Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Glasgow: Kailyard or Coal Yard?
- 2 The Active Society: Bringing the Heroes of Modernism to Glasgow
- 3 Chisholm's Scottish Inheritance
- Interlude: The Love of Sorabji
- 4 A Trojan Horse in Glasgow: Berlioz, Mozart and Gluck
- 5 The Ballet & The Baton as Weapons of War
- Centre-Piece Pictures from Dante & Night Song of the Bards: A Journey from West to East
- 6 From Italy to India and Singapore
- 7 Under Table Mountain
- 8 On Tour in the USA and Europe
- 9 Soviet Ambassador: Chisholm behind the Iron Curtain
- Interlude: The Love of Janáček
- 10 Chasing a Restless Muse: The Heart's Betrayal
- 10 Chasing a Restless Muse: The Heart's Betrayal
- Appendix 1: The Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music
- Appendix 2: Patrick Macdonald Sources for Chisholm's Piano Works
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- Discography
- Selected Compositions
- Index
4 - A Trojan Horse in Glasgow: Berlioz, Mozart and Gluck
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 March 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Glasgow: Kailyard or Coal Yard?
- 2 The Active Society: Bringing the Heroes of Modernism to Glasgow
- 3 Chisholm's Scottish Inheritance
- Interlude: The Love of Sorabji
- 4 A Trojan Horse in Glasgow: Berlioz, Mozart and Gluck
- 5 The Ballet & The Baton as Weapons of War
- Centre-Piece Pictures from Dante & Night Song of the Bards: A Journey from West to East
- 6 From Italy to India and Singapore
- 7 Under Table Mountain
- 8 On Tour in the USA and Europe
- 9 Soviet Ambassador: Chisholm behind the Iron Curtain
- Interlude: The Love of Janáček
- 10 Chasing a Restless Muse: The Heart's Betrayal
- 10 Chasing a Restless Muse: The Heart's Betrayal
- Appendix 1: The Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music
- Appendix 2: Patrick Macdonald Sources for Chisholm's Piano Works
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- Discography
- Selected Compositions
- Index
Summary
As if the activities of the Active Society were not enough, Chisholm was planning in his head performances of little-known operas. That Idomeneo should have been one of these seems strange to us now, but it had yet to be heard in the British Isles. During 1927 or 1928, Chisholm was in correspondence with Maisie Radford about the edition of Idomeneo. She had seen a Munich production and appears from the correspondence to have been involved in the preparation of one of Chisholm's Berlioz revivals. But the real opportunity to bring these schemes to fruition only came with Chisholm's appointment as conductor of the Glasgow Grand Opera Society.
Opera Society.
New Conductor Appointed.
Mr Erik Chisholm to Wield Baton.
(Exclusive Interview.)
‘I would like to see Glasgow Amateur enthusiasts,’ said Mr Chisholm in an interview today, ‘attempting fresh fields of operatic music, and escaping from the convention that has tied them down to a narrow repertoire. To begin with, the Glasgow Grand Opera Society, I am glad to say, has decided to produce next season “The Bartered Bride,” … my feeling is that amateurs could do some splendid work in bringing before the public pieces that the professional companies have not given here, such as those by de Falla, Granada, and Hugo Wolf.’
Apparently, even The Bartered Bride was a novelty; but in opening its portals to Chisholm, did the Glasgow Grand Opera Society realise just how ‘Grand’ he expected it to be? He was himself almost a Trojan horse, and the Society was nearly brought to its knees, partly through his ambitions. But before launching into Chisholm's operatic ventures, never mind the continuing heroic efforts of the Active Society, it is time to catch up with everyday life, if such a thing ever existed in the Chisholm household, not forgetting his continuing output as a composer.
In 1931, Chisholm received his B.Mus. degree from the University of Edinburgh, and no doubt he immediately turned his mind towards obtaining his doctorate, but he had also turned his mind towards Diana Brodie, who had in fact prompted him to apply.
Diana and Erik first met in St Matthew's Church, where she sang in the choir and he was organist. She was good-looking and had a well-pitched dramatic soprano voice, and was also capable of accompanying herself at the piano by ear, although she had had none of Erik's formal training.
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- Erik Chisholm, Scottish Modernist (1904-1965)Chasing a Restless Muse, pp. 68 - 82Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2009