frederic lamond: pianist and composer

FREDERIC LAMOND (1868-1948): PIANIST AND COMPOSER

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- ARTICLE -

Frederic Lamond: Pianist and Composer

Michael Jones

Independent

We, who were studying with Liszt, met together every second day at the

Hofgärtnerei. ... He could be very strict, even severe in his remarks.

Frederic Lamond - from a BBC talk, 1945.1

I remember [1912] ... Lamond's playing of the Beethoven G Major and the

Tschaikowsky B-flat minor Concertos. Between these items we played Lamond's

own Symphony in A (Op. 3) which he had written in 1889 and which August Manns

had produced for him. It was a classical work as regards form and themes but

trombones were not used.

Sir Henry Wood.2

Frederic Lamond's name is generally associated with the Golden Age of piano

playing. But he, as well as other great performers were also composers –

sometimes in operatic, symphonic and other large-scale forms. His contemporary

Eugen d’Albert (1864-1932), a fellow Scot, was for a time a composer-pianist.

However, he eventually gravitated toward composition and completed a Symphony,

a number of instrumental concertos, and several operas which were famous in their

time, such as Tiefland and Die toten Augen. Lamond’s situation was reversed: his

Symphony in A, an Overture, two substantial chamber works, and an opera were

composed before his pianistic career entirely took precedence - indeed Act Two of

the opera may have been left unfinished for that very reason. Whatever the case,

Lamond's works have not been heard in modern times until the BBC Scottish

Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martyn Brabbins, performed the Symphony in A

at a public concert in Glasgow in December 2001, which was attended and

reviewed by Paul Conway for BMS NEWS. 3 The concert was subsequently broadcast

in February 2002. Although thought at the time that this would be the one-and-only

performance it is fortunate that Hyperion commissioned Martyn and the BBC SSO

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to record Lamond’s complete orchestral output (together with d'Albert's Overture

'Esther') for release in 2004.4 As 2018 is a Lamond double anniversary year (150

years since his birth; 70 years since his death) to be celebrated with the re-release

of virtually all his extant piano recordings,5 I feel it timely and appropriate that his

compositions receive some renewed considerations.

Frederic (Archibald) Lamond was born at Lynedoch Place, Glasgow on 28

January 1868. His early years were spent in direst poverty: his father Archibald, a

weaver by trade, had developed a passion for music—he had taught himself to play

the clarinet, and even formed a chamber ensemble at his local church in

Cambuslang. But music was unable to pay the bills and he was forced to accept a

humble clerk's job in a local cotton mill. Consequently, young Frederic and his six

siblings were brought up in very poor circumstances. His innate and exceptional

talent was recognised at an early age and nurtured by his older brother David, who

in 1882 had helped to raise funds for him to study at the Hoch Konservatorium,

Frankfurt. Frederic’s sisters (Yvonne and Isabella) also travelled with him and set

up their own guesthouse to make ends meet. At the Konservatorium, Frederic (aged

only 14) was enrolled to study piano with Max Schwarz (a former pupil of Liszt) and

Anton Urspruch for composition and counterpoint. Until then, the Director had been

Joachim Raff (1822-82), a progressively-minded composer and a former Secretary

and orchestral advisor to Franz Liszt in Weimar from 1849 till ‘56. But his death in

early 1882 necessitated the appointment of Bernhard Scholz as his successor.

Scholz’s more conservative attitudes to student training caused a rift between the

more progressive staff, including Schwarz and Urspruch, who resigned and—taking

young Frederic with them—formed a new institution, named The Raff

Konservatorium.

Fortuitously, their inaugural Honorary President was Hans von Bülow (1830-94),

who—besides being the most famous conductor of his day—was a former pupil and

close associate of Liszt. Frederic had already been inspired by von Bülow after

seeing him conduct the Glasgow Choral Union in 1877 and '78 and be presented

with a special baton, which in due course would be presented to Frederic himself

by von Bülow's widow Marie Schanzer. Von Bülow was also one of the first pianists

to champion Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' Sonata in Germany, inspired by Liszt's


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own example. Frederic learned and performed this monumental work at the age of

17: indeed, when the opportunity came to audition for Liszt in Weimar in June 1885

it was the fugue finale from the 'Hammerklavier' which Liszt wished to hear.

Liszt was suitably impressed and the ensuing year of study in Weimar and Rome

led to his professional debut in Glasgow on 13th March 1886 (organised by his

brother David), and a highly successful debut in St. James' Hall, London on 15th April

1886 – graced by the presence of Liszt himself during his final visit to England.

From then on, Frederic Lamond would become internationally renowned,

particularly for his interpretations of Liszt and Beethoven. In the case of the latter,

Breitkopf & Härtel published his edition of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas

in 1923. This edition is of historic interest for it contains imaginative, practical

fingerings as well as intelligent suggestions (which appear as footnotes) for matters

related to ornaments and the timings of pauses (fermatas). Lamond based his work

on the B&H original – rendering all his own markings in much smaller type, to quote

the publisher's Preface:

Thus in the clearly recognisable blending of the original text with an instructive

edition, Frederic Lamond's Edition....offers a wealth of practical suggestions for

study and concert-playing.6

It must also not be forgotten that Lamond was prepared to champion British

composers - particularly in works he strongly believed in. On 12 June 1920 he gave

the world premiere of John Ireland's Piano Sonata at the Wigmore Hall, and some

months later he published an article on the work and of its composer, opining:

Here is a man who has not only something to say, but who says that something

in his own way ... I have no hesitation in proclaiming this Opus as being one of

the finest of its kind the last years have produced.7

Henry Wood, in his autobiography8 also refers to a performance Lamond gave of

Josef Holbrooke's First Piano Concerto in F Minor Op. 36 'The Song of Gwyn ap

Nudd' ‘...giving a marvellous performance of this deeply interesting work’.

Until 1939, Frederic Lamond's domicile was Berlin, having married in 1904 the

renowned Austrian actress Irene Triesch (whom he coached in some of her

theatrical roles). With the outbreak of War in 1914 difficulties arose: Lamond had

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to spend a few weeks interned at Ruhleben, near Berlin, but was released in

November as being an unlikely threat to German security.9 However, in Lamond's

case it is known that he was one such10 – after the War some newspaper reports

claimed that he had taken German nationality, but he did retain British nationality

to the end, as Bryan Crimp has written:

Back in Britain this gave rise to stories of his being pro-German, though his

German admirers were quick to point out that, in reality, they were simply being

pro-Lamond!11

During the 1930s, however, the situation had become ever more serious, owing to

Irene's part-Jewish background and Lamond's barely concealed contempt for the

Nazis. This caused them to flee Berlin in 1939. Lamond stayed first to London,

where he gave a Wigmore Hall Recital on 7 October – shortly after wartime

restrictions on concert-giving were lifted. Later he returned to Glasgow, where he

had always had a loyal following,12 and would become a highly sought-after teacher

in that city.

In 1944 Lamond published Beethoven: Notes on the Sonatas which includes

music examples notated in his own hand. During this time he also started writing

his memoirs – excerpts were used by him for a talk broadcast from the BBC Glasgow

studio in March 1945, for which he recorded the Fifth Transcendental Etude 'Feux

Follets', and the Liebestraum no. 2 in E.13 They reveal his playing still in fine form -

which was just as well, because he was involved in a car crash when leaving the

BBC and had to spend some time recuperating in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where

Agnes Walker (Lamond’s student) found herself assisting as his secretary! This

must explain why in 1946 Lamond was forced to retire from playing, owing to

declining health. He died at Bridge of Allan, Stirling on 21 February 1948.

In 1949 Agnes Walker's husband, the publisher William McLellan, issued The

Memoirs of Frederic Lamond, in which the great figures of Lamond's youth such as

Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Hans von Bulow, Busoni and Eugen d'Albert are vividly

brought to life. Anyone who has heard Lamond himself speaking about his studies

with Liszt in the above BBC talk must surely be aware of hearing a unique

document.14


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And so to Frederic Lamond the composer – and that Symphony. The Hyperion

CD reveals a work of an assured, confident, fresh and spontaneous personality, with

memorable thematic material, subtlety of imagination in harmony and orchestral

colouring, tied to concise formal discipline – and all by the age of 21! Inevitably,

Beethoven and Brahms are strong influences, but was this not the lingua franca of

so many young composers of that period?15 Lamond's works begin to date from the

mid-1880s, and four were published in Germany. First to appear were the

Klavierstücke (Opus 1), published by August Cranz of Hamburg (later Leipzig) in

1889 in two books of four pieces each. As befitting a pianistic master, the writing is

fluent and highly-accomplished. John Purser describes them as ‘...subtle and fluid

studies in keyboard writing without a hint of the showmanship that Lamond could

readily have employed.’16 Here is an example:

Ex. 1: Capriccio (no. 6 from Klavierstücke, opus 1).

Lamond's Piano Trio in B Minor (opus 2), is dedicated to his former violin teacher,

Hugo Heermann. It was premiered by members of the Rose Quartett in the

Beethovensaal, Vienna on 25 November 1890 and again published by Cranz. It is

a work in overtly Brahmsian manner, its four movements unfolding in large forms,

with a dramatic and assertive character right from the start in unisono strings:

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Ex. 2: Piano Trio, bb. 1-5.

The second subject is more relaxed in mood:

Ex. 3: Piano Trio, bb. 89-100.


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The Second movement: Andante moderato in D Major, starts with the piano:

Ex. 4: Piano Trio (II: Andante moderato), bb. 1-26.

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The Scherzo in F-sharp minor reveals again how composers of this period so easily

crossed the enharmonic threshold at this time – flat/sharp keys becoming ever

more intertwined:


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Ex. 5: Piano Trio (III: Scherzo), bb. 1-56.

The Piano Trio – unheard in Britain since 1940,17 would merit revival, but needs

players with a strong grasp of large forms and the ability to sustain the individual

moods and character for over ten minutes at a time without flagging in intensity.

Lamond’s Symphony is certainly his most significant creative achievement. The

first version, completed in 1889, underwent some revisions after its early

performances in Glasgow and London, which took place in 1889 and ’90

respectively. The work was published in 1893 by Steyl & Thomas of Frankfurt. The

Brahmsian implications were soon picked up by Max Reger in a review published in

1894:

With much delight this new creation of a highly gifted composer will be

welcomed. It is a work that unites in itself so many advantages of diverse kind

so that one is hardly permitted to speak of occasional weaknesses! With regard

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to the opus number 3 one will praise apart from a great inventiveness the

uncommon capabilities of the composer. May his muse be a little influenced by

J. Brahms: but which composer is in his very first works immediately 'he

himself'.18

The 'Musical Times' of 1890 was also encouraging:

The themes are bold, striking and melodious, and the working out had been

completed on the best possible lines and the whole indicates the existence of a

mind capable of many and perhaps great things in the future.19

Promise indeed! The manuscripts of both the earlier and revised versions (reviewed

by the MT and Reger respectively) form part of the Lamond Collection at the

Glasgow University Library Special Collections. The Symphony's opening is assertive

from the start:

Ex. 6: Symphony (I: Allegro moderato), bb. 1-13.


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The second subject (bb. 44-46) is reminiscent of a Brahms Serenade:

Ex. 7: Symphony (I: Allegro moderato), bb. 44-46.

The second movement is a scherzo redolent of that in Beethoven's Seventh

Symphony. John Purser describes it as ‘bursting with energy and fun, looking back

to Beethoven and, in an odd moment, forward to Mahler’.20

Ex. 8: Symphony (II: Allegro vivace, quasi Presto), bb. 1-14.

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There is a change to a more 'serenade' mood in the trio section of this movement:

Ex. 9: Symphony (II: Allegro vivace, quasi Presto—Molto moderato, quieto), bb. 271-275.

The Third movement, in F Major, opens with broad confidence:

Ex. 10: Symphony (III: Andante moderato), bb. 1-8.


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The drama builds as the movement proceeds, anticipated by the following:

Ex. 11.

Symphony (III),

bb. 32-36.

This section, in C Minor, adds a darker tension to the movement before the serene

ending back in F. The finale returns to the sunnier climes of A Major:

Ex. 10:

Symphony

(IV: Allegro

con spirito),

bb. 1-6.

and a most characterful second subject:

Ex. 11:

Symphony (IV:

Allegro con

spirito), bb. 49-

57).

The Overture Im Schottische Hochlande (opus 4) is the last of Lamond's works to

be published. Published in 1900 by Steyl & Thomas, it is dedicated to Fritz

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Steinbach. With it he moved away from the classical objectivity of the Symphony

towards the Lisztian symphonic poem, by depicting a portrait of Sir Walter Scott's

Quentin Durward. Scott's literary oeuvre has, according to some dictionaries,

inspired at least fifty composers of various nationalities.21 Quentin Durward has

been the inspiration for operas by the Belgian composer Francois-August Gevaert

(1858), and the British composer Alick McLean (1920); but Lamond's is the only

purely symphonic setting of the story known to me. The Scottish atmosphere is felt

right from the start:

Ex. 12: Overture: Im Schottische Hochlande, bb. 1-9.

with a particularly striking second theme (presumably the Burgundian princess?):



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Another characterful motif follows on shortly:


A highly effective overture, fully deserving of regular outings in the concert hall,

reveals that Lamond certainly felt his Scottishness deeply compared to his

contemporary and colleague Eugen d'Albert whose works became intrinsically

German, eschewing any Scottish character.

Of the unpublished Lamond manuscripts in the Glasgow University Collection,

the last remaining chamber work is the Cello Sonata in D. It received its premiere

in London at St James' Hall in 1889, by Alfredo Piatti, and the composer. The

manuscript of the cello part is very neatly written and contains Piatti's markings, but

Lamond's piano score, although complete, is far less neat, even slightly sketchy at

times. It is not known whether he wished to revise the work before submitting it for

publication, but whatever the case the Sonata is contemporary with the Piano Trio,

as both works are strikingly similar in their Brahmsian characteristics and the

Sonata's three movements are similarly extended in form. The First Movement

starts with the following authoritative opening:

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Ex. 15: Sonata for Violoncell and Klavier (I: Allegro ma non troppo e vivace): bb. 1-8.

The second movement—an Andante-Scherzo—exploits a form becoming more

common by this period, opening thus:

Ex. 16: Sonata for Violoncell and Klavier (II: Andante-Scherzo): bb. 1-8.


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The middle section (scherzo) changes to the minor:

Ex. 17: Sonata for Violincell and Klavier (II: Andante-Scherzo) bb. 44-50.

The Finale returns to D Major:

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Ex. 18: Sonata for Violoncell and Klavier (III: Allegro comodo), bb. 1-16.

with a second subject in A Minor:

Ex. 19: Sonata for Violincell and Klavier (III: Allegro comodo) bb. 46-49.

However, the most fascinating discovery among the unpublished manuscripts is the

incomplete two-act opera Eine Liebe im Schottische Hochlande which survives in

358 pages of full score and thirty-six of typed libretto (in German). The manuscript

of the full score is very neatly written and calls for a large orchestra. It is uncertain

where the original story originates; the dramatis personae include Donald, Elsbeth,

Dougal, Effy, Green Colin, Mac Zvor and the chorus assume the profiles of

Highlanders and Soldiers. Act One is complete, Act Two is not; however, there is so

much material that it should be possible to perform at least a part of it in concert—


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or even partially staged excerpts—concluding with the Sword Dance from Act One,

which can be heard on the Hyperion CD.

The Scottish Music Centre, City Halls, Glasgow holds photocopies of all Lamond's

published scores and the manuscript of the Cello Sonata. These holdings can be

accessed and copies thereof may be purchased for future performances. The Trio

is also accessible via IMSLP. All eight Klavierstücke were performed as part of a

concert given on 16 September 2018 at the Cathedral of the Isles, Millport, Isle of

Cumbrae - which houses the former BBC London Bosendorfer concert grand on

which Lamond may well have played for his wartime broadcasts. The Klavierstücke

were shared between myself and the young Scottish pianist Andrew Johnston –

himself a relative of Agnes Walker. With Lamond's pianistic legacy now readily

available22 perhaps at last we can begin to hear more of the music of both Frederic

Lamond and Eugen d'Albert - musicians who were at some point in their careers

more renowned as pianists rather than as composers.

Michael Jones is a professional pianist who graduated from the Birmingham School of

Music (now the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire) in 1974 with Prizes for Piano,

Advanced Harmony, and Musical Distinction. He is also a historian, musicologist, lecturer

and independent concert-giver. He has been a contributor to BMS publications for nearly

30 years, publishing reviews and biographical articles on composers such as John Joubert,

Alan Bush, Leslie Heward, Christopher Edmunds, and—in particular—Edgar Bainton, for

whom he is the UK Music Executor/Trustee and founder of the Edgar Bainton (UK)

Society. He is also a founder-Trustee of the Erik Chisholm Trust, and has recorded for

the BMS (with violist Martin Outram), Dutton Epoch (with cellist Joseph Spooner) and

more recently Oboe Classics (with Mark Baigent) for a CD of Rutland's Boughton's oboe

works, released in 2017.

MICHAEL JONES

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References

Conway, Paul. “Sounds alive – Frederic Lamond’s Symphony.” BMS News 93

(2002): 241-2.

Foreman, Lewis. ed. The John Ireland Companion. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press,

2011.

Lamond, Frederic. The memoirs of Frederic Lamond. Glasgow: William MacLellan,

1949

Purser, John. Erik Chisholm, Scottish Modernist, Chasing A Restless Muse.

Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2009.

Schaarwächter, Jürgen. Two centuries of British Symphonism, from the beginnings

to 1945: a preliminary survey. 2 vols. Hildesheim: Georg Olms,

2015.

Wood, Henry. My life of music. London: Victor Gollancz, 1938.

'Of Men and Music' (Frederic Lamond). Erik Chisholm Trust.

www.erikchisholm.com/menandmusic/Lamond.plp

1 Frederic Lamond, The Memoirs of Frederic Lamond (Glasgow: William MacLellan, 1949), 65. 2 Henry Wood, My Life of Music (London: Victor Gollancz, 1938), 353.

This chapter (16) covers the period 1912-14; however, it is unclear as to which year Wood actually

conducted Lamond's Symphony. The reader is referred to note 8. 3 Paul Conway, “Sounds Alive - Frederic Lamond's Symphony,” BMS News 93, 241-2.

Conway attended the public concert – at that time it was unknown when the date of the broadcast

would take place. 4 Hyperion CDA677837. 5 Available on APR 7310 – a 3-CD set which includes all the electric (i.e. post-1925) commercial

recordings of works by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Anton Rubinstein and Glinka/Balakirev, plus all

the Liszt recordings – both electric and acoustic (i.e. pre-1925). The German 'Electrola' discs from

1935 are particularly excellent. I am grateful to Mike Spring, Executive Producer, APR for this

information. 6 Originally issued in two handsome hardback volumes (green & brown) as EB 4341/2 in 1923. 7 Lewis Foreman, ed., The John Ireland Companion (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2011), pp-359-63,

364-65. 8 In My Life of Music, page 223, Wood states earlier that Josef Holbrooke (who was an excellent

pianist) performed his Piano Concerto in F Minor Op. 36 in 1903, but immediately goes on to say ‘Later

on Lamond played his [i.e. Holbrooke's] Piano Concerto in F Minor The Song of Gwyn ap Nudd’ implying

that Lamond's performance took place later – but no evidence for Lamond's performance has as yet

been found. 9 Incidentally, the whole question of pro-German sympathies among some British internees would merit

a study in itself, but goes beyond the scope of this article.


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10 For example: The Eastbourne Chronicle, 20th February 1915: ‘Frederic Lamond was obliged to adopt

German nationality. All he possesses is in Germany and his wife is German [sic]. But in spite of 25

years’ residence in the Fatherland [sic] is as much of a Scot as ever and has lost none of his brogue.’

In contrast, Ezra Pound, in his writings for the New Age (pseudonym 'William Aethling') in 1918 (now

published in Ezra Pound on Music, New Directions Publishing, 2008, page 158) was of the opinion:

‘Mr. Lamond's managers request us to state that Mr. Lamond was born in Glasgow. Scotch he was and

British he remains and that in no time during his internment at Ruhleben did he contemplate changing

his [British] nationality.’ I am grateful to Ruhleben expert Mary Kemp (Canterbury) for bringing this

intriguing paradox to my attention (correspondence May 2018). 11Bryan Crimp, liner notes, 'Signature Series' CD APR 5504 (1994), 7. The CD (not the liner notes) has

been re-issued as no. 1 on APR 7310 (see note 5). 12 In 1937 Lamond was awarded an Honorary LL.D by Glasgow University. As a gesture of thanks he

presented to the University the baton which had belonged to Hans von Bülow – which Lamond had

received all those years ago. 13 Lamond Memoirs. The talk was recorded in Glasgow on 6th March and the two Liszt pieces on 8th

March. The Music Magazine programme was broadcast on 25th March 1945. 14 The complete talk lasts for just over 10 minutes and can be heard on Marston 52071/2; also on

YouTube, which may be accessed on this URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxbnLji3A_I 15 Think of Donald Tovey, Arthur Somervell, Charles Stanford, Hamilton Harty, Alexander Zemlinsky,

Ernst von Dohnányi, and even early Schoenberg! 16 John Purser, The National (August 12th 2016), 27. An additional source would be the liner notes for

Hyperion CDA677837. 17 See Erik Chisholm: 'Of Men and Music' (Frederic Lamond), Erik Chisholm Trust website:

www.erikchisholm.com/menandmusic/Lamond.plp and John Purser: 'Erik Chisholm, Scottish

Modernist, Chasing A Restless Muse' - Woodbridge, Boydell and Brewer, 2009, pages 80-81, which

states that the Trio, opus 2 was performed in the third concert of the newly-revived Dunedin

Association in 1940, but with Erik Chisholm at the piano. It is unclear if Lamond was there to hear it. 18Quoted in Jürgen Schaarwächter: 'Two Centuries of British Symphonism, From the Beginnings to

1945'. Two Volumes, Germany, OLMS, 2015. Max Reger's German original was published in

Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung XX1/4 [Berlin/Leipzig 1894, page 56]. Special thanks to Jurgen

Schwaarwächter for permission to use his translation. 19Quoted in Conway – see note 3. 20John Purser – liner-note for Hyperion CDA677837. 21The Scottish contingent includes: Hamish MacCunn 'Jeanie Deans', 'Lay of the Last Minstrel', Sir

Alexander Mackenzie 'Marmion', 'Eve of St. John', Ian Whyte 'Marmion', Allan Macbeth 'Bruce – Lord of

the Isles', 22 In addition to APR 7310, the Marston 2-CD set, originally released in 2013 features live concert

recordings of Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 and Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Amsterdam

Concertgebouw, conducted by Eduard van Beinum (1939 and 1937), Liszt's 'Gnomenreigen' played

live as an encore; the early acoustic records of Beethoven Sonatas 6, 14, 18, 21, 23 (all HMV); and

two Chopin Mazurkas (unpublished Decca, 1941). I am grateful to pianist and specialist collector Guy

Rowland for this information, May 2018.

http://www.erikchisholm.com/menandmusic/Lamond.plp

frederic lamond: pianist and composer

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