43. 'In Ireland' by Hamilton Harty - Clare Southworth

Talking Flutes

Big tunes, drunken dances, romantic interludes and light, fast running sections.

This week on 'Talking Flutes', Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy for Music in London Clare Southworth takes one of her recordings of the the wonderful 'In Ireland' by Hamilton Hardy and breaks it down for the listener. Not only is this a fabulous piece, but Hamilton Hardy lived and worked in the beautiful English town of 'Hove' in East Sussex, the same place where Clare now 'lives'.

Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist.

After an early career as a church organist in his native Ireland, Harty moved to London at about age 20, soon becoming a well-known piano accompanist. The Musical Times called him "the prince of accompanists". As a composer he wrote throughout his career, many of his works being well received, though few are regularly performed in the 21st century.

In his career as a conductor, which began in 1904, Harty was particularly noted as an interpreter of the music of Berlioz. From 1920 to 1933 he was the chief conductor of the in Halle orchestra in Manchester, which he returned to the high standards and critical acclaim that it had enjoyed under its founder, Charle Halle. His last permanent post was with the London Symphony Orchestra but it lasted only two years, from 1932 to 1934. During his conducting career, Harty made some recordings with his orchestras but began to suffer the symptoms of a brain tumour. After surgery, he resumed his career until 1940, but the tumour returned to cause his death at the age of 61.

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