The Rodewald Concert Society (RCS) is a promoter of musical education and

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 Liverpool City Region. It was established in 1911 as the Rodewald Concert Club, in memory of

Alfred Edward Rodewald Alfred Edward Rodewald (1862 – 1903) was an English musician, but a merchant by profession. He developed the Liverpool Orchestral Society to become a large semi-professional orchestra of distinction. He was a close friend of the English compo ...

, an amateur conductor in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. It is the second oldest chamber music society in the UK. It changed its name to the Rodewald Concert Society in 1916. Its founding chairman was

Ernest Bryson Robert Ernest Bryson (30 March 1867 – 16 April 1942) was a Scottish composer and organist who spent most of his life in Birkenhead, England, working as a cotton merchant in Liverpool. He was the founder-chairman and later President of the Rod ...

, a composer. Its first Honorary President was

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

. The first concert was given by the Rawdon-Briggs String Quartet at the Carlton Restaurant on 16 October 1911.

Education

Education has been a part of Rodewald Concert Society (RCS) activities from its inception.

, the Society's dedicatee, was known for his public lectures on music. At the inaugural meeting, lectures on musical subjects, as well as concerts, were envisaged. The second event of the society was a lecture-recital given by baritone, Harry Plunket Greene. The first Rules only specified that chamber music concerts were to be given “under informal and social conditions”. Education was not specifically included as part of the Object of the Society in its Rules until 1955, when the Rule on Dissolution was also expanded in more detail. These changes were linked to the avoidance of tax on a legacy. The most significant educational development was the introduction of exceptionally cheap seats for students, which were marketed through schools in 1944 and attracted significant support. There have been only two specific educational projects since then: regular Play Days for amateur ensembles with professional tuition, and financial support for various projects at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in Session 2016-17.

Artists

At first, concerts were given by local musicians, usually the Rawdon-Briggs String Quartet, then principals of the

Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

, who were succeeded by the Catterall Quartet and, later, by the original Brodsky Quartet from Manchester. Since the 1930s, the Society has brought internationally famous chamber music ensembles to Liverpool, including such as: the Léner,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Griller, Hungarian,

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...

, Camilleri, Janáček, Smetena,

Melos Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group. The ''Venus d ...

, Borodin, new

Brodsky Brodsky, feminine: Brodskaya ( Ukrainian: Бродський, Russian: Бродский) is a toponymic surname derived from Brody, a town in Ukraine. The name is common among Ashkenazi Jews. Czech-language forms are Brodský and Brodská. Notab ...

, Škamp

Belcea Quartet, Belcea and Pavel Haas String Quartets. Other chamber groups have included the Robert Maste

Piano Quartet,

Melos Ensemble The Melos Ensemble is a group of musicians who started in 1950 in London to play chamber music in mixed instrumentation of string instruments, wind instruments and others. Benjamin Britten composed the chamber music for his ''War Requiem'' for the ...

, Beaux Arts Trio, and the

Florestan Trio The Florestan Trio was a piano trio. Formed in 1995 in London, England, its members were Anthony Marwood (violin), Richard Lester (cello), and Susan Tomes (piano). Their recording of the first two trios by Schumann won the 1999 Gramophone Award for ...

. Recitalists have included:

Harriet Cohen Harriet(t) may refer to: * Harriet (name), a female name ''(includes list of people with the name)'' Places *Harriet, Queensland, rural locality in Australia * Harriet, Arkansas, unincorporated community in the United States * Harriett, Texas, ...

, Albert Sammons, Dennis Brain, Yfrah Neaman, Stephen Hough, Ian Bostridge, Radu Lupu,

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * Mi ...

Andreas Scholl Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music. Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbuben ...

, Tasmin Little,

Wolfgang Holzmair Wolfgang Holzmair (born 1952 in Vöcklabruck) is an Austrian baritone. Holzmair studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He won 2nd prize in the baritone class of the 's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition in 1981, an ...

, Mark Padmore, Paul Lewis, and Nikolai Demidenko.Rodewald Concert Society Archives Ref 780 RCS/5

Commissions

The Society has a record of commissioning new works, made possible through grant aid. The first commission was from Judith Weir, in partnership with the South East Arts Association, to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the RLPS, and the

Endellion Quartet The Endellion String Quartet was a British string quartet, named after St Endellion in Cornwall. History The quartet was formed in 1979 with the following original members: * Andrew Watkinson, violin * Louise Williams, violin * Garfield Jackson, v ...

as Quartet-in-Residence for the South East Arts Association. To assist with commissioning, a special fund-raising scheme was set up, known as 'Sounds Creative'. The second commission was for a

Clarinet Quintet Traditionally a clarinet quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. Now the term clarinet quintet can refer to five B clarinets; four B clarinets and a ...

from Hugh Wood, to celebrate Liverpool as European Capital of Culture in 2008. Two commissions were made in 2012 to celebrate the Society's Centenary, a Horn Quintet from

John McCabe John McCabe may refer to: *John McCabe (composer) (1939–2015), British composer and classical pianist *John McCabe (writer) (1920–2005), Shakespearean scholar and biographer *Christopher John McCabe Christopher John McCabe (born 20 Oc ...

, its President, and a Clarinet Quintet from

Emily Howard Emily Howard (born 1979) is a British composer whose work is best known for its inventive connections with mathematical shapes and processes. Early life Howard was born in Liverpool, England. After completing a degree in mathematics and comp ...

. Professor

, from Wirral, is now recognised as one of the UK's most significant composers. In 2014 Ian Stephens, also from Wirral, was commissioned to compose an Oboe Quintet in memory of two former committee members who were brilliant amateur oboists.

Notable founders

Robert Ernest Bryson Robert Ernest Bryson (30 March 1867 – 16 April 1942) was a Scottish composer and organist who spent most of his life in Birkenhead, England, working as a cotton merchant in Liverpool. He was the founder-chairman and later President of the Ro ...

(1867-1942), Cotton merchant, organist and composer * Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), Composer and Professor of Music at Cambridge and the Royal College of Music * Harry Plunket Greene (1865-1936), Bass-baritone, long-standing friend of Rodewald, who gave lecture-recitals to the Society

Honorary Presidents

1911-1924 *

1926-1942 * Sir Thomas Beecham 1944-1961 *

Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, wi ...

1961-1983 *

Walter Weller Walter Weller (30 November 1939 – 14 June 2015) was an Austrian-born conductor and classical violinist. He made several recordings over the years, founded his own string quartet. and led/co-led several well known orchestras and operas. Weller ...

1983-? * John McCabe (composer) 2008-2015

Sources

* Rodewald Concert Society archives, Liverpool Record Office, Ref 780 RCS

* G Douglas Bell from notes of the late H Ernest Roberts, 'Rodewald Concert Society Jubilee 1911-1961', published by the Rodewald Concert Society, 1961 * B. B. Benas, 'A History of Orchestras on Merseyside', Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol 95 (1942), p 103,

* J. E. Kelly, 'Elgar's Best Friend: Alfred Rodewald of Liverpool', Lancaster, Carnegie Publishing Ltd, 2013 * D. Henley & V. McKernan. 'The Original Liverpool Sound: The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Story', Liverpol, Liverpool University Press, 2009 * S. de B. Taylor, 'Two Centuuries of Music in Liverpool', Liverpool, Rockliff Brothers Ltd, 1976

External links

* Making Music

* RLPS

* Charity Commission, 236406

References

{{Reflist 1911 establishments in England Chamber music Music organisations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Liverpool Arts organizations established in 1911