Edward Clark (conductor) facts for kids

Clark (left) with Arnold Bax and Sir Henry Wood, 1934

Thomas Edward Clark (born May 10, 1888 – died April 30, 1962) was an English conductor and music producer. He worked for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). He played a huge role in bringing new and modern classical music to the British public for over 30 years.

Clark was a key person in the BBC's Concerts of Contemporary Music from 1926 to 1939. He also helped a lot in starting and developing the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He held important positions in the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) from its beginning in 1922. He was even its president from 1947 to 1952.

He helped produce many important first performances of new music, both in the world and in Britain. He worked with many famous European and British composers. These included Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, Paul Hindemith, William Walton, and Benjamin Britten.

Edward Clark was known for being very smart and having big ideas. He was passionate about new music. However, he sometimes struggled with administrative tasks and communicating his ideas clearly. These challenges led to his leaving the BBC in 1936. Even after leaving, he continued to influence the world of contemporary music.

Clark's first wife, Dorothy Eckersley, was involved in some broadcasts during World War II. His second wife was the composer Elisabeth Lutyens. They had a child together.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Where and When Was Edward Clark Born?

Thomas Edward Clark was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on May 10, 1888. His father, James Bowness Clark, was a coal exporter and loved music. He supported Edward's musical interests. For 20 years, his father was also the secretary of a local choir group. Edward's parents had three children.

How Did Clark Start His Music Career?

Edward Clark went to the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. In 1907 and 1908, he studied in Paris. There, he met famous French composers like Claude Debussy, Albert Roussel, and Maurice Ravel. When he returned to Newcastle, he gave a talk about Debussy. He really wanted to help British audiences understand new music. In 1909, he studied conducting in Berlin with Oskar Fried. He also worked as a reporter for The Musical Times magazine in Berlin.

Meeting Arnold Schoenberg

How Did Clark Discover Schoenberg's Music?

Clark first heard the music of Arnold Schoenberg in Berlin on October 31, 1910. It was a performance of Schoenberg's piece Pelleas und Melisande. He was deeply impressed. After the concert, he met Schoenberg and Anton Webern. Clark became a strong supporter of Schoenberg's music. He helped convince Schoenberg to move to Berlin from Vienna. Berlin offered more opportunities for composers.

Clark's Studies with Schoenberg

From 1910 to 1912, Clark studied with Schoenberg in Berlin. He was Schoenberg's only British student. Clark helped Schoenberg give public lectures and raise money for his music. He also helped publish Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra cheaply, which sold out fast. One buyer was Sir Henry Wood, a famous conductor.

Schoenberg's Music Comes to Britain

On September 3, 1912, Sir Henry Wood conducted the first performance of Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra in London. This was at a Promenade Concert. Clark then invited Schoenberg to conduct his own music in Britain. On January 17, 1914, Schoenberg conducted the same work in London.

World War I and Internment

In early August 1914, Clark was at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. World War I began, and he was arrested as an "enemy alien." He was held in a camp near Berlin until May 1918. Other musicians, like Edgar Bainton and Arthur Benjamin, were also held there.

Return to London and New Music Concerts

After the war, Clark returned to London. He worked as an assistant conductor for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. He became friends with Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky. In 1921, Clark organized concerts of new music. These concerts were popular. He presented the first UK performance of Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite. He also premiered new works by Arnold Bax and Arthur Bliss.

On May 6, 1921, he introduced Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No. 1 to British audiences. He also conducted the British premiere of Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain.

Clark attended the first meeting of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) in 1922. He remained an important part of this organization throughout his life.

Working with the BBC

Clark's Start at the BBC

Clark joined the BBC in August 1924 as the Musical Director for their Newcastle station. He was very creative and had new ideas for music programs. People in Newcastle praised his work. In December 1924, Clark conducted the first orchestral version of Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht in Newcastle.

When the Newcastle station orchestra closed in 1926, Clark moved to London in January 1927. He became a program planner for the BBC.

Clark's Impact on New Music at the BBC

Clark worked full-time for the BBC for only seven more years. But his influence helped the BBC become a major supporter of new music worldwide. He also conducted many concerts during this time.

On June 19, 1927, he conducted the British premiere of Igor Stravinsky's Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments. Stravinsky himself played the piano. Clark also helped bring Oskar Fried to Britain to conduct. In 1928, Clark invited Schoenberg to London to conduct his Gurre-Lieder.

Founding the BBC Symphony Orchestra

In April 1929, Edward Clark helped create the idea for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He suggested an orchestra of 114 musicians that could also be split into smaller groups. This idea led to the formation of the famous orchestra. Adrian Boult became its first chief conductor.

Clark also suggested to William Walton that Paul Hindemith play the solo part in Walton's Viola Concerto in 1929. This led to a lifelong friendship between Walton and Hindemith. Clark also inspired Walton to write Belshazzar's Feast. He asked Walton for a piece for broadcasting with a small choir and orchestra.

Bringing European Composers to Britain

Clark used his connections to bring the ISCM Festival to London and Oxford in 1931. He invited Anton Webern and Alban Berg to England several times to conduct their own works. Even though Berg was hesitant, Clark made sure his important pieces were performed in England. These included fragments from Wozzeck and pieces from Lulu.

In 1933, Schoenberg wrote a cello concerto. Clark conducted its first public broadcast performance in London. This was a studio broadcast with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Challenges and Departure from the BBC

Clark was in Moscow in 1934, where he conducted John Ireland's Piano Concerto. In 1935, he conducted the first British broadcast of Kurt Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper. He also helped bring Béla Bartók to Britain to perform his works.

In 1936, Clark helped arrange for Paul Hindemith to write Trauermusik (Funeral Music) in a single day. This piece was a tribute to the late King George V. It was performed that evening in a live BBC radio broadcast.

Edward Clark left the BBC suddenly on March 16, 1936. This happened because changes were made to concert programs for an upcoming European tour without his knowledge. These changes included removing a piece by Béla Bartók. Clark had put a lot of effort into these programs.

His departure also came after a long period of criticism about his work habits. He sometimes missed deadlines and struggled with administrative tasks. His conducting was also criticized. After leaving the BBC, Clark never held a steady job again. He continued to work as a consultant for the BBC and conducted freelance for a few years.

Life After the BBC

Continuing to Promote New Music

After Clark left the BBC, the music of composers like Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Alban Berg became less common in British concerts. It wasn't until 1959 that their music returned to the mainstream.

However, Clark remained very active with the ISCM. In 1936, he attended the ISCM Festival in Barcelona. He arranged for the first British performance of Berg's Violin Concerto.

Clark's influence reached beyond Britain. An Australian pianist and composer named Roy Agnew was inspired by Clark's broadcasts. Agnew later hosted his own radio program about modern music in Australia.

Clark also produced concert versions of Ferruccio Busoni's operas Doktor Faust (1937) and Arlecchino (1939).

Elisabeth Lutyens and Later Years

Clark's Relationship with Elisabeth Lutyens

In 1938, Edward Clark met the composer Elisabeth Lutyens. They became partners and later married in 1942. They had a child together. Lutyens was also well-connected in the music world. Clark's influence may have encouraged her to use new musical techniques, like serialism. Her first piece using these techniques was dedicated to him.

Because Clark was mostly unemployed, Lutyens became the main provider for their family. She took on film scoring jobs to earn money. She later wrote her autobiography to highlight Clark's important achievements in music.

In 1945, William Walton helped Lutyens get film music work. He even paid her to write a piece, The Pit, which Clark conducted at the 1946 ISCM Festival in London.

Clark's Continued Activities

Clark was a dedicated socialist. He was a member of the Society for Cultural Relations with the USSR. In 1940, he helped arrange the first UK performance of Aram Khachaturian's Piano Concerto.

From 1945 to 1946, he organized concerts of British and European music in London. He also organized the 1946 London ISCM Festival. He became the ISCM's president a year later. He was also involved with the London Contemporary Music Centre and the Institute for Contemporary Arts.

Clark continued to support new composers. He helped Denis ApIvor become interested in serialism.

Final Years and Legacy

Clark's administrative skills never fully improved. In 1947, he received a complaint about unanswered letters from the American branch of the ISCM.

In 1948, for the BBC's Third Programme, Clark created a series called "Turning Points in Twentieth-Century Music." It explored the works of Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, and Béla Bartók.

In 1951, Edward Clark received the Arnold Schoenberg Medal. In 1953, Sir William Walton helped him get a special pension.

Edward Clark died suddenly on April 30, 1962, at age 73. Stravinsky was very sad to hear of his death.

Honors and Tributes

• In 1951, the Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) gave Edward Clark the Arnold Schoenberg Medal.
• Clark is one of a select group of Honorary Members of the ISCM.

Works Dedicated to Edward Clark

Many composers dedicated their works to Edward Clark, showing his importance and influence:

• John Ireland's Piano Sonatina (1926–27) and some songs from his Songs Sacred and Profane (1929).
• Alan Bush's Dance Overture (1930).
• Józef Koffler dedicated his "Variations on a Waltz by Johann Strauss" (1935) to Clark.
• Anton Webern's arrangement of a piece from Johann Sebastian Bach's The Musical Offering.
• Elisabeth Lutyens's Chamber Concerto No. 1 (1939), her first piece using serial techniques.
• Humphrey Searle wrote a musical palindrome for Clark.
• Constant Lambert's Trois pièces nègres pour les touches blanches (1949).
• After his death, Elisabeth Lutyens dedicated Music for Orchestra II (1962) to his memory.

Images for kids

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  Arnold Schoenberg, 1927, by Man Ray

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  Poster for Edward Clark concert, Moscow