Appreciation by Neil Crutchley

Malcolm Sargent was a phenomenon: child prodigy pianist; ARCO and conducting debut at sixteen; Bachelor of Music at nineteen and the youngest ever Doctor of Music at twenty-four. Alongside his academic achievements, Sargent, who grew up in Stamford, was chosen out of over 100 applicants for the post of organist and choirmaster at the church of St. Mary, Melton Mowbray, where his after-service organ voluntaries attracted huge numbers.

During his time in Melton, he honed his skills as a conductor with the town’s choral and operatic societies, where his performances of the great oratorios and the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan became celebrated throughout the Midlands and were supported by everyone from the working man to the regional aristocracy.

His reputation as a conductor and composer soon reached the attention of Leicester music entrepreneur and piano salon owner Karl Russell who, in 1921, promoted a series of concerts in the De Montfort Hall; two of which Sargent conducted and in one, he was the piano soloist. The success of these concerts led in 1922 to the formation of the Leicester Symphony Orchestra with Sargent as its conductor. Such was Sargent’s brilliant musicianship and charismatic personality that the LSO was soon attracting soloists of international fame and capacity audiences.

It wasn’t long after this that Sargent began to attract the attention of the London concert promoters and within a decade his reputation had spread throughout the country and beyond. His concerts for children and his efforts on behalf of English composers were especially admired along with his “Hiawatha” Pageants in London’s Royal Albert Hall. Work with the London Symphony Orchestra, the British National Opera Company, the Diaghilev Ballet, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Halle Orchestra soon followed.

By the 1940s Sargent was possibly the most popular conductor in England – certainly as far as the public at large was concerned. He was a fine broadcaster (BBC Brains Trust) and lecturer, a tireless wartime conductor and by 1950 the conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was feted by royalty at home and abroad and greatly loved overseas, earning the title of Britain’s “musical ambassador”. He was invited to America by Arturo Toscanini to conduct the NBC Symphony Orchestra and made several tours of the united States, South, America, Australia and Europe. The darling of the Henry Wood Promenade concerts for more that two decades, Sargent made his final appearance as a dying man after the Last Night of the Proms in 1967, when he managed a last farewell to his “Beloved Promenaders”. He died at his home 9 Royal Albert Hall Mansions, three weeks later.

All this and infinitely more was related to a captivated audience by Sam Dobson, archivist of the Leicester Symphony Orchestra and acknowledged Sargent expert. His infectious enthusiasm for his subject went hand in hand with his astounding in-depth knowledge. It was clear that he’d done a remarkable amount of research; even managing to get an interview with the late Sylvia Darley, Sargent’s long-time secretary. So, much of what he told us had come from someone who was probably as close to Sargent as anyone.

The talk featured a series of short musical excerpts and some wonderful archive photographs. These rarely seen images added an enormous amount to the presentation. (See below.)

Often controversial, invariably elegant and sometimes vain, Sargent had his detractors and wasn’t always popular with orchestral players. He led a troubled and at times lonely personal life as Sam didn’t shirk from acknowledging, but as he said, these traits are far outweighed by his huge contribution to British musical life for more than half a century.