Voting Station

Charles Villiers Stanford

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Composer

The Resume

    (September 30, 1852-March 29, 1924)
    Born in Dublin, Ireland
    Composed many operas, symphonies, concertos, Irish rhapsodies, choral works, chamber music pieces, piano pieces, and organ pieces
    Composed the operas 'The Veiled Prophet of Khorasan' (1881), 'Savonarola' (1884), 'The Canterbury Pilgrims' (1884), 'Shamus O'Brien, Op. 61' (1896), 'Christopher Patch, the Barber of Bath, Op. 69', 'Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 76a' (1901), 'The Critic, or An Opera Rehearsed, Op. 144' (1916), and 'The Traveling Companion, Op. 146' (1925)
    Symphonies include 'Elegiac' (1882), 'Irish, Op. 28' (1887), 'L'Allegro ed il Pensieroso' (1894), and 'In Memoriam G. F. Watts' (1905)
    Co-founded the Royal College of Music (1882)
    Conducted the London Bach Choir (1885-1902)
    Conducted the Leeds Triennial Festival orchestra (1901-1910)
    Knighted (1902)
    Elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin

Why he might be annoying:

    His father disapproved of his marriage to Jane Anna Maria Wetton. (April 1878)
    He was described as a very stern teacher with no tolerance for 'slovenliness' and 'vulgarity'.
    He was wary of modernism, preferring to teach his students in classical traditions.
    Ironically, his heavy-handed teaching style prompted many of his students to adopt modernist leanings, much to his dismay.
    None of his operas have endured in the general repertory.
    He often bickered with his fellow composers.
    The strong influence of Johannes Brahms caused many to criticize him as a German imitator.
    For a long time until the past two decades, he was remembered more for teaching the next generation of composers than for his own compositions.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He and fellow composers Hubert Parry and Alexander Mackenzie were regarded by some critics as responsible for ushering in a musical renaissance in the British Isles.
    He had written a lot of musical compositions by the time he started attending Cambridge, including vocal music and orchestral works.
    He helped catapult the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) to fame, resulting in many international music stars performing with it.
    He was also partly responsible for the CUMS's admission of women by co-founding the mixed choir Amateur Vocal Guild and merging it with the CUMS. (February 1872)
    Thanks to his teaching style, some of his students became famous composers in their own right, such as Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
    Many of his choral works remain popularly used during Anglican services even when his other compositions were neglected.
    In contrast to criticisms against him for being unoriginal, he incorporated elements from Irish folk music to create his own original style.
    Many of his former students were injured or killed during World War I.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 101 Votes: 53.47% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 19 Votes: 63.16% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying