North England and Wales

Handel stayed at the Golden Falcon in 1741, awaiting the crossing to Ireland for the FP of The Messiah in Dublin. The musician and writer Charles Burney, then aged 15, was a witness of Handel’s visit.

The composer William Lawes served as royal army officer during the siege of Chester in 1645 and was killed.

Mendelssohn (1829) and Liszt (1840) stayed in the Royal Hotel, now the Grosvenor Hotel.

The composer Cyril Scott (1879-1970) was born in Oxton, Cheshire (now belonging to Birkenhead). In 2019 two plaques were unveiled in this town, one at The Laurels (corner of Kylemore Road and Village Road), another one at 1 Rich View. One of these addresses is supposed to be Scott’s birthplace. His later address in Liverpool, 129 Cunning Street, cannot be located.

Second plaque refering to Cyril Scott’s birthplace, probably the more correct one.

Low Courts and Concert Room with 480 seats, built in 1856. The venue for chamber music,

The Philharmonic Hall with 1700 seats was opened in 1939 and is the home of the Royal Liverpool PO. In the previous hall (1849-1933) Max Bruch was the conductor between 1880 and 1883. Sibelius appeared there in 1905 and 1912, Rakhmaninov in 1911 and 1914.

Guests of the Adelphi Hotel include Sousa (1904) and Puccini (1911).

On the site of the former Theatre Royal is a Liszt plaque, memorizing his appearance in 1840.

Museum devoted to the history of The Beatles.
The paternal home of John Lennon is at 251 Menlove Avenue; the birthplace of Paul McCartney is at 20 Forthlin Road. Both houses can be visited.

This museum about the famous pop group was inaugurated in 2018 in a former warehouse..

Large collection of memorabilia, stage outfits, instruments etc. of the British Rock and Pop scene from 1945 until the present time. Established in London Greenwich in 2009 and moved to Liverpool in 2014.

The Free Trade Hall, built in 1853/56, was the historical concert hall and home of the Hallé Orchestra; The Italian pianist and composer Busoni appeared here eight times between 1899 and 1922. Other celebrities include Sibelius, Rakhmaninov, R. Strauss and Hindemith. The building was damaged in 1942 and restored in 1951, but had its doors closed in 1996 to become a Radisson hotel called ‘The Edwardian Manchester’.

A new concert hall with 2400 seats was opened in 1996. It rests on a bed of 280 springs to reduce external noise and has a 4 manual organ by Marcussen. Home of the Hallé Orchestra and the B.B.C. PO.

In the same street, on Barbirolli Square, is a monument by Brian Howard of the legendary conductor John Barbirolli (1899-1970).

The theatre was built in 1912 and has 1920 seats. Between 1979 and 1984 is was a bingo hall. Musicals form the predominant part of the repertoire.

The Victorian Gothic building from 1877 has a Great Hall with an organ by the famous French maker Cavaillé-Coll from 1877, extended in 1893; IV/p/61. Modifications took place in the 20h century but a restoration by Nicholson and Flentrop is foreseen in 2023.

This Conservatoire was established by Charles Hallé and opened in 1893; in 1973 it fused with the Northern School of Music. The first director, Hallé, was succeeded by Adolf Brodsky. The Institute also houses the Watson and Chapman collections of instruments, together c 300 European and Non-European pieces.

The great mezzo-soprano singer Maria Malibran died in this hotel during the Manchester Festival of September 1836, aged 28; a riding accident in the preceding summer proved fatal. She was temporarily buried in the cathedral but her present grave is in Brussels.

House of Sir Charles Hallé (1819-1895), born in Germany as Carl Halle and founder of the Hallé Orchestra.

Birthplace of the composer William Walton (1902-1983). He spent here the first ten years of his life and was chorister in the church where his father was the organist.

Birthplace of the composer John Ireland (1879-1962).

House of the great Austrian conductor Hans Richter (1843-1916) from 1897 until 1911, when he conducted the Hallé Orchestra. Béla Bartók stayed with him for a week in 1904.

House of the Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky (1851-1929) from 1907 until his death; he was the director of the College of Music in Manchester.

The composer Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016) was born in Salford-Langworthy and lived during his early years at four addresses in Salford and Swinton. This one could be traced.

Birthplace of the great contralto singer Kathleen Ferrier (1912-1953). Nearby, at the corner of Higher Walton Road and Shop Lane, a memorial garden was devoted to her in 1993.

Birthplace of the composer Harrison Birtwistle (1934-2022), the bakery and confectionary of his father. He was registered as ‘Harry’ but choose his mother’s maiden name as his first name.

The composer Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971) was born in Deardengate House in Haslingden, which was demolished; the family moved in 1908 to Sykesite House.

Birthplace of the composer Frederick Delius (1862-1934). He was of German descent, lived in the USA (1884-86), studied in Leipzig and resided in France for the rest of his life. Nevertheless his musical output remained through and through English.

Next to his birthplace is a ‘Delius Pub’, at the Exchange Square is another Delius plaque.

Leeds has a vivacious musical life since the 1720s. There is a bi-annual festival since 1874. The Town Hall (1858) presented numerous world premières of works by Dvořák, Stanford, Sullivan, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Holst and Walton (Belshazzar’s Feast, 1931).

The Grand Theatre, built in 1878, is the home of the English National Opera North, established in 1977. It has 1660 seats.

Beautiful house of Frederick Spark, the secretary of Leeds Music Festival, who was visited by Dvořák, Stanford, Sullivan, Elgar, Fauré and Humperdinck. Sullivan stayed nearby in the Judge Lodgings, Hyde Terrace.

Birthplace of the short living William Baines (1899-1922), a composer of orchestral, chamber and piano works, whose frail health prevented the full development of his apparently great talent.

House of De. Charles Buck, a close friend of Edward Elgar. During a stay in 1888, Elgar composed Love Greeting, which would become famous as Salut d’Amour. This attractive salon piece was his first published work.

The composer Harold Finzi (1901-1956) lived here from 1914 until 1922.

House of the composer Ernest Bristow Farrar (1885-1918), the first teacher of Finzi. He was organist of the Christ Church and died on the battlefield in France.

One of the famous stained glass windows deserves a place in this web site. The ‘Bell founders Window’ was donated by Richard Tunnoc, a rich goldsmith and bell founder in the beginning of the 14^th century; two panels represent the making of bells, in between the gift is being presented. Tunnoc died in 1330 and was buried in the church.

In another grave, the church musician John Thorne (c1519-1573) was interred. He became organist in 1542 and choir master in 1552. From his compositions, highly praised by contemporaries, unfortunately very little has survived.

On 24 July 1829 Mendelssohn passed Durham and sketched a distant view on the cathedral; it shows his irrefutable talent for drawing.

Plaque of the composer Charles Avison (1709-1770), who was born in Newcastle and lived in Rosemary Lane. Avison is best known by his Concerti Grossi, skilful arrangements of Esercizi (or ‘Sonatas’) by Domenico Scarlatti. His essay on musical expression from 1752 is full of strong opinions.

Grave of Charles Avison.

Spectacular modern venue for concerts and centre of musical education, opened in 2004 after a design by Foster and Partners. Two concert halls (1700 and 450 seats). Home of the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

The museum was established in 1987. Collection of Bagpipes, notably Northumberland small pipes and Border pipes, printed music, manuscripts and documents.

The musical qualities of the rare Hornfels slate from the mountains of Skiddaw, Lake District, were discovered in the 18^th century. The stone mason Joseph Richardson made a lithophone out of 61 Hornfels rocks, with which he toured in Britain and Europe – he also appeared before Queen Victoria. The instrument can be seen and played here.

The composer Peter Warlock stayed at his mother’s house from 1921 until 1924 and composed the song cycles The Curlew and Lilligay. Bartók visited them in March 1923, after having given a recital at Aberystwyth University. Also Delius was a guest here.

Birthplace of the composer and teacher Joseph Parry (1841-1903 – not to be confused with Hubert Parry – who wrote the first Welsh opera, Blodwen, and various other works on Welsh subjects. He is the best known Welsh composer.

Culture Centre, opened in 2009. Home of the Welsh National Opera and Dance Company and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The large hall has 2500 seats, the Hoodnot hall 350 seats.

Among the musical instruments is a cabinet organ, built by John Snetzer in 1773 (modified); the case by Robert Adam kept its original state and contains a Handel portrait. The instrument was made for the London house of the Welsh patron of the arts and Handel fan, Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 20 St James Place. It was moved to the family’s Welsh residence in 1863 and finally landed here in 1995.

Instructive open air museum about the historical lifestyle and culture of the Welsh people, founded in 1946 as Folk Museum and refurbished in 2017. Attention also is paid to music, folklore and instruments.

Birthplace of the actor, dramatist and composer Ivor Novello (1893-1951). The family later lived at 11 Cathedral Road.

Grave of the composer Joseph Parry (> 8811).

In August 1898 Gabriel Fauré was a guest of George Campbell Swinton and his wife Elizabeth (Elsie) Swinton. The latter had a short career as singer, which brought her in contact with Fauré and later with Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Szymanowski. Fauré composed his 7^th Nocturne in Llandough Casle.

Residence of the Spanish soprano singer Adelina Patti (1843-1919) from 1878 until her death. The house was built in the 1840s in neo-gothic style and Patti had a winter garden added which now is called Patti Pavilion.

The composer Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) was born in St Davids as the son of a vicar-choral and organist of this cathedral. It is not unlikely that the family lived in the Close and that the young Thomas was a chorister here.

House of the eccentric and passionate Wagnerite George Powell (1842-1882). He visited Bayreuth and met the composer. Probably he spoke about the medieval wooden drinking vessel which was in the possession of his family and was supposed to be the Holy Grail, but the suggestion that Wagner should have visited Nanteos in 1855 and was inspired here to write Parsifal can be repudiated. Anyhow, the pop musician Adrian Wagner (1952-2018), a great-grandson of the composer, composed music to this story. And the present luxury hotel in the 18^th century Nanteos Mansion has a ‘Wagner Suite’ at its disposal.

Edward Elgar stayed here in 1901. During a walk, he picked up a song from a distant group of singers and used the melody as the second theme of Introduction and Allegro for Strings. A slate monument commemorates it.

Elgar visited his friend Alfred Rodewald in 1901 and 1903. His oratorio The Apostles was written here.

Monument from 1850 of the 6^th century bard Taliesin who served the kings of Rheged. Numerous legends have been woven around this primordial Celtic singer-songwriter. For more information see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/taliesin

An Eisteddfod is a competitive public festival of Welsh poetry, songs, choral singing and harp playing; the tradition goes back to the 18^th century. Mendelssohn was present here in August 1829 but was not amused: ‘No national music for me!’ Since 1880, National Eisteddfods were yearly held, each time in a different town. The ‘Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’ was established in 1947 as an annual summer event, no longer limited to Welsh folklore; among the performers were the tenor Luciano Pavarotti and the Russian choir of the Red Army.

Mendelssohn enjoyed his stay with the John Taylor family from 28.VIII to 4.IX 1829. He composed a part of his String Quartet op. 12, made long walks in the neighbourhood and was truly fond of the three Taylor daughters, to whom he dedicated the Three Fantasies op. 16.