'' with A. Stanislas for Lucien Boyer
Lucien Boyer, (1876-1942) was a French music hall singer. He first won popularity singing to soldiers at the front during World War I.
Boyer's fame as a writer and singer spread throughout the world from the Montmartre district of Paris. He w ...
, staged in 1920 at the Concert Mayol
The name Concert Mayol refers to a former cabaret situated at 10 in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
Opened on the site of the former convent of the Filles-Dieu by MM. Valentin Fournier under the name Concert parisien, this café-chantant was an ...
.
At the outbreak of WWI he was in Paris, fulfilling a commitment to write three musical comedies,[
In August 1914 he joined the French army, but was back at the Alhambra a year later, having been discharged in December as disabled,][ following an accident during the retreat from Belgium,][ which had far-reaching consequences for his newborn son George — with the outbreak of WWII he was posted as a deserter and papers served for his ]extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
despite only living in the country for few months as a baby, and not speaking a word of French.[
When Charlot left the Alhambra, Redstone found employment with Grossmith and Laurillard, conducting '' To-Night's the Night'', '' Theodore and Co'', and '']Yes, Uncle!
''Yes, Uncle!'' is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgon and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey (who also wrote ''The Bing Boys are Here'' and the following series of highly successful reviews). The story is based o ...
''.[ and it may have been around this time that he was associated with concert and stage personalities ]Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson (3 August 1891 – 2 December 1957) was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comed ...
, Tom Walls
Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...
, Alice Delysia
Alice Henriette Lapize (3 March 1889 – 10 February 1979), better known by her stage name, Alice Delysia and sometimes Elise Delisia, was a French actress and singer who made her career in English musical theatre. After performing in the cho ...
, Mistinguett
Mistinguett (, born Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois; 5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956) was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world.
Early life
The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois, a 31-year- ...
, Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
, and C. B. Cochran
Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager and impresario. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 193 ...
.[
Songs composed around this time include ''Marche des gavroches'' (March of the Ragamuffins, 1916) with words by L. Boyn and Pierre Forgettes.][
It was during the run of '']Yes, Uncle!
''Yes, Uncle!'' is a musical comedy by Austen Hurgon and George Arthurs, with music by Nat D. Ayer and lyrics by Clifford Grey (who also wrote ''The Bing Boys are Here'' and the following series of highly successful reviews). The story is based o ...
'' that he was recalled to the French army to act as an Agent, and interpreter with the American forces. Two years later he was back with Grossmlth and Laurillard to conduct ''Kissing Time
''Kissing Time'', and an earlier version titled ''The Girl Behind the Gun'', are musical comedies with music by Ivan Caryll, book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, and additional lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is based on the 191 ...
'' at the Winter Garden
A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime.
History
The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtro ...
. He was then commissioned to write the music for '' A Night Out''.
He was for a time at Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.
The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...
with ''The Maid of the Mountains
''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham an ...
'' starring Jose Collins
Charlotte Josephine Collins (23 May 1887 – 6 December 1958) was an English actress and singer known by her stage name, José Collins, who was celebrated for her performances in musical comedies, such as the long-running ''The Maid of the Mo ...
, and later toured with that production.[
Redstone wrote a song ''Were You the Only Girl in the World'', which he sold to London publisher ]Bert Feldman
Bertram Feldman (29 September 1874 – 25 March 1945) was a British music publisher whose innovations "forged the foundations of a commercial music industry in Britain".
Biography
Feldman was born in Hull, the son of a piano maker and music s ...
for £5 (some references say five guineas — £5/5s.), thereupon losing all rights to his composition. Nat D. Ayer
Nathaniel Davis Ayer (August 5, 1887 – September 19, 1952) was an American composer, pianist, singer and actor. He made most of his career composing and performing in England in Edwardian musical comedy and revue. He also contributed songs to Br ...
took the song, changed the verses, and as '' If You Were the Only Girl (In the World)'' it was used in the revue '' The Bing Boys on Broadway'' and became a "hit".
Australia
In 1922 he was appointed musical director for Hugh J. Ward, who was about to tour Australia with '' The O'Brien Girl'', starting with his new Princess Theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, which ran for 202 performances, and ''Tangerine
The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...
'' for 101. Ward had purchased the rights to the play '' Tons of Money'', which fared poorly in Melbourne, but recast as a musical with numbers by Redstone to lyrics by Vaib Solomon
Vaiben Louis Solomon (31 May 1897 – 1982), commonly called "Vaib" to distinguish him from his father and others of the same name, was a businessman, better known as the humorous writer "Vaiben Louis".
History
Solomon was born in Medindie, South ...
it was well received and had long seasons there and in Sydney's Grand Opera House.
His next project as musical director was ''No, No, Nanette
''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves th ...
'', the first musical he conducted for which he did not contribute any original work.[
This was followed by '' Lady Be Good'' in 1927.
In 1928 he was called on by J. C. Williamson to take charge of the first symphony concert to be broadcast in Australia.
He joined the ABC in 1932, and in 1938 was appointed its Federal Musical Editor; it was said he could write out a fresh arrangement for full symphony orchestra as swiftly as most people write a letter. He exercised this facility for the ]Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...
.
Redstone, Lindley Evans
Lindley Evans Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (18 November 18952 December 1982) was a Cape Colony-born Australian composer, pianist and teacher. He is best known for his collaboration with Frank Hutchens in a famous piano ...
and Alfred Hill Alfred Hill may refer to:
* Alfred John Hill (1862–1927), British railway engineer
* Alfred Hill (cricketer, born 1865) (1865–1936), English cricketer
* Alfred Hill (politician) (1867–1945), British Member of Parliament for Leicester West 19 ...
composed the score for Charles Chauvel's 1940 film ''Forty Thousand Horsemen
''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' (aka ''40,000 Horsemen'') is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse (mounted rifleman as distinct from cavalry) which operated in the desert at t ...
''. and was also involved in Chauvel's ''Rats of Tobruk
The Rats of Tobruk were soldiers of the Australian-led Allied garrison that held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The siege started on 11 April 1941 and was relieved on 10 December. ...
'' (1944) alongside Lindley Evans and Charles Mackerras
Mackerras in 2005
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...
.
He also composed the score for Lee Robinson's 1949 documentary Crocodile Hunters
''Crocodile Hunters'' is 1949 documentary directed by Lee Robinson about both aboriginal and professional crocodile hunters in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of A ...
, commissioned by the Department of Information.
Perhaps his most famous work in this period was an arrangement of ''John Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" (originally known as "John Brown's Song") is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of t ...
''.[
He retained his youthful interest in engineering, and had an expert knowledge of ]aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
.[
He died in Sydney after a short illness, and his remains were cremated. His last completed work was ''The Sphinx'', a ballet suite for orchestra. He was currently engaged on a musical "Life of Christ" with one Oscar Walters.
]
Family
Willy Redstone was born Charles Willy Adolphe Rottenstein in Paris on 24 September 1883, a son of Johann Baptist (or Jean Baptiste) Rottenstein and Jeanne Marie Marguerite Baretty.
Redstone married Florence Annie Osborne, an accomplished dancer and comedienne,[ in Paris on 23 July 1914. Though known as Redstone, the surname Rottenstein was not relinquished.
*George John Frederick Redstone (born in France 23 June 1914)] married June Lorraine Johnson in 1940. His arrangement of ''Advance Australia Fair
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish people, Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the ...
'' was recorded by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conductor Henry Krips on 4 May 1968.
*Laurette Jeanne Redstone married Thomas John Collins (born Deniliquin 21 May 1925)
*Wesley Redstone (born in Melbourne 12 June 1923),
*Tony Redstone
*Jacqueline Redstone
They had a home at Pacific Street, Watson's Bay, later at 21 Fairweather Street, Bellevue Hill.
See also
35 works listed 1908–1921
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redstone, Willy
1940 deaths
French emigrants to the United Kingdom
British emigrants to Australia
French musical theatre composers
20th-century French composers
20th-century English composers
English musical theatre composers
Australian musical theatre composers
Australian film score composers
1883 births