|
The golden age of light music began with the proliferation of light orchestras in the resorts and spas of Europe from the late 1800s. This lasted until World War 2 and beyond; nowhere more so than in Britain. For example during the 1920’s the Lyons chain of restaurants spent no less than £150,000 each year on their orchestras and engaged virtuoso violinist Margaret Holloway to lead its ladies orchestra at the Oxford Street Corner House. The Piccadilly Grill Room orchestra’s 160 recordings enabled its leader, De Groot, to afford a Stradivarius violin.
The great soloist Alfredo Campoli moved easily between light and classical music; between March 1934 and April 1940 he gave 183 broadcasts of light music for the BBC. Another household name was Salon Orchestra leader Albert Sandler; his Sunday evening radio broadcasts from the Grand Hotel quickly became a national institution.
Light music broadcasts took up more BBC broadcast hours than any other kind of programme. On the National Programme twice as many hours were devoted to light music than to classical music, and on the Regional Programmes three times as many. During the 1950s the BBC employed eight full time light orchestras and promoted a hugely popular annual international festival of light music at the new South Bank complex.
Regrettably, changes in fashion and broadcasting policy in the 1960s left the sizeable audience for light orchestral music somewhat neglected, squeezed between the “high art” content of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 2’s mainly middle of the road pop output.
Fortunately great music refuses to die, and the void created by the lack of quality light music performances and broadcasts through the 1970s and '80s has led to a resurgence of interest in light orchestral music. Older listeners welcome with nostalgic pleasure the tunes heard in their youth and younger listeners find the exquisitely crafted melodies a revelation. top of page |
|
Revival of a lost tradition |
|
The great Alfredo Campoli with the Fred Hartley Sextet. Photograph by kind permission of David Tunley, author of “The Bel Canto Violin”, Ashgate Publishing
|
|
Stunning...the thrill of the week..the dizzy violin of Marianne Olyver shone brilliantly, as to the manner born The Independent |
|
Albert Sandler and his Orchestra broadcasting from the Park Lane Hotel. They were household names during the 1930’s |
