For Beecham's grandfather, see Thomas Beecham (chemist).
Beecham rehearsing in 1948
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 1879 – 8 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras. From the early 20th century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to the BBC, was Britain's first international conductor.
Born to a rich industrial family, Beecham began his career as a conductor in 1899. He used his access to the family fortune to finance opera from the 1910s until the start of the Second World War, staging seasons at Covent Garden, Drury Lane and His Majesty's Theatre with international stars, his own orchestra and a wide repertoire. Among the works he introduced to England were Richard Strauss's Elektra, Salome and Der Rosenkavalier and three operas by Frederick Delius.
Together with his younger colleague Malcolm Sargent, Beecham founded the London Philharmonic, and he conducted its first performance at the Queen's Hall in 1932. In the 1940s he worked for three years in the United States, where he was music director of the Seattle Symphony and conducted at the Metropolitan Opera. After his return to Britain, he founded the Royal Philharmonic in 1946 and conducted it until his death in 1961.
Beecham's repertoire was eclectic, sometimes favouring lesser-known composers over famous ones. His specialities included composers whose works were neglected in Britain before he became their advocate, such as Delius and Berlioz. Other composers with whose music he was frequently associated were Haydn, Schubert, Sibelius and the composer he revered above all others, Mozart.
Sir ThomasBeecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 1879 – 8 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London...
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Founded by ThomasBeecham who opened the first...
John Beecham (1787–1856), English Wesleyan writer Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet (1848–1916), eldest son of ThomasBeecham the chemist ThomasBeecham (1879–1961)...
British symphony orchestra based in London. The RPO was established by ThomasBeecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording...
Far East. In 1848, ThomasBeecham launched his Beecham's Pills laxative in England, giving birth to the Beecham Group. In 1859, Beecham opened its first...
long relationships with the novelist George Moore and the conductor ThomasBeecham, and was the muse of the former and a champion of and fund-raiser for...
symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir ThomasBeecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony...
Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet (8 June 1848 – 23 October 1916) was a British businessman. Beecham was the eldest son of ThomasBeecham and Jane Evans...
from Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel Suite. In 1949, Sir ThomasBeecham made a series of recordings in Columbia Records' 30th Street Studios...
rodeo. Important modern impresari in the traditional sense include ThomasBeecham, Rudolf Bing, David C. Pitman, Sergei Diaghilev, Richard D'Oyly Carte...
British Council and at the Old Vic Theatre, 1980 Beecham, by Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin, as ThomasBeecham, Apollo Theatre, London, 1980 The Homecoming...
Company SmithKline Beecham Smith, Kline & French Products People Litigation Canada v. GlaxoSmithKline Inc. Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. GlaxoSmithKline...
Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet, eldest son of ThomasBeecham, who had created a fortune with Beecham's Pills. Her uncle was the conductor Sir ThomasBeecham and...
of Fame Conductors Claudio Abbado John Barbirolli Daniel Barenboim ThomasBeecham Leonard Bernstein Karl Böhm Pierre Boulez Adrian Boult Benjamin Britten...
out by the Beecham Group in 1955. In 1989, Beecham and SmithKline Beckman merged to form SmithKline Beecham, and in 2000, SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoWellcome...
assigned to Beecham Research Laboratories Ltd GB patent 1241844, Long AA, Nayler JH, "Penicillins", published 1971-08-04, assigned to Beecham Group LTD ...
1930s, and 1940s. Cole Porter, Gian Carlo Menotti, Lily Pons, Sir ThomasBeecham, and other celebrities were counted among her fans. Enrico Caruso reportedly...
Alan (1979). Sir ThomasBeecham – A Centenary Tribute. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 035404205X. Lucas, John (2008). ThomasBeecham – An Obsession...
in the cricketing and musical worlds, with among others Newman, Sir ThomasBeecham and Sir Donald Bradman. Cardus spent the Second World War years in Australia...
many years later. The first studio recording of the work, with Sir ThomasBeecham conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, was completed in 1938. Both of these...
Elsenhans Jesse Goodman Judy Lewent Urs Rohner Laurie Glimcher Other ThomasBeecham Silas M. Burroughs Mahlon Kline John K. Smith Henry Wellcome Andrew...
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