Kathleen Riddick (17 July 1907 - 5 February 1973) was a British musician, one of the first women in Britain to establish herself in the male-dominated profession of conducting. To do so at a time when it was "considered impossible" for a woman to become a conductor[1] Riddick was initially obliged to found her own ensembles to lead. They included the Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932 (of which she was the conductor for 40 years), the London Women's String Orchestra (later the Riddick Orchestra) in 1938, and The London Opera Group Orchestra which was led by Miriam Morley. But she also appeared as guest conductor of BBC orchestras and the London Symphony Orchestra.[2]
She was born at Epsom in Surrey into a musical family: both her parents were professional musicians and her father was the conductor of an amateur orchestra in Epsom. At the age of 10 she began studying cello at the Guildhall School of Music with Arnold Trowell (1887-1966), also taking composition courses. Her first professional engagements were as cellist for the Serre Trio (with Daphne Serre, piano, and Queenie Dyer, violin), which made regular BBC broadcasts in the early 1930s.[3] In 1932 she also founded the Surrey String Players in Leatherhead, recruiting local amateurs.[4] Later in the 1930s, Riddick gained a recommendation from Robert Jaffrey Forbes, principal of the Royal Manchester College of Music, to study conducting with Nikolai Malko in Salzburg.[5]
Orchestrasedit
In 1945 the Surrey String Players became the semi-professional Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra. By May 1951 it had gained enough prestige to premiere Gordon Jacob's Horn Concerto at the Wigmore Hall with soloist Dennis Brain and Jacob himself conducting.[6] This was followed on 29 October 1951 with a concert at the recently opened Royal Festival Hall, including the premiere of Stanley Bate's Introduction and Allegro, op 24, a work dedicated to Kathleen Riddick.[7] She remained conductor of the Surrey Philharmonic for forty years until 1972, a year before her death. It is still playing today, conducted by Mark Fitz-Gerald, a student of Norman Del Mar.[8]
Concurrently, Riddick founded a second, fully professional ensemble, the London Women's String Orchestra, which performed for the first time on 25 May 1938 at the Aeolian Hall, to very positive reviews. The programme included the challenging Music for Strings by Arthur Bliss. J A Westrup commented that "Riddick proved her worth by getting good results without any fuss or display. The absolute certainty of the ensemble was a sufficient tribute to her work at rehearsal".[9] The orchestra engaged with contemporary composers, taking on UK and world premieres of music by Stanley Bate, Henk Badings, Arnold Cooke, Paul Hindemith, Bohuslav Martinů, Alan Ridout and others. The name was changed to the Riddick String Orchestra in 1944. It performed in regular concerts and BBC radio broadcasts from then until the early 1960s, sometimes under the baton of guest conductors.[10]
In 1934 Kathleen Riddick married the musician George Bixley (1905-1995) and they lived at 1 Fountain Cottages, The Street, Ashtead in Surrey. Their daughter, Susan Bixley, was born in 1944 and is still involved with the Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra today.[8] Kathleen Riddick was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 for services to music.
^Musik und Gender im Internet, Hamburg (in German)
^'London Concerts' in The Musical Times, July, 1951, p 324
^Note: The Times obituary initially cited Riddick as "the first woman to conduct in the Royal Festival Hall". But it later ran a correction when Marjorie Jaco wrote in to say that she had conducted the choir of the Church of the Holy Cross, Crediton in the finals of the National Music Festival on June 22, 1951. The Times, 3 March 1933, p 16
Remembering the first woman to conduct in the Festival Hall (On an Overgrown Path blog)
March 13, 2024
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Kathleen Riddick 17 July 1907 5 February 1973 was a British musician one of the first women in Britain to establish herself in the male dominated profession of conducting To do so at a time when it was considered impossible for a woman to become a conductor 1 Riddick was initially obliged to found her own ensembles to lead They included the Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932 of which she was the conductor for 40 years the London Women s String Orchestra later the Riddick Orchestra in 1938 and The London Opera Group Orchestra which was led by Miriam Morley But she also appeared as guest conductor of BBC orchestras and the London Symphony Orchestra 2 Contents 1 Education and early career 2 Orchestras 3 Personal life and legacy 4 Selected premiere performances 5 References 6 Further readingEducation and early career editShe was born at Epsom in Surrey into a musical family both her parents were professional musicians and her father was the conductor of an amateur orchestra in Epsom At the age of 10 she began studying cello at the Guildhall School of Music with Arnold Trowell 1887 1966 also taking composition courses Her first professional engagements were as cellist for the Serre Trio with Daphne Serre piano and Queenie Dyer violin which made regular BBC broadcasts in the early 1930s 3 In 1932 she also founded the Surrey String Players in Leatherhead recruiting local amateurs 4 Later in the 1930s Riddick gained a recommendation from Robert Jaffrey Forbes principal of the Royal Manchester College of Music to study conducting with Nikolai Malko in Salzburg 5 Orchestras editIn 1945 the Surrey String Players became the semi professional Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra By May 1951 it had gained enough prestige to premiere Gordon Jacob s Horn Concerto at the Wigmore Hall with soloist Dennis Brain and Jacob himself conducting 6 This was followed on 29 October 1951 with a concert at the recently opened Royal Festival Hall including the premiere of Stanley Bate s Introduction and Allegro op 24 a work dedicated to Kathleen Riddick 7 She remained conductor of the Surrey Philharmonic for forty years until 1972 a year before her death It is still playing today conducted by Mark Fitz Gerald a student of Norman Del Mar 8 Concurrently Riddick founded a second fully professional ensemble the London Women s String Orchestra which performed for the first time on 25 May 1938 at the Aeolian Hall to very positive reviews The programme included the challenging Music for Strings by Arthur Bliss J A Westrup commented that Riddick proved her worth by getting good results without any fuss or display The absolute certainty of the ensemble was a sufficient tribute to her work at rehearsal 9 The orchestra engaged with contemporary composers taking on UK and world premieres of music by Stanley Bate Henk Badings Arnold Cooke Paul Hindemith Bohuslav Martinu Alan Ridout and others The name was changed to the Riddick String Orchestra in 1944 It performed in regular concerts and BBC radio broadcasts from then until the early 1960s sometimes under the baton of guest conductors 10 Other conducting engagements included guest appearances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra Bedford 26 November 1943 11 the BBC Northern and BBC Scottish orchestras as well as the London Symphony Orchestra 12 Personal life and legacy editIn 1934 Kathleen Riddick married the musician George Bixley 1905 1995 and they lived at 1 Fountain Cottages The Street Ashtead in Surrey Their daughter Susan Bixley was born in 1944 and is still involved with the Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra today 8 Kathleen Riddick was awarded the Order of the British Empire OBE in 1961 for services to music Along with a very few predecessors such as Florence Ashton Marshall Gwynne Kimpton and Ethel Leginska 13 and her near contemporaries Avril Coleridge Taylor Iris Lemare and Kathleen Merritt 14 Riddick was one of the pioneers who opened up the world of conducting to women musicians in Britain She inspired Ruth Gipps to begin her own conducting career 15 Like Riddick all of these conductors also had to found their own orchestras in order to build up their reputations Nadia Boulanger was an exception visiting from France in 1936 she became the first woman to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra 16 Selected premiere performances editMalcolm Arnold Symphony for Strings op 13 first performance 1947 Henk Badings Largo and Allegro first performance of string orchestra version 1940 Stanley Bate Introduction and Allegro first performance 1951 Concerto for piano and strings op 24 first performance 1939 Geoffrey Bush Divertimento first performance 1947 Matthew Locke Suite first performance 1957 Hubert Clifford Serenade first performance 1947 Arnold Cooke Passacaglia Scherzo and Finale premiere of string orchestra version 1940 Paul Hindemith Theme and Four Variations for piano and strings first UK performance 1947 Gordon Jacob Horn Concerto first performance 1951 Symphony for Strings op 13 first broadcast 1945 John Lanchbery Sinfonietta for strings first performance 1947 Bohuslav Martinu Romanian Partita premiere of string orchestra version 1940 Alan Ridout Concerto for harpsichord and double string orchestra first performance 1959 Cyril Scott Irish Serenade first performance 1951 References edit Hartley Cathy A Historical Dictionary of British Women 2013 p 372 Obituary The Musical Times April 1973 p 415 Radio Times Issue 574 30 September 1934 p 45 The Times 6 June 1933 p 15 Musik und Gender im Internet Hamburg in German London Concerts in The Musical Times July 1951 p 324 Note The Times obituary initially cited Riddick as the first woman to conduct in the Royal Festival Hall But it later ran a correction when Marjorie Jaco wrote in to say that she had conducted the choir of the Church of the Holy Cross Crediton in the finals of the National Music Festival on June 22 1951 The Times 3 March 1933 p 16 a b Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra website The Daily Telegraph 26 May 1938 p 12 Radio Times Issue 1095 24 September 1944 p 17 Palmer Russell British Music 1948 p 203 Obituary The Times 10 February 1973 p 18 Bromley Symphony Orchestra Petersfield Orchestra Ruth Gipps interviewed on BBC Radio Woman s Hour March 1989 excepted in Composer of the Week 11 March 2021 2 40 minutes in Brooks Jeanice Telling the Story of Nadia Boulanger s Conducting Career in The Journal of Musicology Vol 14 No 1 Winter 1996 pp 92 116Further reading editList of female classical conductors Surrey Philharmonic Orchestra gallery Remembering the first woman to conduct in the Festival Hall On an Overgrown Path blog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kathleen Riddick amp oldid 1186473816, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
