Classical
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (February 27, 1848 – October 7, 1918) was an English composer, probably best known for his setting of William Blake's poem, Jerusalem, the coronation anthem I was glad and the hymn tune Repton set to Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. Born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, and brought up at Highnam Court, Gloucestershire, he was the son of an amateur artist, and was educated at Eton and Exeter College, Oxford. He studied with the English-born composer Henry Hugo Pierson in Stuttgart, and with William Sterndale Bennett and the pianist Edward Dannreuther in London.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams, OM (1872–1958) was an influential English composer. Vaughan Williams was born on 12th October 1872 in Down Ampney, a village in the Cotswolds. After attending Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge, he became a student at the Royal College of Music; he later studied with Max Bruch in Berlin and Maurice Ravel in Paris. He served as a lieutenant in World War I, having volunteered for the Field Ambulance Service; the appalling carnage affected him deeply, as did the deaths of close friends such as George Butterworth.
The Swingle Singers
The Swingle Singers (1962-present) was a vocal group formed in Paris, France with Ward Swingle, Anne Germain, Jeanette Baucomont, and Jean Cussac. The group, directed primarily by the eponymous Ward Swingle and accompanied by bass and drums, produced complicated, technically impressive covers of anything from modern classics (The Beatles) to classical music (Tchaikovsky, Beethoven) to opera (Rossini). Their arrangements are often informed by jazz harmonies and stylings. Other influences included Nat King Cole, various smooth singers and pianists.
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BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain. The orchestra was founded as a full time organisation in 1930 by Adrian Boult. He remained principal conductor until 1950, when Malcolm Sargent took over (holding the post until 1957). Other principal conductors have included Antal Doráti (1962-66), Colin Davis (1967-71), Pierre Boulez (1971-75), Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1978-81) and Andrew Davis (no relation to Colin) who held from the post from 1989 until he was succeeded by Leonard Slatkin in 2000.
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