Robert Still(1910-1971)

[Dundonnell]

I thought that for my 1,000th post  on this site I would try to bring back the name of the British composer Robert Still.

Still enjoys the distinction of being, along with Sir Hubert Parry, one of the few Old Etonian composers (the conductor Edward Gardner also attended Britain's most famous public school ). After studying at Oxford University and the Royal College of Music under Gordon Jacob, Still taught music at Eton for a few years and after that, devoted himself to composition. He died suddenly aged 60 in 1971.

Still wrote four symphonies: the First was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in 1956, the Second has never been performed. The Third and Fourth Symphonies were recorded and are on the same Lyrita cd as Humphrey Searle's Second. The Third is conducted by Sir Eugene Goossens who gave the work its first performance in March 1962 and recorded it only a few months later. Goossens was desperately ill at the time and died less than a month after conducting the recording. Although advised to rest, Goossens, who admired Still's work, was determined to continue to work. (You will recall that Goossens never recovered from the disgrace he had suffered when he was dismissed from his post as Principal Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1956.)

The Fourth Symphony(originally called 'Sinfonia') is conducted on the Lyrita cd by that great advocate of British music Myer Fredman.

Still wrote a Piano Concerto(1969) and a Violin Concerto(1970) shortly before his own death but neither has ever been heard. The Concerto for Strings is in our own British Music Collection here and the Elegie for baritone, chorus and small orchestra was on a Decca LP which I hope to be able to digitise and upload shortly.

Many of the performances and, I understand, recordings of his music were financed by Still himself.

There is an excellent website devoted to Robert Still-

http://www.grahammusto.btinternet.co.uk/RStillhp.htm

which I strongly commend to your attention and which provides a very considerable body of information about the composer's life and work.

What does Still's music sound like? Well, it should provide no great difficulties to any lover of 20th century British music It is tonal and  'conservative'.
On the evidence of the music I have heard I would not rate Still a 'great' composer. The music is well-constructed, attractive. The use of dissonance marks it out as, say, slightly more advanced than that of a composer like Richard Arnell(at least the Arnell of pre-the 6th Symphony) but Still is no serialist. Perhaps the music lacks that last element of memorability that may distinguish it from that of greater figures but it certainly does not deserve its current neglect.

Once Albion has received delivery of the Lyrita cd I would expect to hear his comments on the symphonies

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

On the evidence of the music I have heard I would not rate Still a 'great' composer. The music is well-constructed, attractive. The use of dissonance marks it out as, say, slightly more advanced than that of a composer like Richard Arnell(at least the Arnell of pre-the 6th Symphony) but Still is no serialist. Perhaps the music lacks that last element of memorability that may distinguish it from that of greater figures but it certainly does not deserve its current neglect.

Great?  Perhaps not.  But my own impression of the symphonies on the Lyrita release is of well-crafted, not-unpleasant music.  I own a number of those Lyrita recordings of music by various 20th century British composers, and the Still/Searle release is among the best, I think.

I should really revisit them sometime soon...

[albion]

Many thanks for the summary and link to the site, Colin - these resources have made me look forward to the Lyrita disc even more.

I've started filling in gaps (Lyrita and Nimbus) by ordering through musicweb - including postage the former are £11.75 and the latter £12 and payment by Paypal is quick and easy.

[grahammusto]

I was interested to read your discussions on Robert Still. My website is www.robertstill.co.uk and I have recently had to change servers from www.grahammusto.btinternet.co.uk/RStillhp.htm (due to BT closing free web hosting) to http://home.btconnect.com/grahammusto/RStillhp.htm

For those interest, one of Still's later atonal string quartets was premiered in St.John's, Smith Square, on the 23rd June
The first two movements of Still's Trio for Recorder, Horn and Piano is being premiered by John Turner and Anthony Halstead on the 16th May 2013 at Bowden Parish Church, Altrincham
The premiere of Still's Violin Concerto is to take place in London in 2013 with Eli Christodoulou as soloist and the Ealing Symphony Orchestra under John Gibbons.

[Dundonnell]

Excellent news about some greater interest being taken in Robert Still's music

The Violin Concerto would be a real treasure if it could be recorded

[grahammusto]

Plans are underway to record the Violin Concerto in the future, possibly coupled with the 2nd Symphony which has not had a performance. Plans are also underway to record all four string quartets (2 with key and 2 atonal). The Violin Concerto may be part atonal, but finishes in key. See Timothy Balls comments on the webite.