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Richard Addinsell
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==Biography== ===Early life=== Richard Addinsell was born in [[Woburn Square]], London, to William Arthur Addinsell, who was a chartered accountant, and his wife, Annie Beatrice Richards.<ref name=odnb>Lamb, Andrew (2004). [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/62775 'Addinsell, Richard Stewart (1904β1977)']. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 13 September 2011.{{subscription required}}</ref> The younger of two brothers, Addinsell was educated at home before attending [[Hertford College, Oxford]], to study Law but went down after just 18 months. He then became interested in music.<ref name=chandos /> ===Early career=== In 1925, he enrolled at the [[Royal College of Music]] but lasted only two terms before leaving, again without obtaining any formal qualification.<ref name=odnb /> By this time Addinsell was already collaborating with [[Noel Gay]], among others, in an ''[[AndrΓ© Charlot]] Revue''.<ref name=chandos /> More work for Charlot in 1927 was followed in 1928 by a collaboration with [[Clemence Dane]] on ''Adam's Opera'' at [[The Old Vic]].<ref name=odnb /> In 1929, he completed his informal education by touring Europe to visit major theatrical and musical centres such as Berlin and Vienna.<ref name=chandos /> In 1932, with Clemence Dane, he wrote the [[incidental music]] for the Broadway adaptation of the combined ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' and ''[[Through the Looking Glass]]'' by [[Eva Le Gallienne]], starring [[Josephine Hutchinson]] (produced 1933).<ref name=grove>Ades, David. 'Addinsell, Richard (Stewart)' in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001)</ref> In 1947 it was revived, starring Bambi Linn. ===Career in film composition=== The ''[[Warsaw Concerto]]'' was written for the 1941 film ''[[Dangerous Moonlight]]'', and continues to be a popular concert and recording piece. The film-makers wanted something in the style of [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]], but were unable to persuade Rachmaninoff himself to write a piece. [[Roy Douglas]] orchestrated the concerto. It has been recorded over one hundred times and has sold in excess of three million copies. Addinsell also scored Hitchcock's ''[[Under Capricorn]]'' (1949), referencing Irish folk melody in the score to support the Irish characters and their history. Addinsell also wrote the short orchestral piece ''Southern Rhapsody'', which was played every morning at the start of TV broadcasts by the former [[Southern Television]] company in the south of England from 1958 to 1981. As was common with film music until the 1950s, many of Addinsell's scores were destroyed by the studios as it was assumed there would be no further interest in them. However, recordings of his film music have been issued since his death, often reconstructed by musicologist and composer [[Philip Lane (composer)|Philip Lane]] from the soundtracks of the films themselves and conducted by [[Kenneth Alwyn]]<ref>Lane, Philip (1999). 'Richard Addinsell: film music'. ASV Records [sleevenotes to CD [http://www.musicweb-international.com/film/july99/addinsell.htm reviewed by Lace, Ian (1999) on MusicWeb International]. Retrieved 12 September 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.223732&catNum=223732&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English# 'Richard Addinsell: Goodbye Mr Chips / A Tale of Two Cities'], [http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.223732 recording released on Marco Polo Records] (1994). Retrieved 12 September 2011.</ref><ref>'Music of Richard Addinsell including Warsaw Concerto'. ASV Records [CD [https://archive.today/20120804180102/http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/September%201997/121/816406/%C2%A9Addinsell+Film+Music.+Robert+Gibbs+(vn)+bMartin+Jones,cPeter+Lawson+(pfs)+Royal+Ballet+Sinfonia+I+Kenneth+Alwyn reviewed by Seeley, Robert (1997) in ''Gramophone'', September 1997, pp 121β122]. Retrieved 13 September 2011.</ref> or [[Rumon Gamba]].<ref name=chandos>Lane, Philip (2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110111154924/http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%2010046.pdf 'The film music of Richard Addinsell'] (pdf). Chandos Records. Retrieved 12 September 2011.</ref> ===Later career=== He collaborated from 1942 with [[Joyce Grenfell]] for her West End revues (including ''[[Tuppence Coloured]]'' and ''[[Penny Plain]]'') and her one-woman shows. He also wrote for West End musical revues directed by [[Laurier Lister]], including ''[[Airs on a Shoestring]]'' Addinsell's music is in the "English [[light music]]" style.<ref>Lamb, Andrew (2002). [http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/November%202002/34 'British light music: sound good, feel good'], ''Gramophone'' November 2002, pp.34β38. Retrieved 13 September 2011.</ref> He regularly composed at the piano, providing other creative musicians such as Roy Douglas, Leonard Isaacs or [[Douglas Gamley]] with broad indications for their full orchestrations.<ref name=chandos /> Orchestral works composed (or adapted) for the concert hall include ''The Invitation Waltz'' (1950), the ''Smokey Mountains Concerto'' (1950) and ''The Isle of Apples'' (1965).<ref name=grove/>
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