Hugo Rignold
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Hugo Rignold (1905 – 1976) was an English conductor and violinist.
Born in Kingston upon Thames, England, he was taken to Canada when his parents emigrated to Winnipeg in 1910,[1] but returned to England as a young man, playing with the jazz and dance bands of the day, including Ambrose and Jack Hylton's orchestras with whom he made many recordings, a good number of which have been reissued on modern CDs. Other classical musicians such as Leon and Sidonie Goossens, did likewise, but these early jazz and dance records caused some snobbish condescension towards Rignold later in his career (as later happened to André Previn).
1920s recordings in which Rignold played include Hylton's 'Oh, Lady Be Good' (George Gershwin) recorded on 29 March 1926, and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' (Irving Berlin) recorded on 17 August 1926, both for HMV at the company's studios in Hayes, Middlesex. Later, with Hylton as his mentor, he founded and led his own band, which was playing up to the beginning of the Second World War.
While serving in the Royal Air Force in 1944, Rignold got the chance to conduct the Palestine Orchestra (predecessor of the Israel Philharmonic) and thereafter his career remained within the classical sphere. He directed the Liverpool Philharmonic (not then 'Royal') in the 1940s and 50s, succeeding the popular Malcolm Sargent. The Penguin book 'Music, 1951'[2] gives a snapshot of one of Rignold’s Liverpool Philharmonic seasons: of the concerts in 1949/50, Rignold conducted 34, with guest conductors, including Sargent, Kubelik, Kodály, Boult and Beecham a total of 19. Rignold, the writer noted, maintained a fair balance between accepted modern and classical works and introduced new works, including Prokofiev’s suite from Cinderella and works by Martinu, Moeran and Gordon Jacob.
In 1960 Rignold took on the conductorship of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra when Andrzej Panufnik unexpectedly resigned.
Rignold made a number of classical recordings, but did not have a long-term contract with any of the record companies with the consequence that his recorded repertory was somewhat haphazard – accompanying concertos or even operatic selections (for artists such as Maggie Teyte) and ballet music. Most of his records were made in the mono era, and some have been reissued on CD.
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[edit] Notes
- ^ See Census of Canada, 1911, for Bruce Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- ^ An annual review edited by Ralph Hill, and subsequently by Alec Robertson, published in Penguin’s Pelican series.
| Preceded by Malcolm Sargent |
Principal Conductors, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 1948–1955 |
Succeeded by John Pritchard and Efrem Kurtz |
| Preceded by Andrzej Panufnik |
Principal Conductors and Music Directors, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 1960–1969 |
Succeeded by Louis Frémaux |
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