Constant Lambert
Beyond The Rio Grande
Published on 20. March 2014
Book
Hardback
622 pages
978-1-84383-898-2 (ISBN)
Description
An indispensable biography for anyone interested in Constant Lambert, ballet and British musical life in the first part of the twentieth century.
Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award of Excellence - Certificate of Merit in Historical Recorded Sound Research in Classical Music
To the economist and ballet enthusiast John Maynard Keynes he was potentially the most brilliant man he'd ever met; to Dame Ninette de Valois he was the greatest ballet conductor and advisor this country has ever had; to the composer Denis ApIvor he was the greatest, most lovable, and most entertaining personality of the musical world; whilst to the dance critic Clement Crisp he was quite simply a musician of genius. Yet sixty years after his tragic earlydeath Constant Lambert is little known today. As a composer he is remembered for his jazz-inspired The Rio Grande but little more, and for a man who selflessly devoted the greater part of his life to the establishment of English ballet his work is largely unrecognized today. This book amply demonstrates why he deserves to be held in greater renown.
With numerous music examples, extensive appendices and a unique iconography, every aspect of thecareer and life of this extraordinary, multi-talented man is examined. It looks not only at his music but at his journalism, his talks for the BBC, his championing of jazz (in particular Duke Ellington), and - more privately - his long-standing affair with Margot Fonteyn. This is an indispensable biography for anyone interested in Constant Lambert, ballet and British musical life in the first part of the twentieth century.
STEPHEN LLOYD is a writer on British music and author of William Walton: Muse of Fire (Boydell, 2001).
Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award of Excellence - Certificate of Merit in Historical Recorded Sound Research in Classical Music
To the economist and ballet enthusiast John Maynard Keynes he was potentially the most brilliant man he'd ever met; to Dame Ninette de Valois he was the greatest ballet conductor and advisor this country has ever had; to the composer Denis ApIvor he was the greatest, most lovable, and most entertaining personality of the musical world; whilst to the dance critic Clement Crisp he was quite simply a musician of genius. Yet sixty years after his tragic earlydeath Constant Lambert is little known today. As a composer he is remembered for his jazz-inspired The Rio Grande but little more, and for a man who selflessly devoted the greater part of his life to the establishment of English ballet his work is largely unrecognized today. This book amply demonstrates why he deserves to be held in greater renown.
With numerous music examples, extensive appendices and a unique iconography, every aspect of thecareer and life of this extraordinary, multi-talented man is examined. It looks not only at his music but at his journalism, his talks for the BBC, his championing of jazz (in particular Duke Ellington), and - more privately - his long-standing affair with Margot Fonteyn. This is an indispensable biography for anyone interested in Constant Lambert, ballet and British musical life in the first part of the twentieth century.
STEPHEN LLOYD is a writer on British music and author of William Walton: Muse of Fire (Boydell, 2001).
Reviews / Votes
Lloyd is the first biographer to tell the full unexpurgated story. * MUSIC AND LETTERS * Terrific. * THE GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Intensely researched ... Lloyd covers every aspect of the man's life ... there is scarcely a dull page throughout the book. [Five stars] * CLASSICAL MUSIC * A model of meticulous scholarship, as authoritative as it is compendious. ... The result is both majestic and moving. * THE GUARDIAN * This magisterial book is the best possible case for a Lambert revival. No Lambert enthusiast should miss it. * GRAMOPHONE * This magnificent book is a wholly remarkable achievement ... This book is more than valuable, appearing at a time when one had begun to imagine that studies of this importance and quality were in serious danger of dying out. Stephen Lloyd has restored this reader's faith in British musical scholarship and the publishers equally deserve our praise for the distinguished manner in which this book is presented. * MUSICAL OPINION * [A] monumental new biography ... a superb resource, thoroughly researched and rich in appendices. * DANCING TIMES * A revelation ... well researched and well written ... this fine biography enables us to put Lambert's life and achievements objectively in context. * ELGAR SOCIETY JOURNAL * I strongly recommend this book to all to share my fascination for a long-lost era when giants walked the earth ... If Constant Lambert himself is now a somewhat obscure figure to many, this book should bring him into a much clearer focus. * RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS SOCIETY JOURNAL * Full of great names ... it's a wonderful history of British music at that period. An intriguing and marvellous book ... [with a] tremendous amount of research. * BBC RADIO 3, MUSIC MATTERS * Fascinating ... This is a very detailed account of a working life ... Stephen Lloyd gives us a satisfying number of letters both to and from Lambert, allowing us a sense of his enchanting voice. * THE SPECTATOR * Lambert's fascinating, multifaceted personality and Lloyd's informed insights keep us turning the pages. (Four stars out of five.) * BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE * As close to definitive as a biography can be. Mr Lloyd gets absolutely everything right ... Far more important, Mr. Lloyd makes a compelling case for Mr. Lambert's continuing significance ... I hope it soon finds its way into the hands of a smart orchestral conductor looking for an underappreciated composer to champion. * WALL STREET JOURNAL *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Woodbridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
12 colour. 67 b/w. 32 line.
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
1512 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84383-898-2 (9781843838982)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Stephen Lloyd
Content
A Meteor Fell . . . 1905-1914
At Christ's Hospital 1914-1922
The College 'Whizz-Kid' 1922-1926
Diaghilev and Disagreement 1925-1926
Early Ballets and Philip Heseltine 1926-1927
The Rio Grande and Jazz 1927-1930
Camargo and the Birth of British Ballet 1928-1931
Marriage and Journalism 1931
A Permanent Post 1932-1934
Let's to Billiards - Music Ho! 1934
Elgar and Delius; Enter Fonteyn 1934
Van Dieren and Walton 1935
Pestilence and Apparitions 1936
Checkmate and Horoscope 1937-1938
Double Bishops and Limericks 1939-1940
Escape from Holland 1940-1943
Small Fish and Large Cats 1944-1945
The Second Mrs Lambert 1945-1946
The Third Programme and The Fairy Queen
Snakes and Tiresias
Appendix 1: The Compositions of Constant Lambert
Appendix 2: Synopsis of Tiresias
Appendix 3: A Constant Lambert Discography
Appendix 4: Constant Lambert's Journalism
Appendix 5: Constant Lambert's Talks for the BBC
Appendix 6: Constant Lambert's BBC Talks on Modern Dance Music (Jazz)
Appendix 7: Constant Lambert's Third Programme Broadcasts
Appendix 8: Constant Lambert's Conducting Engagements at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts
Appendix 9: A Dance to the Music of Time: Anthony Powell, Hugh Moreland and Constant Lambert
Appendix 10: C. B. Rees on Constant Lambert
Appendix 11: A Constant Lambert Iconography
Appendix 12: Lambert's Limericks and Other Verses
Appendix 13: Vic-Wells/Sadler's Wells London Repertoire
Bibliography
Index
At Christ's Hospital 1914-1922
The College 'Whizz-Kid' 1922-1926
Diaghilev and Disagreement 1925-1926
Early Ballets and Philip Heseltine 1926-1927
The Rio Grande and Jazz 1927-1930
Camargo and the Birth of British Ballet 1928-1931
Marriage and Journalism 1931
A Permanent Post 1932-1934
Let's to Billiards - Music Ho! 1934
Elgar and Delius; Enter Fonteyn 1934
Van Dieren and Walton 1935
Pestilence and Apparitions 1936
Checkmate and Horoscope 1937-1938
Double Bishops and Limericks 1939-1940
Escape from Holland 1940-1943
Small Fish and Large Cats 1944-1945
The Second Mrs Lambert 1945-1946
The Third Programme and The Fairy Queen
Snakes and Tiresias
Appendix 1: The Compositions of Constant Lambert
Appendix 2: Synopsis of Tiresias
Appendix 3: A Constant Lambert Discography
Appendix 4: Constant Lambert's Journalism
Appendix 5: Constant Lambert's Talks for the BBC
Appendix 6: Constant Lambert's BBC Talks on Modern Dance Music (Jazz)
Appendix 7: Constant Lambert's Third Programme Broadcasts
Appendix 8: Constant Lambert's Conducting Engagements at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts
Appendix 9: A Dance to the Music of Time: Anthony Powell, Hugh Moreland and Constant Lambert
Appendix 10: C. B. Rees on Constant Lambert
Appendix 11: A Constant Lambert Iconography
Appendix 12: Lambert's Limericks and Other Verses
Appendix 13: Vic-Wells/Sadler's Wells London Repertoire
Bibliography
Index