(b Brighton, 26 Feb 1879; d Eastbourne, 10 Jan 1941). English composer. He studied with Stanford at the RCM (1899-1903) and made a reputation as a chamber musician (a violist) and conductor. His early works, including the orchestral suite The Sea (1911), the symphonic poem Summer (1914) and much chamber music, are close to Bax and Delius, but after World War I he developed rapidly. His Third (1926) and Fourth (1937) Quartets are highly chromatic, reflecting his admiration for Berg, though his music remained distinctively English. Also remarkable is the contrapuntal vigour and energy of his later orchestral works, which include the rhapsody Enter Spring (1927), Oration with solo cello (1930) and Phantasm with solo piano (1931). None of his more adventurous music was much regarded until the 1970s, his fame resting largely on his having been Britten's teacher.
Died: January 10, 1941 in Eastbourne, London, England
Genres: Chamber Music, Keyboard Music, Miscellaneous Music, Opera, Orchestral Music
Biography
Frank Bridge studied violin and composition at the Royal College of Music, graduating in 1904. A scholarship enabled him to study with Charles Villiers Stanford for four years (1899-1903). Bridge quickly established a reputation as a gifted violist and conductor. In 1906, he played with the Joachim Quartet, and he was a member of the English String Quartet through 1915. He conducted some operas at the Savoy Theatre and Covent Garden, and when Sir Thomas Beecham organized his New Symphony Orchestra in 1906, he named Bridge as his assistant. Bridge also befriended Sir Henry Wood and occasionally substituted for him as conductor at Queen's Hall; Wood later became an important champion of Bridge's music. During this period, Bridge was writing mostly chamber music and songs. His few orchestral works of the time were much influenced by the French Impressionists; the first of them to become part of the standard repertoire was the suite The Sea (1911).
World War I was a traumatic time for Bridge, an ardent pacifist. One can hear more dissonance and darkness creeping into such works as the Cello Sonata in D minor (1913-1917) and the Quartet No. 2 in G minor (1915). After several years of near-silence, Bridge's next big work signaled a large shift in style. The Piano Sonata (1921-1924) was written in memory of composer Ernest Farrar, who was killed in action in France, in 1917. In it, one hears considerably more dissonance, abrupt changes of mood and tempo, and a more angular and aggressive sound. This stylistic evolution continued in works like the third (1926) and fourth (1937) string quartets, which flirt with Schoenberg-like atonality.
In his last two decades, Bridge composed, occasionally conducted, and did some traveling, including trips to the United States in 1923, 1934, and 1938. He also did some private teaching. Certainly his best-known pupil was Benjamin Britten, who was an 11-year-old prodigy when Bridge met him in 1924. Britten retained a great affection for his teacher, and paid tribute to him in the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937), based on the second of the latter's Three Idylls for String Quartet (1906). Britten was also partly responsible for the subsequent interest in Bridge's music.
Among Bridge's later compositions were a lovely opera, The Christmas Rose (begun 1919, set aside for years and completed only in 1930), as well as several important chamber and orchestral works. His last completed composition was the Rebus Overture (1940); he also left a symphony for strings unfinished at his death. ~ Chris Morrison, All Music Guide
Bridge was born in Brighton and studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford and others. He played the viola in a number of string quartets, most notably the English String Quartet, and conducted, sometimes deputising for Henry Wood, before devoting himself to composition, receiving the patronage of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. He privately tutored a number of pupils, most famously Benjamin Britten, who later championed his teacher's music and paid homage to him in the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937), based on a theme from the second of Bridge's Three Idylls for String Quartet (1906). Bridge died in Eastbourne.
Music
Among Bridge's works are the orchestral The Sea (1911), Oration (1930) for cello and orchestra (recorded in 1976 by Julian Lloyd Webber) and the opera The Christmas Rose (premiered 1932), but he is perhaps most highly regarded today for his chamber music. His early works are in a late-Romantic idiom, but later pieces such as the third (1926) and fourth (1937) string quartets are harmonically advanced and very distinctive, showing the influence of the Second Viennese School. His works also show harmonic influences by Maurice Ravel and especially Alexander Scriabin.
One of his most characteristic harmonies is the Bridge chord, for instance C minor and D major sounding at the same time, very poignant in There Is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook and the piano sonata (1922-5). He wrote this work to the memory of Ernest Farrar.
One of his most famous works is a piece for violin called Moto perpetuo (written 1900, revised 1911). Other frequently performed works are the Adagio in E for organ, Rosemary for piano and the masterful cello sonata in D minor (1913-7). The Scherzetto for cello and piano was rediscovered in the library of London's Royal College of Music by the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.
Although many refer to Bridge's late style as relating to that of the Second Viennese School, they are misguided. Analysis reveals techniques akin to Stravinsky through the use of the octatonic scale and many palindromic techniques. There are in fact five Bridge Chords that can be found frequenting the late idiom. These are all readily accessible through the British Library via the PhD of Robin Harrison (University of Wales Bangor).[citation needed]
Works
Stage
The Christmas Rose (opera)
Orchestral
Enter Spring
The Sea (1911)
Summer
Two Poems for Orchestra
Oration, for cello and orchestra
Chamber/Instrumental
String Quartet
String Quartet No. 1
String Quartet No. 2
String Quartet No. 3
String Quartet No. 4
Phantasie Quartet
Novelletten
Three Idylls
Londonderry Air
Sir Roger de Coverley
Sally in Our Alley
Three Pieces for String Quartet
Cello Sonata in D minor (1913-17)
Two Pieces for Viola and Piano
Pensiero
Allegro appassionato
Piano Trio
Piano Quintet
Miniatures
String Sextet
Suite for Strings
Organ
Adagio ma non troppo (c. 1901)
First Book of Organ Pieces (1905), Winthrop Rogers, 1917
Allegretto grazioso
Allegro comodo
Allegro marziale e ben marcato
Three Pieces for Organ (c. 1905), Novello, 1905
Andante moderato in C minor
Adagio in E major
Allegro con spirito in B flat major
Second Book of Organ Pieces (Nos 1 and 3 c. 1901, No 2 1912), Schirmer, 1914 (originally published in The Organ Loft, Books 100-December/103-March/105-May 1914)
Andante con moto
Andantino
Allegro ben moderato
Lento (In Memoriam C. H. H. P[arry]) (1918), H.F.W. Deane and Sons (No 7 of The Little Organ Book)
Three Pieces for Organ (1939), J. Curwen, 1940
Prelude
Minuet
Processional
Piano
Pensées fugitives 1 (1902), Thames, 1992
Scherzettino (c. 1901-2), Thames, 1992
Moderato e (1903), Thames, 1992
Capriccio No 1 a (1905), Augener, 1905
Two Piano Solos: 1. A Sea Idyl[l]; 2. Capriccio No 2 f sharp (1905), Houghton and Co, 1906
Étude rhapsodique (1905), Thames, 1991
Dramatic Fantasia (1906), Thames, 1984
Three Sketches: 1. April; 2. Rosemary; 3. Valse capricieuse (1906), Winthrop Rogers, 1915 (No 2 arranged for orchestra (1938) and published as the first of Two Entr'actes, Hawkes and Son, 1939)
Unnamed piece (c. 1906-8)
Three Pieces: 1. Columbine; 2. Minuet; 3. Romance (1912, No 2 original version 1901), Augener, 1913
Three Poems: 1. Solitude; 2. Ecstasy; 3. Sunset Augener, 1915
Miniature Pastorals, three sets (1917/1921/1921), Sets 1 and 2 Winthrop Rogers, 1917/1921, Set 3 Thames, 1978 (A March and three fragments (1921), originally intended for the Miniature Pastorals, completed and published as Miniature Suite, ed. P Hindmarsh, Thames, 1991)
A Fairy Tale Suite: 1. The Princess; 2. The Ogre; 3. The Spell; 4. The Prince (1917), Augener, 1918
Three Improvisations: 1. At Dawn; 2. A Vigil; 3. A Revel for left hand only (1918), Winthrop Rogers, 1919
The Turtle's Retort (one-step) (c. 1919), Winthrop Rogers, 1919
The Hour Glass, Suite: 1. Dusk; 2. The Dew Fairy: 3. The Midnight Tide (1920), Augener, 1920
Sonata (1921-24), Augener, 1925
Three Lyrics: 1. Heart's Ease: 2. Dainty Rogue; 3. The Hedgerow (1921/1922/1924), Nos 1 and 2 Augener, 1922, No 3 Augener, 1925, No 1 also arranged for violin and piano (Augener, 1930)
In Autumn: 1. Retrospect; 2. Through the Eaves (1924), Augener, 1925
Vignettes de Marseille, Suite: 1. Carmelita; 2. Nicolette; 3. Zoraida; 4. En Fête (1925), Thames, 1979, also Nos 2, 3 and 1 arranged for orchestra as Vignettes de Danse (1938), Boosey and Hawkes, 1938
Winter Pastoral (1925), Augener, 1928
Canzonetta (Happy South) (1926), Hawkes and Son, 1927, also arranged for orchestra (1926) and published as the second of Two Entr'actes, Hawkes and Son, 1939
'Britten and Bridge', lecture and performance investigating the relation between the two composers, Gresham College, 5 February 2008 (available for download as text, audio or video file).
PhD - The Late Style of Frank Bridge by Robin Harrison University of Wales Bangor (robin.harrison@talk21.com)
