STANFORD, Sir Charles Villiers (1852-1924)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 1249 MS 4253
Held at	: Royal College of Music   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rcm.ac.uk/library/contactus/archivesandrecords/ ›
Full title	: STANFORD, Sir Charles Villiers (1852-1924)
Date(s)	: early19th century-c1918 (predominantly 1880s-1890s)
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 1 volume (c180 items)
Name of creator(s)	: Stanford | Sir | Charles Villiers | 1852-1924 | Knight | composer and conductor

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, born Dublin, 30 Sep 1852; educated, Henry Tilney Bassett's school, Dublin; entered Queens' College, Cambridge, as choral scholar, 1870; elected assistant conductor to Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS), 1871; appointed organist of Trinity College, 1873; third class in classical tripos, 1874; studied in Germany with Carl Reinecke, Robert Papperitz and Friedrich Kiel, 1874-1876; received acclaim for a number of his compositions, including his First Symphony (second prize, Alexandra Palace competition, 1876) and incidental music for Tennyson's play Queen Mary (1876); resumed as conductor of CUMS, 1877; used CUMS to bring major artists to Cambridge, performed as pianist in chamber concerts there and conducted first English performances of works by Brahms; as organist of Trinity (resigned 1892), composed some of his most well known sacred music including his Morning, Communion and Evening Services in B flat (1879) and was responsible for bringing major performers to Trinity for organ recitals; appointed Professor of Composition and conductor of the orchestra, Royal College of Music, 1883; appointed Professor of Music, Cambridge University, 1887; oversaw centenary celebrations for CUMS, 1893; conductor of the Bach Choir, (1886-1902), Leeds Philharmonic Society (1897-1909) and Leeds Triennial Festival (1901-1910); knighted, 1902; died, London, 29 Mar 1924. Selected publications: Studies and Memories (London, 1908); Musical Composition: a Short Treatise for Students (London, 1911); Brahms and his Music (London, 1912); Pages from an Unwritten Diary (London, 1914); Interludes, Records and Reflections (London,1922).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Autograph book of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, early 19th century-c1918 (predominantly 1880s-1890s), mostly comprising short letters addressed to Stanford on musical or personal matters, with a few poems and fragments of manuscript music. The collection also includes a few autographs only, and some fragments not contemporary with Stanford. Correspondents include: Emma Albani; Albert Edward, Prince of Wales; Matthew Arnold; Arthur Balfour; W Sterndale Bennett; Edward W Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury; Arrigo Boito; Hans von Bronsart; J Brahms; Robert Bridges; John Bright MP; Robert Browning; Max Bruch; Alfred Bruneau; John Burns; Joseph Chamberlain; D M Crack; K Crowe; Anton Dvorak; George Eliot; G J Elwey; Franco Faccio; Robert Franz; Alexander Glazunov; John Glover; Arabella Goddard; Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt; Otto Goldschmidt; Edward Grieg; Madge Kendel Grimstone; Eugen Gura; H Rider Haggard; Charles Hallé; Ferdinand Heller; F Halévy; J L Hatton; Henry Irving; Jean Ingelow; Joseph Joachim; Friedrich Kiel; Charles Kingsley; Rudyard Kipling; Marie Krebs; Lord Leighton; Franz Liszt; Henry Longfellow; Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy; G Macfarren; A C Mackenzie; Herbert Mackinnon; Norma Mare; Hubert Parry; Adelina Patti; Guido Papini; Alfred Piatti; Maria Piccolomini; Giacomo Puccini; Carl Reinecke; Brinley Richards; Hans Richter; Earl Roberts of Kandahar and Pretoria; Carl Rosa; Christina Rossetti; Dante Gabriel Rossetti; Anton Rubenstein; Camille Saint Saens; Prosper Sainton; Charles Santley; Clara Schumann; Robert Schumann; J Palgrave Simpson; Camillo Sivori; Robert Louis Stevenson; Richard Strauss; Arthur Sullivan; Lawrence Alma-Tadema; D Tagliafino; Sigismond Thalberg; Tom Taylor; John Tenniel; Alfred Tennyson; Ellen Terry; P Tchaikovsky; Giuseppe Verdi; Pauline Viardot; Richard Wagner; Walt Whitman; Charles Marie Widor; August Wilhelmj; W G Wills; H F Wilson; Edmund Yates.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Mostly arranged in alphabetical order by surname of correspondent.

Conditions governing access:

Usual conditions of the Library of the Royal College of Music apply. See the RCM website or contact the RCM Library for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopying is permitted at the discretion of the Archivist for research purposes only.

Finding aids:

A typescript detailed list of correspondents accompanies the volume.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Donated to the College by the trustees of the estate of Guy Stanford, 1954.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Compositions by and correspondence of Stanford are held by British Library Music and Manuscript Collections; Cambridge University Library; Trinity College, Cambridge University; National Library of Ireland; Robinson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne University; King's College, Cambridge University; Fitzwiliam Museum, Cambridge University; Brotherton Library, Leeds University. See the National Register of Archives for further details.

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Robert Baxter as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project. Sources: National Register of Archives; article on Stanford by Jeremy Dibble, Grove Dictionary of Music.

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
Jul 2001