Wednesday 25 August 2010

CLASSICAL RHYL # 2



The advert is from a 1947 newspaper supplied by Peter Trehearn.

The Hallé Orchestra conducted by Louis Cohen with star soloist Moura Lympany (above) were quite a draw and only the Pavilion would have had enough seats. The Hallé, I suspect, might have preferred the acoustics in the Queens Theatre, West Parade, where they had played earlier in 1940s during World War 2.

The Hallé came to the Queens in 1941 conducted by Sir Henry Wood (b.1869, d.1944) the originator of The Proms concerts. The orchestra returned in 1942 and twice in 1943, each time under Malcolm Sargent (b.1895, knighted 1947, d.1967) who turned down the offer of a musical directorship in Australia to stay in this country while the war was on.

Whatever the issues of acoustics, Rhyl Pavilion during the war years hosted appearances by the Bournemouth, Liverpool and London Philharmonic orchestras and concert pianists Poushnoff, Moseiwitsch and Mark Hambourg.

6720. Two additional images added here in June 2020:


Above - distinguished American concert pianist Julius Katchen appeared at the Pavilion courtesy of Rhyl Music Club in 1955.
Also in the mid-1950s, the club presented two more American artistes: mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel and concert pianist Gary Graffman.


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