A British Musical Succession?

[Jimfin]

This is probably real musical geek territory, but is anyone interested in the notion that there is a 'tradition', perhaps continuous, of British music, based on teachers and pupils? I have played a game, trying to see how far back I can go, but I always get stuck on the 18th century. For example, Arthur Butterworth, who is still composing, studied under VW, who studied under Parry, who studied under Sterndale Bennett who studied under  Cipriani Potter, who studied under William Crotch and Thomas Attwood: but there it stops. I have managed to make similar connections earlier, for example Thomas Linley the Younger -Boyce -Maurice Greene -Jeremiah Clarke -Blow -Pelham Humfrey...
      Obviously, it varies tremendously how much influence a teacher has: Britten would not be thankful for being thought of as a disciple of Vaughan Williams, but it is still interesting to me to think that Butterworth has memories of Vaughan Williams, who perhaps told him anecdotes of Parry, etc. Can anyone make any longer connections?

[Dundonnell]

I posted this on another music forum four years ago now It may have some relevance to your point although I fear it is restricted to the period 1900-1950.

"Royal Academy of Music:-

William Alwyn(and teacher>Iain Hamilton)
Sir Granville Bantock
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett
York Bowen(and teacher)
Alan Bush(and teacher)
Iain Hamilton
Daniel Jones
George Lloyd
William Mathias
Nicholas Maw
Sir John Tavener

Sir Arnold Bax(teacher)
Sir Lennox Berkeley(teacher>Sir Richard Rodney Bennett/William Mathias/Nicholas Maw/Sir JohnTavener)
Howard Ferguson(teacher>Sir Richard Rodney Bennett)

Royal College of Music:-

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford(taught>Edgar Bainton/Arthur Benjamin/Sir Arthur Bliss/Rutland BoughtonFrank Bridge/Samuel Coleridge-
         Taylor/Sir George Dyson/Herbert Howells/Gustav Holst/John Ireland/Gordon Jacob/R.O. Morris/Cyril Rootham/Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams(taught>Stanley Bate/Sir Arthur Bliss/Cecil Armstrong Gibbs)
Cyril Rootham(taught>Sir Arthur Bliss/Arnold Cooke/Robin Orr)
John Ireland(taught>Richard Arnell/Benjamin Britten/Ernest J. Moeran/Humphrey Searle)
R.O. Morris(taught>Stanley Bate/Howard Ferguson/Peter Racine Fricker/Constant Lambert/Anthony Milner/Edmund Rubbra/Bernard
                   Stevens)
Herbert Howells(taught>Arthur Benjamin)
Arthur Benjamin(taught>Stanley Bate/Benjamin Britten/Robin Orr/BernardStevens)
Gordon Jacob(taught>Sir Malcolm Arnold/Stanley Bate/Bernard Stevens/Robert Still)

Royal Northern(Manchester) College of Music:-

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
John McCabe
Alan Rawsthorne

Private Study

Frank Bridge>Benjamin Britten
Gustav Holst>Edmund Rubbra(Reading University)
John Ireland>Alan Bush/Geoffrey Bush
Cyril Scott>Edmund Rubbra
Sir Donald Tovey>William Wordsworth
R.O.Morris>Gerald Finzi/Sir Michael Tippett
Herbert Howells>Robert Simpson
Arthur Benjamin>Alan Hoddinott
Mattyas Seiber>Peter Racine Fricker/Anthony Milner

Studied Abroad

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett(Boulez)
Sir Lennox Berkeley(Nadia Boulanger)
Arnold Cooke(Hindemith)
Frederick Delius(Leipzig)
Kenneth Leighton(Petrassi)
Nicholas Maw(Nadia Boulanger)
Robin Orr(Nadia Boulanger and Casella)
Cyril Scott(Frankfurt)
Humphrey Searle(Webern)
Ralph Vaughan Williams(Ravel)

University of Oxford:-

Sir Lennox Berkeley(Merton Coll.-French + Philology)
Geoffrey Bush(Balliol Coll.-Classics)
John Gardner(Exeter Coll.)
Kenneth Leighton(Queen's Coll.-Classics)
R.O. Morris(New Coll.)
Sir Hubert Parry(Exeter Coll.)
Humphrey Searle(New Coll.-Greats)
Robert Still(Trinity Coll.-History + French)
Sir William Walton(Christ Church)

University of Cambridge:-

Sir Arthur Bliss(Pembroke Coll.)
Arnold Cooke(Gonville + Caius Coll.-History)
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs(Trinity Coll.-History)
Robin Orr(Pembroke Coll.)
Cyril Rootham(St.John's Coll.-Classics)
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford(Queen's Coll. + Trinity Coll.)
Bernard Stevens(English)
Ralph Vaughan Williams(Trinity Coll.-History)

Absolutely no claims to being in any way, shape or form complete!! However, there are some interesting connections here which I had never seen set out this way."


The post was intended to attempt to provide some notion of the connections which exist between the composers listed and their places of study and their teachers. There is absolutely no doubt that these could and should be much improved but I have simply copied it as originally posted

[Jimfin]

Thanks very much for that! I omitted foreign composition teachers, but could have mentioned that in the thread from Butterworth back to Attwood, Attwood studied under Mozart. The number of people Stanford taught never ceases to amaze me: no one seems to be in his league.

[BFerrell]

RAM..... Benjamin Dale