Sir John Barbirolli – Manchester UK
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dtrebilc
N 53° 28.541 W 002° 14.758
30U E 550044 N 5925453
Sir John Barbirolli started his life as a cellist, but later became a conductor. This bust of him stands outside the Bridgewater Hall, which in 1996 was built as the new home to the Halle Orchestra that Sir John had conducted for 27 years.
Waymark Code: WME9C6
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/22/2012
Views: 4
Barbirolli was born in London and his Italian father was a talented violinist. John Barbirolli tried to copy his father and started to learn the violin when he was 4 years of age.
However his grandfather became annoyed with him carrying the violin around with him and so bought him a cello instead so that he would have to stay in one spot to play it. He studied the cello at the Royal Academy of Music, and started playing professionally from the age of 17.
He enlisted in the army during the last year of World War I and along with other musicians formed an army orchestra. It was during this time that he had the first opportunity to conduct and found that he liked it.
After the end of the war he resumed his cello career and played with the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 1926 he was given his first chance to conduct professionally with the Chenil Chamber Orchestra. He did this successfully and was invited to conduct for the British National Opera Company.
He moved on to be a guest conductor for the Halle Orchestra in 1932 and then in 1936 The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, staying with them until 1942.
In 1943 he returned to the UK and joined the Halle Orchestra permanently. The Halle Orchestra had originally formed in Manchester in 1857 and because of the war was short of musicians. Barbirolli had to recruit new members and decided to recruit anyone with musical talent whatever their background or experience.
He successfully trained up the new musicians and restored the reputation of the orchestra. This was the beginning of a career with the Halle that was to last for 27 years, 25 of them as principal conductor.
During this time he built a reputation as a great conductor with a great attention to detail. An example of this is that he once took a total of 18 months preparation for conducting Mahler’s Ninth symphony.
During the rest of his career he was a guest conductor for many other orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but it was the Halle Orchestra that he remained faithful to. He continued to conduct until he died in 1970.
He won many musical awards including Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and a gold medal from the Royal Philharmonic Society. In 1949 he was knighted to become Sir John Barbirolli.
In 1996 the Bridgewater Hall opened as a specifically designed new home for the Halle Orchestra. This bust of Barbirolli stands proudly in Barbirolli Square next to the entrance to the hall.
Name of Musician: Sir John Barbirolli
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