Elman Poole Concert: Egon Wellesz and other Emigrés in 1930s Britain

Portrait of Egon Wellesz © Lincoln College

Oakeshott Room, Lincoln College, Oxford

Ensemble ÉMIGRÉ

Norbert Meyn, tenor, Christopher Gould, piano and Ingrid Pearson, clarinet

Egon Wellesz was one of the most renowned composers of ballet, opera and chamber music in Austria up to the 1930s, when he had to emigrate to Britain. He established himself also as a musicologist, taking up a position at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he would remain as a Fellow for the rest of his life. His influence in British musicology cannot be overestimated and is widely acknowledged, while interest in his compositions has been growing steadily in recent years. This concert will feature some of his works, written before and after his emigration, alongside those of fellow emigrées Ferdinand Rauter, Karl Rankl, Hans Gál and Robert Kahn, who all have recently featured in the research and performance project ‘Singing a Song in a Foreign Land’ at the Royal College of Music. The concert will be followed by a short panel discussion and an exhibition of documents from the Lincoln College archive.

5.15pm

The concert will be followed by a wine reception with a small exposition of objects and documents about Egon Wellesz from the archive of Lincoln College.