Arthur Hinton 1869-1942

[chill319]

http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,516.msg6299.html#msg6299">Martin Eastick and perhaps others have mentioned Arthur Hinton previously in this forum.  Sibley has recently uploaded some of his piano works to IMSLP. They strike me as well made and -- for the pianists in this group -- fun to play.

A piano concerto by Hinton is reviewed by none other than Lewis Foreman http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2002/Apr02/Hinton.htm It was in Clifford Curzon's repertory, but it appears he had little luck in finding a band to play it with.

Much more could be (and I hope will be) said about Hinton (and his wife), but for starters I would like to second Martin Eastick's view that Arthur Hinton deserves a 21st-century hearing.

(Sorry for the HTML. I don't understand how the hyperlink button works.)

I've hyperlinked them! Alan Howe

[giles.enders]

I had the good fortune to hear a live performance of the Hinton piano concerto given by The Lambeth Orchestra several years ago.  I thought it was a very fine piece that did not deserve its neglect. I also heard them give a performance of the Cliffe violin concerto with Philippe Graffin last year and that really is  something special.  I think it is the best English pre 1914 violin concerto.
Hinton wrote a good piano quintet in 1913, which deserves revival

[ahinton]

Philippe Griffin

Graffin, s'il vous plaît! - we don't want him associated with the BNP that doesn't stand for Banque National de Paris, do we?!...

Hinton wrote a good piano quintet in 1913, which deserves revival

Before or in case anyone asks, I am not related to this composer but what you write here does at least reveal that each of us has written a piano quintet, although mine was completed as recently as a few months ago and cannot be "revived" as it has not yet been performed (and it is naturally not my place to pronounce on whether or not it is "good")...

[eschiss1]

Philippe Griffin

Graffin, s'il vous plaît! - we don't want him associated with the BNP that doesn't stand for Banque National de Paris, do we?!...

Hinton wrote a good piano quintet in 1913, which deserves revival

Before or in case anyone asks, I am not related to this composer but what you write here does at least reveal that each of us has written a piano quintet, although mine was completed as recently as a few months ago and cannot be "revived" as it has not yet been performed (and it is naturally not my place to pronounce on whether or not it is "good")...

Was going to ask almost as soon as I first heard of Arthur Hinton, but saw from an earlier thread (quite quite some while back, relative to the youth of this forum) that someone had done so already
(Well, it's not as though a composer ends up valuing all their creations equally- and sometimes it's the works which composers repudiate, or claim to, that I end up valuing anyway, for what that's worth.)
Eric

[giles.enders]

I have corrected the spelling of PG.  I am wondering is Arthur Hinton's new piano quintet is tonal and something members of this forum might like.  Is there a first performance date?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Do you not mean Alistair Hinton's new Piano Quintet?

[thalbergmad]

I doubt if that it tonal

Thal

[ahinton]

I doubt if that it tonal

By "it" I presume you to mean "is", but why and on what evidence might you doubt this in any case? For the record, your doubt is unfounded anyway.

No, there's no first performance date for my piano quintet yet.

Clearly, Arthur Hinton doesn't have any new works of any kind to his name, since he has not been with us for many decades.

[giles.enders]

Sorry, I did mean Alistair not Arthur, I was confused by the same name claim.

[giles.enders]

Arthur Hinton Born 20.11.1869 in Beckenham, Kent  -  Died 11.8.1941, in Rottingdean, Sussex

Son of William Samuel Hinton, Arthur was the youngest of five children.*

Orchestral

Symphony No.1 in B flat  1894
Symphony No.2 in C minor  1903
Orchestral Fantasia 'Triumph of Caesar' 1896
Three Scenes from Endymion: Sunrise, Shepherd's song, Dance of Youths and Maidens.  1916   pub. by J. Fischer & Bros.
'Lancelot and Guinevere' suite
'Porphyria's Lover'  - dramatic romance
'Mokanna's Bride' - overture
Piano Concerto in D minor  Op.24  1905   pub. by J. Fischer & Bros.
Romance for violin and orchestra  pub. by J Williams & Co.
'Chant des Vagues'  Romance for cello and orchestra    pub. by J. Williams

Chamber

Piano Quintet in G minor  Op.30  1913   pub. by Elkin & Co.
Piano Trio in D minor  Op.21  1904   pub. by Rahter
Scherzo for piano, violin and cello.
Sonata for violin and piano in B flat  1903  pub. by Chester
Suite in D major for violin and piano  Op.20  1903   pub. by Novello
Bolero for violin and piano   1907
Four pieces: Ave Maria, Valse de Joie, Berceuse, Meditation. for violin and piano
Three Dances for violin and piano - Childrens, Graceful, Peasants.  1919
'Chant des Vagues' Romance for cello and piano  1899   pub. by J. Williams

Piano

A Summer Pilgrimage in the White Mountains - 6 pieces for piano   pub. by J. Fischer & Bros
No.1 Romance - 'By the Ammoroosuc'
No.2 Idyll - 'Among the Hills'
No.3 Scherzo - 'Fireflies'
No.4 Reverie  - 'At Sunset Hill'
No.5 Country Dance - 'At the Husking'
No.6 'The Passing of Summer'
Bagatelles; La Coquette, Scene d'Amour, Reverie a deaux, Lu Caprieuse.   pub. by J. Fischer & Bros
Carnival Valse Caprice   pub. by Forsyth Bros. Ltd.
Rhapsody for piano in B flat minor Op.23  1911   pub. by Stainer & Bell
'Oriental Serenade' Op.29/1   pub. by Stainer & Bell
'Etude Arabesque' Op.29.2  1911   pub by Stainer & Bell
'Romance' Op.29 No.3
Serentella   pub. by Bayley & Ferguson
Trois morceaux - Rigaudon, Souvenir, Burlesque  1906   pub. by Rahter
Four Pastoral Sketches  1922
'A Chinatown Festivity'

Songs

Four Songs from William Blake   pub. by Breitkopf
No.1 'Spring'
No.2 'The fly'
No.3 'A Cradle song'
No.4 'I love the jocund dance'

2nd set of songs from William Blake   pub. by Breitkopf
No.1 'My silks and fine array'
No.2 'Piping down the valleys wild'
No.3 'Laughing song'
No.4 'Mad song'
Schmetterlinge (Butterflies)  - ten songs
Weisse Rosen - six songs
'Into my life she came'  1913
'Sleep'  4 part song  1916
'The Message'  4 part song 
'Cherry Ripe' 4 part song  1916
'I Dare Not' 4 part song for soprano, alto, tenor and bass
Dramatic Romance  - Porphyria's lover
Dramatic Scena from Shelley's Epipsychidion for tenor and orchestra  1905
Semele for mezzo-soprano & orchestra   words by Litchfield

Opera

'Tamara'  1895

Operetta

'The Disagreable Princess'   pub. by Bayley & Ferguson
'St.Elizabeth's Roses'  1902   pub by Curwen


*
William Francis Hinton  1862
Margaret Hinton 1864
Edith Hinton  1865
Leonard Hinton 1867
Arthur Hinton 20.11.1869 - 11.8.1941

[albion]

The date given (1916) for Three Orchestral Scenes from Keats' Endymion is incorrect, as it was premiered at the Proms on 5th September 1907; Chant des Vagues was published with piano accompaniment in 1899 and performed in this arrangement at the Proms (23rd September 1902).

Other substantial works by Hinton include -

1889 - Romance for violin and orchestra
1892 - Lancelot and Guinevere, suite
1893 - Mokanna's Bride, overture
1905 - Epipsychidion, dramatic scena for tenor solo and orchestra (performed at Bournemouth, November 1905)

the autograph scores for the first three of these should be in the library of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, but the score of the overture is listed as 'missing'.



An archive of Hinton's letters and contracts, etc., is currently up for sale at http://manuscripts.co.uk/index.htm -

Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915): Autograph Letter Signed to Hinton thanking him for offer to dedicate a composition to him, and sending regards to him and his wife, on a postcard, Vienna, 9 July 1905. With translation.(Sir)Alexander Campbell Mackenzie (1847-1935): Letter Signed, 1¼ pages 8vo, Royal Academy of Music, 18 July 1893, agreeing to Hinton's plan to travel abroad to further his studies in composition.(Sir) Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924): Long Autograph Letter Signed, 4 pages 8vo, 50 Holland Street, Kensington, 14 December 1902, giving a reasoned critique of Hinton's symphony, which Stanford was preparing to perform; with an autograph testimonial in favour of Hinton for the position of professor of music at Adelaide University, 3 pages 8vo, 29 August 1901.Ernest Newman (1869-1959): Autograph Letter Signed, 2½ pages 8vo, 54 Grove Streeet, Liverpool, 8 April 1902, thanking him for a parcel of music, and promising to try to do it justice in a series of brief articles.Arthur Hinton's correspondence with his publishers, comprising about 120 pages of accounts, agreements, contracts, and receipts etc. including many signed by Hinton, with a wide range of music publishers and dealers: Air & Coghill, Bayley & Ferguson, C. Boulangier (receipt for £33 5s for a Gagliano viola), Breitkopf & Härtel, J. Curwen & Sons, Elkin & Co. Ltd., Fischer & Brother (New York), F.M. Geidel (Leipzig), Novello & Co., Oppenheimer Bros., D. Rahter (Leipzig), Reid Bros Ltd., Stainer & Bell (large number), Joseph Williams, Ltd, Charles Woolhouse, and Yale University (music department).

[Gareth Vaughan]

One very much wishes that someone would record Hinton's PC. Hyperion have an eye on it, I know (possibly coupled with the Harty) - but we must be patient. [Oh, and this is not intended to start a free-for-all as to what might make a better coupling than the Harty... IF it ever comes to pass ]

[albion]

Both the Piano Concerto and Symphony No.1 are strong enough pieces to benefit from fully professional recordings (although the Lambeth Orchestra are certainly extremely capable).



Regarding Symphony No.2 in C minor, the Guildhall library just have an incomplete piano reduction catalogued (movements 1-3 complete, movement 4 sketched) - do we know the whereabouts of the holograph full score?

[Gareth Vaughan]

There was talk, a while back of Bo Hyttner (Sterling) recording Hinton's Symphony No. 1 with Chris Fifield conducting (orchestra not specified), but nothing seems to have come of it.

I would think Chris Fifield would be able to tell us all about Symphony No. 2.

[Alan Howe]

Anyway, to return to Arthur Hinton, I think it may be worthwhile to pursue the discussion of what we have of his music here.

The 1st Symphony was a real ear-opener for me. What I hadn't been expecting was such a richly powerful and exuberant work - one which, it seems to me, points the way as much forward to Elgar as  back to Stanford.

What are other members' views of this terrific score?