Great Performers: Sir Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) was the kind of Englishman who, had he not existed, would have needed inventing. Born into an enormously wealthy family (the Beecham industry was pharmaceuticals), Beecham chose to follow his passion for music, and during his long life probably poured more money into music in the UK than anyone else (only eclipsed by the BBC, perhaps). His wit was legendary and rapier sharp ("Have you heard any Stockhausen?" Beecham was asked. "No, but I believe I have stepped in some." Or, when asked about Herbert von Karajan, "A sort of musical Malcolm Sargent" was Beecham's laconic reply, one that skewered both conductors!)
Read more…Beecham was self-taught but, as so often is the case with autodidacts, his passion and knowledge was immense. Beloved by orchestral musicians for his wit and charm, as well as his innate grasp of group psychology, Beecham was involved in the creation of many of London's great orchestras: the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic among them. Thanks to his wealth and his ability to get things done, he gathered the finest players around him, and he was able to galvanise an ensemble to give of its best. With Beecham in charge, the RPO enjoyed one of its greatest periods – just listen to them in Schubert's Fifth Symphony for playing of sparkling delicacy combined with that indefinable ésprit that characterised everything Beecham did. It's there in the Overture to Richard Strauss's 'Le bourgeois gentilhomme' and it's there in Bizet's Carmen and Symphony in C. And it's to be found in every single bar of the Haydn symphonies he recorded.
Beecham never bowed to commercial pressure: he played the music he believed in and his championship of particular composers was loyal and unwavering. He put the music of Frederick Delius on the map (and wrote a book about the composer), recording nearly all his music, capturing that mood of diaphanous, gauzy beauty to perfection. He was an early champion of the music of Jean Sibelius and flew the flag for Hector Berlioz when the composer's countrymen wouldn't give him the time of day. And he was no musical snob either ("Music first and last should sound well, should allure and enchant the ear. Never mind the inner significance.") and he adored conducting what he styled "lollipops", short pieces that push all the buttons in just a few minutes. Beecham was the master of the encore. Has Chabrier's 'Joyeuse Marche' ever sounded as insouciant as in his hands?
Above all, Beecham was a man of the theatre: he loved the music of Richard Strauss and did much to make the German composer's music well known in the UK, he was a wonderful conductor of Puccini's operas (his La bohème recording with de los Angeles and Björling remains a classic) and he gauged the scale of Bizet's Carmen (again with de los Angeles) to perfection. He was an Englishman who showed the French how their music should go.
In an age of high-pressure professionalism, we'll never see the likes of Beecham again, but his recorded catalogue is a wonderful reminder of a different and perhaps truly golden age.
[Due to geo-blocking restrictions, some tracks might be unavailable in certain territories.]