Rodewald Concert Society

The Rodewald Concert Society is an English members’ music society and registered charity based in Liverpool. It promotes chamber music and musical education in Merseyside, with a particular emphasis on presenting high-quality performances, widening access to concerts, supporting contemporary composition, and maintaining the musical legacy of Alfred Edward Rodewald. The society was established in 1911 as the Rodewald Concert Club in memory of Alfred Rodewald, a Liverpool cotton merchant, amateur conductor, public speaker, and advocate of accessible musical culture. Rodewald was especially associated with the Liverpool Orchestral Society and had a national reputation as a conductor despite working outside the professional musical establishment. He died in 1903 at the age of 41. His friends Ernest Bryson, Arthur Wormald Pollitt, and H. Ernest Roberts later concluded that a new orchestra would not be practical and instead proposed a chamber-music society bearing his name. The society’s inaugural meeting took place on 27 April 1911. Its initial concept combined informal chamber concerts with lectures, music education, the revival of older English repertory, and a social environment for people interested in music. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford became its first president, while composer and organist Ernest Bryson served as founding chairman. The first concert was given by the Rawdon-Briggs String Quartet at the former Carlton Restaurant on Eberle Street, Liverpool, on 16 October 1911. The organisation adopted its present name in 1916. During its early decades, the society relied on volunteer governance and local performers, including musicians connected with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. From the 1930s onward it expanded its programming to include internationally recognised string quartets, chamber ensembles, and soloists. Its artists have included the Léner, Prague, Griller, Hungarian, Amadeus, Camilleri, Janáček, Smetana, Melos, Borodin, Brodsky, Škampa, Belcea, and Pavel Haas quartets, as well as performers such as Harriet Cohen, Dennis Brain, Stephen Hough, Radu Lupu, Midori, Ian Bostridge, Paul Lewis, and Nikolai Demidenko. The society moved its concerts to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in 1944. The larger venue substantially increased attendance and enabled more ambitious programmes, while inexpensive student seats helped extend access to younger audiences. Musical education became an explicit part of the society’s constitutional objectives in 1955. Later initiatives included amateur ensemble Play Days with professional coaching and support for university-based musical projects. The organisation has periodically worked with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society and other educational and cultural institutions. It experienced serious financial difficulties in the 1970s and suspended activity in 1992 because of insufficient funds. It was relaunched in 1999 after a successful Arts Council England application supported contemporary-music concerts, including work by Ensemble 10/10. The society subsequently promoted programmes with the Endellion Quartet, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Liverpool Hope University, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society. New music has remained an important part of its work. The society established the Sounds Creative fundraising scheme and supported commissions by Judith Weir, Hugh Wood, John McCabe, Emily Howard, Ian Stephens, and Timothy Jackson, among others. It also participated in experimental projects involving electronics and university composers. The society’s archive was catalogued through a Heritage Lottery Fund-supported project undertaken with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society and deposited at Liverpool Record Office. A blue plaque commemorating Rodewald was unveiled in Liverpool in 2008. The society continues to represent a locally rooted, volunteer-led model of chamber-music promotion.

Alfred Edward Rodewald was a Liverpool cotton merchant and amateur conductor who became known for leading the Liverpool Orchestral Society and for speaking publicly about music. He supported both modern composition and broader public access to musical performance. After his death on 9 November 1903, a planned concert was completed under the direction of Hans Richter and became a memorial event. Tributes from figures including Ernest Newman, Granville Bantock, and Richter emphasised Rodewald’s contribution to Liverpool’s musical life. In 1911, Rodewald’s friends Ernest Bryson, Arthur Wormald Pollitt, and H. Ernest Roberts decided to create a chamber-music organisation in his memory. The founders believed that rebuilding an orchestra was impractical after the short life of the Liverpool Orchestral Society, but that Liverpool needed a club where musical people could meet and hear chamber repertory. An inaugural meeting on 27 April established the Rodewald Concert Club. Its proposed activities included string quartets, other chamber music, lectures, and revivals of older English madrigals. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford agreed to support the project and became its first president. The first concert took place on 16 October 1911, performed by the Rawdon-Briggs String Quartet at the former Carlton Restaurant on Eberle Street. The society was initially run by a committee of volunteers. Local musicians, including principals of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, supplied much of the early performance activity. In 1916 the organisation became the Rodewald Concert Society, and concert administration was probably taken over around that time by the Liverpool music retailer and publisher Rushworth and Dreaper. A Patrons’ Fund was created in 1928. After Stanford died in 1924, the society invited Edward Elgar to become president. Elgar declined, arguing that the organisation’s chamber-music focus did not fulfil what he believed was Rodewald’s broader orchestral ideal. Ernest Bryson subsequently accepted the presidency. The Liverpool Music Society merged with the Rodewald organisation in 1936, and revised rules were adopted in 1938. The move to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in 1944 was a major operational turning point. Audience capacity increased substantially, and inexpensive student seating was introduced. Larger audiences supported more ambitious programming in later years. The society’s constitutional language was revised in 1955 to identify musical culture and musical education as central objectives. It became a registered charity in 1964. When Rushworth and Dreaper reduced their operations in 1968, concert management passed to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society. The relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society became particularly important after the Rodewald society encountered severe financial problems in 1976. Constitutional changes gave the Philharmonic organisation a role in appointing officers and committee members. A new constitution in 1983 restored some independence while retaining administrative links. In 1992, activities were suspended because of a lack of funds, during a period when the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society was also experiencing financial difficulty. The society began to recover in the late 1990s. Nicholas Cox and Hilary Browning negotiated an Arts Council England application for contemporary-music concerts performed by Ensemble 10/10. The grant enabled activity to resume under the Rodewald name. An extraordinary general meeting on 25 March 1999 formally relaunched the society, followed by concerts associated with the Endellion Quartet. During the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons, it expanded its programme with sponsorship and partnerships involving Rensburg’s, the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Liverpool Hope University, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society. In 2003, the Rodewald society and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society agreed to jointly promote chamber concerts, with the former contributing to artists’ fees. A Heritage Lottery Fund project beginning in 2005 supported the professional cataloguing of the two organisations’ archives at Liverpool Record Office. The same year, the Rodewald society created the Sounds Creative fundraising scheme to support new chamber commissions. In 2008, a blue plaque commemorating Rodewald was unveiled in Huskisson Street, Liverpool. Education has been present since the organisation’s founding. Its second event was a lecture-recital by baritone Harry Plunket Greene, and the founders intended lectures to accompany concerts. Student seating introduced in 1944 became the most significant early access initiative. Later work included Play Days for amateur ensembles receiving professional tuition and financial support for University of Liverpool projects. The society has also supported new music through commissions and experimental performances, including works connected with the 2008 European Capital of Culture year, its centenary in 2012, and later university and regional projects.

• 2008

  Rodewald commemorative plaque unveiled

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  A blue plaque commemorating Alfred Rodewald was unveiled in Huskisson Street, Liverpool.

• 2005

  Sounds Creative established

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society introduced a fundraising scheme intended to support new chamber-music commissions.

• 1999

  Society relaunched

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  An extraordinary general meeting relaunched the society after grant-backed contemporary-music activity had resumed.

• 1992

  Activities suspended

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Concert activity stopped temporarily because of insufficient funds.

• 1964

  Registered as a charity

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society obtained registered charity status under number 236406.

• 1944

  Move to Philharmonic Hall

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Concerts moved to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, increasing audience capacity and enabling low-cost student seating.

• 1936

  Liverpool Music Society amalgamation

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Liverpool Music Society merged with the Rodewald Concert Society.

• 1916

  Adoption of the current name

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Rodewald Concert Club became the Rodewald Concert Society.

• 1911

  Rodewald Concert Club founded

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Ernest Bryson, Arthur Wormald Pollitt, and H. Ernest Roberts established the organisation as a volunteer-led chamber-music club.

• 1911

  First concert

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Rawdon-Briggs String Quartet gave the inaugural concert on 16 October at the former Carlton Restaurant in Liverpool.

• 1903

  Death of Alfred Rodewald

  [1]Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Alfred Edward Rodewald died in Liverpool, prompting memorial activity and eventually the creation of a chamber-music society in his name.

A non-commercial, Liverpool-based cultural organisation focused on chamber music, musical education, audience access, and support for new composition.

• Concert programming · 1911

  Chamber concert series

  The society’s central activity is the promotion of chamber concerts in Liverpool and the wider Merseyside area. Programming has included string quartets, piano and instrumental ensembles, vocal recitals, and collaborations with local orchestral and educational organisations. The series has combined local performers with internationally prominent ensembles and soloists.

• Education · 1911

  Musical education

  Education has accompanied the society’s performance work since its first years, when lectures and lecture-recitals were part of the proposed programme. Later activities included inexpensive student seating, amateur ensemble Play Days with professional tuition, and financial support for university music projects.

• New music · 1998

  Contemporary commissions

  Through grants, partnerships, and the Sounds Creative fundraising scheme, the society has commissioned and presented new chamber works. Named composers include Judith Weir, Hugh Wood, John McCabe, Emily Howard, Ian Stephens, and Timothy Jackson.

• 2005Sounds Creative

  Merseyside · United Kingdom

  A fundraising initiative created to support the commissioning and performance of new chamber music.

  Outcome. The scheme supported later commissions, including works associated with the society’s centenary and regional musical projects.

  Source

• 1999

  Relaunch through contemporary musicStrategy

  Background

  The society had suspended activity in 1992 because of financial constraints.

  Action taken

  It used an Arts Council England grant to support contemporary-music concerts, including performances by Ensemble 10/10.

  Aftermath

  The organisation resumed concert promotion and rebuilt its programme through partnerships and sponsorship.

  Source

• 1944

  Move concerts to Liverpool Philharmonic HallStrategy

  Background

  The society sought greater audience capacity and more ambitious programming.

  Action taken

  Concerts were transferred to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and inexpensive student seats were introduced.

  Aftermath

  Audience size increased substantially and future programmes could be expanded.

  Source

• 1911

  Choose chamber music over rebuilding an orchestraStrategy

  Background

  The founders believed that recreating an orchestra after the decline of the Liverpool Orchestral Society was impractical.

  Action taken

  They formed a chamber-music society offering concerts, lectures, and musical-social activities.

  Aftermath

  The decision defined the society’s long-term artistic identity.

  Source

1. 1Rodewald Concert Societyen.wikipedia.org