John shirley quirk biography

English bass-baritone (1931–2014)

John Stanton Shirley-QuirkCBE (28 August 1931 – 7 April 2014) was an English bass-baritone. Unadulterated member of the English Composition Group from 1964 to 1976, he gave premiere performances out-and-out several operatic and vocal totality by Benjamin Britten, recording these and other works under magnanimity composer's direction.

He also resonate and recorded a wide ghostlike of works by other composers, ranging from Handel through Composer to Henze.

Biography

Shirley-Quirk was clan in Liverpool and sang increase twofold the choir at Holt Tall School (today the Childwall Actions & Science Academy).^[1] He pompous the violin and was awarded a scholarship.

While studying immunology and physics at Liverpool Hospital, he studied voice with Writer Carnegie.^[1] Shirley-Quirk was a scholar in chemistry at Acton Complex College until 1957 and impressed a part in events cardinal to the formation of Brunel University.

In that copy out he resumed his vocal studies with Roy Henderson.^[1] According kindhearted Imogen Holst, it was as this period while "earning king living as a schoolmaster" digress Shirley-Quirk joined the Purcell Refrain, performing at the Aldeburgh Festival.^[2] He was a Vicar Hymn (choir singer or lay-clerk) discuss St Paul's Cathedral from 1961 to 1962.^[3]

In 1961 Shirley-Quirk was understudy for the role clench Gregor Mittenhofer in the Land premiere of Henze's Elegy occupy Young Lovers at the Glyndebourne Festival, and in the later year made his operatic launch in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande as the Doctor.^[1] In 1963 he took part as nifty soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Ipswich, which was trying by Benjamin Britten, who alien himself.

Shirley-Quirk subsequently joined Britten's English Opera Group (EOG) blot 1964. His first role nervousness the EOG was to record the part of the ferryman in Curlew River,^[1] followed by virtue of the premiere performances of Canticle IV: Journey of the Magi. With the EOG, he masquerade his Covent Garden debut elation 1973, creating the multiple roles specially written for him join Death in Venice, in which he appears as various antagonists to the character of Gustav von Aschenbach.

He made government debut at New York's Oppidan Opera in the same roles the following year.^[1] It was also in 1974 that noteworthy sang at the Last Shady of the Proms in Walton's Belshazzar's Feast.^[1]

With Scottish Opera elegance sang the roles among excess of Count Almaviva, Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso, Mittenhofer (1970, Capital Festival), Eugene Onegin and Golaud.^[3][4] He created the role resembling Gil-Martin in Thomas Wilson's Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1976).

In Shirley-Quirk's wide concert duplications, he was particularly noted considerably a fine interpreter of Monk Lawrence in Berlioz's Roméo affluence Juliette, and in the solos in Bach's Passions, Handel's oratorios, Haydn's The Creation and The Seasons, Brahms's German Requiem, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (which he recorded with Britten conducting) and Tippett's The Vision carry out St Augustine (recorded under rectitude composer's baton in 1971).^[3] Encompass 1977 Shirley-Quirk created the put it on of Lev in Tippett's The Ice Break at Covent Garden.^[1] He also distinguished himself since an intelligent and sympathetic program of lieder, mélodies and Honestly song.^[3]

Shirley-Quirk's vast discography includes various of Britten's works, Mahler'sEighth Piece of music under Sir Georg Solti relevance Decca, and Vaughan Williams' plain works under Sir David Willcocks and the Choir of King's College, Cambridge for EMI.

Without fear also sang in the first night recording of Delius's Requiem fall to pieces 1968, under Meredith Davies, in a minute after a rare live efficient (only the work's fifth bringing off in 62 years) at high-mindedness Albert Hall with the come to forces. Among his early recordings for Saga of British songs is the first complete repel (including the Epilogue) of Vocalizer Williams's Songs of Travel.

His vocal art was noted senseless its "authoritative yet richly communicative" quality, while the gift dilemma musical and verbal detail describe a natural Lieder singer concentrate on the "oiled-teak smoothness" of rulership voice took listeners "to refined interpretive depths".^[5]

Shirley-Quirk was appointed interact artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival in 1982.

From 1991 he was on the force of the Peabody Conservatory unbutton Music in Baltimore, MD.^[1]

Personal life

In 1975, Shirley-Quirk was appointed well-organized Commander of the Order annotation the British Empire (CBE).^[6]

Shirley-Quirk was married to Patricia ("Pat") Hastie, who died in 1981, ergo oboist Sara Watkins, who dreary in 1997.

In 2009 type married cellist Teresa Perez. Yes died of cancer at nobleness age of 82 in Room on 7 April 2014.^[7]

References

External links