Frederic Austin

Frederic Austin (30 March 1872 - 10 April 1952) was a leading English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905-1930. He is best remembered for his restoration and production of The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch, and its sequel, Polly, in 1920-1923. He was born and died in London.

Training and early career

Frederic Austin, brother of the composer Ernest Austin (1874-1947), was sent at the age of about 12 to live at Birkenhead, where he received organ and music lessons, and had singing training from Charles Lunn. By 1896 he had obtained a B.Mus. from Durham University and was organist in several Birkenhead churches. He became a teacher of Harmony, and later of Composition, at Liverpool College of Music.

At Liverpool he became close friends with the composer Cyril Scott, and through him was introduced to Balfour Gardiner (who became a lifelong friend). Through them he was received into the circle of young English composers known as the Frankfurt Group, and their friends. These included Scott, Balfour Gardiner, Norman O'Neill, Roger Quilter, Percy Grainger (owing to their training at the Hoch Conservatory) in Frankfurt am Main and such friends as Benjamin Dale, Gervase Elwes, Eugene Goossens (junr) and Arnold Bax.

This group, in which Delius sometimes appeared, often performed each others’ music in informal surroundings, and Austin in particular used to improvise at the piano with Arnold Bax. In 1902 (the year of his marriage to Amy Oliver) Austin gave lessons in composition to Thomas Beecham, sang Tchaikovsky’s Pilgrim Song for a Henry Wood promenade concert, wrote a concert Overture ‘Richard II’, and was introduced to Hans Richter, for whom he later sang the Beethoven choral symphony and Missa Solemnis, and Bach’s St Matthew Passion.

In 1904 he moved to Pinner, sang under Weingartner and at Wagner nights at the promenade concerts, and took the name role in Mendelssohn’s "Elijah" at Gloucester in the Three Choirs Festival. In June 1905 he took part in Beecham’s London debut at the Bechstein Hall, in the first London performance of Scott’s "Ballad of Fair Helen of Kilconnell" (dedicated to him).

Recitals in London and the provinces

At the 1905 Sheffield Festival he gave the final "scena" from "Eugene Onegin", with Olga Wood (repeated 1911). At Hereford he appeared in Cesar Franck’s "Les Beatitudes", and introduced songs by Thomas F Dunhill. His Queen's Hall performances included the "Four Serious Songs" of Brahms. His first major London recital (Aeolian Hall) with Hamilton Harty (piano) was on 3 April 1906, and he sang for the Philharmonic Society. For Weingartner he gave the Walkure finale with Agnes Nicholls, and at Queen’s Hall the premiere of Balfour Gardiner’s ‘When the lad for longing sighs.’

In 1906 (Southport) he took baritone roles in "The Dream of Gerontius" (beside John Coates) under Elgar’s baton. In April 1907 he was at Reading, Berkshire, in Parry’s "De Profundis" and Stanford’s "Elegiac Ode": at Hanley he gave the premiere of Havergal Brian’s "By the Waters of Babylon". In October, after "Gerontius" at Preston, he sang for Elgar in "The Apostles" at Birmingham. Henry Wood introduced Austin’s symphonic composition "Rhapsody: Spring", and engaged him to sing in two concerts, including that in which the Delius piano concerto was first given. Austen met Delius that year, and also made a Covent Garden debut, a small role in "Tannhauser", for Richter.

New work in opera and oratorio

1908 saw much oratorio, with Handel's "The Messiah" (Wood, Queen’s Hall), "Gerontius" (with Coates, Manchester, under Richter), Elgar’s "King Olaf" (Norwich Festival), Judas in "The Apostles" (Liverpool), Bach’s "Phoebus and Pan" (Queen’s Hall), and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s "Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast". His first Covent Garden lead appearance was Gunther ("Gotterdammerung") in Richter’s English "Ring cycle", repeated three times in February 1909. Late in 1908 he and Cyril Scott gave a recital of Scott’s songs at the Bechstein Hall.

At the Sheffield Festival of 1908 he was exceptionally busy, with performances of "Samson et Dalila", Schumann’s "Paradise and the Peri", Walford Davies’ "Everyman", Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, and "L’Enfant Prodigue" of Debussy, specially re-scored by the composer, and delivered under Henry Wood with Austin, Agnes Nicholls, and the tenor Felix Senius. At this Festival also on October 6 he gave the English premiere (following the Essen, 1906, first) of Delius’ "Sea Drift". Wood chose Austin as the only man ‘who could be trusted to sing it "con amore".’ He sang it again in December, and in February 1909, for Beecham: Birmingham first heard it in 1912.

Austin premiered Granville Bantock’s "Omar Khayyam Part III" (Birmingham 1909), and in that year sang "The Apostles" (Judas) and Parry’s "Job" at Hereford. At Liverpool in September 1909 was the first Festival of The Musical League, created by English composers for performance of their music; Austin’s symphonic poem "Isabella" appeared, and he sang in Ethel Smyth’s "The Dance" and "Anacreontic Ode", Havergal Brian’s "By the Waters of Babylon", and Vaughan Williams’ cantata "Willow-wood".

Operatic work and expanding repertoire

In 1910 Austin commenced his regular operatic career, appearing as Wotan and Wanderer, and "doubling" as Gunther, in the Edinburgh Denhof Company Ring cycle under Michael Balling. He also appeared in two "Ring" cyles at Covent Garden. At Hereford he performed the traditional Festival-opening "Elijah" (and again in 1911), and gave the premiere of Bantock’s "Gethsemene", and in London repeated the "Omar Khayyam". For the Philharmonic Society he gave songs by Ethel Smyth under her direction. In 1911 he was also singing concert performances of "The Damnation of Faust" (Berlioz) and "Faust" (Gounod), Dvořák choral works, Handel oratorios, Beethoven Missa Solemnis, the Mozart and Brahms "Requiems", Max Bruch’s "Frithjof" and "Lay of the Bell", Mendelssohn’s "St Paul" and "Walpurgis nacht", and many other works.

In 1912 Beecham took the Denhof Ring cycle to Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, and in these years Austin also appeared with them in the first English "Elektra" (Richard Strauss), as Kunrad in "Feuersnot", Dr Coppelius in "Tales of Hoffmann", Gratiano in "Così fan tutte", Tomasso in "Tiefland" (Eugen d’Albert), Escamillo in "Carmen" and as Vanderdecken in the "Flying Dutchman". In 1913 the Denhof Company was wound up and reformed as the Beecham Company, and until around 1920 Austin appeared for Beecham also as Wolfram (Tannhauser), Iago ("Otello"), Ford (Falstaff), Hans Sachs ("Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg"), and in "Madame Butterfly", "La bohème", "Pagliacci", Joseph Holbrooke's "Dylan", and other works.

English recital and drama

In the spring of 1912 was the first series of the Balfour Gardiner Queen’s Hall Concerts, devoted to contemporary English music, which effectually transformed the acceptance and establishment of the English composers. In the fourth concert Austin sang Scott’s "Helen of Kirconnell" again, and gave the premiere of Norman O’Neill’s "La belle dame sans merci". His symphonic "Rhapsody: Spain" was also repeated, and in March 1913 his "Symphony in E" was first performed. In 1912 Austin delivered his own "Three Songs of Unrest", and gave a serious lecture on the songs of Hugo Wolf. Before the War he was also singing in Germany, Holland and Denmark. In 1914 at The Music Club in London he performed several songs of Arnold Schonberg in the composer’s presence. Roger Quilter dedicated his song "The Jocund Dance" (op 18 no 6) to him, written 1913-14.

From 1913 Austin developed close connections with Rutland Boughton, and assisted in the development of the English music drama at Glastonbury. In the Summer Festivals of August 1914 and 1915 he sang the role of Eochaidh the King in "The Immortal Hour" there, and again at Bournemouth in 1915, with Frank Mullings and Percy Heming, and in 1916 was King Arthur in "The Round Table". 1916 also saw the first performance of his most lasting orchestral composition, "Danish Sketches, Palsgaard", conducted by Beecham on 11 December for the Royal Philharmonic Society.

Operatic farewell

Austin’s last formal operatic performance was as Count Almaviva in "The Marriage of Figaro" for Beecham, at Covent Garden in 1920. Neville Cardus, who saw him in the role beside Agnes Nicholls and Frederick Ranalow, wrote: ‘nobody else has passed across the closing scene of the opera with half of Austin’s grace of bearing and suggestion of courtly cynicism.’

The Beggar's Opera

The restoration of the musical score for The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay and Dr Pepusch (originally produced in 1728) was undertaken by Frederick Austen and completed in 1920 in time for the production by Nigel Playfair, with artistic designs by Claud Lovat Fraser, which opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on June 6, 1920 and ran for a record number of 1463 performances until December 23, 1923. Austin preferred the simpler versions made by Pepusch to the edition prepared by Dr Arne. He appeared as Peachum, with Elsie French, Frederick Ranalow (Macheath), Sylvia Nelis (Polly) and others, conducted by Eugène Goossens. The entire venture received universal acclaim, and was performed in Paris, Canada, America and Australia. In 1922 Austin revived the sequel, Polly. Recordings were made of the original cast production.

Recordings

Frederick Austin made recordings for both the Gramophone Company and Columbia Records. While inevitably these do not reflect his enormous repertoire, and can only faintly echo his art and influence, his complete omission from Michael Scott’s "The Record of Singing" Volumes I and II is a flaw in that otherwise useful work.

Directing and composition

In 1922 he became Artistic Director of the British National Opera Company, reformed out of Beecham’s company, and in 1923 was elected member of the Royal Philharmonic Society. In this way, and through his teaching, he continued to train and encourage English singers for many years more. He continued to compose theatre incidental music, notably for "The Knight of the Burning Pestle" (1923), "The Insect Play" (1923), Congreve’s "The Way of the World" (1924), John Drinkwater’s "Robert Burns" (1925), "Vallombrossa" (1926), and "Prudence" (1931). He wrote a cello sonata in 1927. In 1932 he made a last singing appearance in Alfred Reynolds’ "Derby Day".

Frederic Austin’s son Richard (1903-89) was the chief conductor of the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra (now the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra) from 1934 until 1939, and became Head of the Opera Department of the Royal College of Music in 1953.

Sources

*N. Cardus, "Autobiography" (Collins, London 1947).
*G Davidson, "Opera Biographies" (Werner Laurie, London 1955).
*R. Elkin, "Royal Philharmonic" (Rider & Co, London 1946).
*V. Langfield, "Roger Quilter, His Life and Music" (Boydell, 2002)
*M. Lee-Browne, "Nothing so charming as Musick!" (Thames, London 1999)
*H. Wood, "My Life of Music" (Gollancz, London 1938)