An Irishman for All Seasons: Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and His Music

On Thursday 21 September, Rob Stove will present on the life and music of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924). Born in Dublin but mostly resident in London and Cambridge, Sir Charles just might be the best late-Romantic composer whom you haven’t yet encountered.

In his own time, Stanford was as famous to the general public as Elgar. His compositions were championed on the European Continent by Mahler and Richard Strauss. His students included Gustav (The Planets) Holst and Vaughan Williams. As conductor and organist, he was probably second to none in the Britain of his time.

So, what went wrong? Why did his music fall so completely out of favour? Did his volcanic temper tell against him in the long run? Was he too Irish for the English and too English for the Irish? And what exactly is Englishness, anyhow, in Brexit’s aftermath?

Join us at the Caroline Chisholm Library for this talk by Rob Stove, who’s currently at work on a dissertation at Monash University concerning Stanford’s organ output. This talk will touch on Catholicism and Protestantism, Irish Home Rule and the British Empire, the Easter Rising and the London Establishment, hymn-tunes and symphonies. The result could permanently change the way you think about Ireland, England … and classical music.

Feel free to download and distribute this flyer:

Charles Villiers Stanford flyer.pdf

Charles Villiers Stanford flyer.pdf