Publication - Arts Council England

Printed at The Baynard Press, Chryssell Road, London, S .W .9 .
Designed by Germano Facetti .
Diagrams by W. E . Williams .
A-(Cck-t 4 1 r,--
c p -~
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
ARTS COUNCI L
OF GREAT BRITAI N
REFERENCE ONL Y
DO NOT REMOVE
FROM THE LIBRARY
17th ANNUAL REPOR T
1961-1962
4 St . James's Square, London, S . T.1
Contents
A Brighter Prospect
21 Appointments, Retirements and Honour s
25 The National Theatre and South Bank Development s
page 3
28 Dram a
38 Musi c
47 Opera and Balle t
55 Art
60 Poetry
64 Arts Festivals : Arts Associations, Centres and Club s
67 Scotland
81 Wale s
89 Notes on the Account s
Appendice s
The medallion used on the cover is taken from the Corporate Seal of the Arts
Council designed by Reynolds Stone, C .B .E ., R .D .I., and engraved by George
Friend.
A Brighter Prospec t
I
The title chosen for the Arts Council's seventeenth Annual Repor t
is more encouraging than some of those used in recent years, such a s
`Art in the Red ' and ` The Struggle for Survival '. There are several
reasons for this expression of qualified optimism . One is that, despite th e
wintry economic climate, the Government has increased its subventio n
to the Arts Council during the year 1962/3 by £445,000 above that of th e
previous year . For this beneficence, and indeed for his attitude to th e
arts as a whole, we are much indebted to Mr . Selwyn Lloyd . Of this
additional sum more than one-third has been distributed among the
hard-pressed repertory theatres, a timely action which has already had
the effect of persuading many Local Authorities to follow suit . A furthe r
one-third of the extra money is to be applied to the needs of opera and
ballet, and the remainder has enabled the Arts Council to give increased
support to many other valuable enterprises . There are other encouragin g
developments . The Government and the L .C .C. are joining forces to
A protol pe
of Patronage
Cau .sr ror
Concerzz
build a National Theatre and a new home for Sadler's Wells on the Sout h
Bank ; the L .C .C . is completing and improving the Royal Festival Hall ,
building a smaller concert hall, and also a spacious art gallery to whic h
the Arts Council will bring some of its major exhibitions of painting an d
sculpture . Although theatres continue to close, others are being built ,
renovated or bought up by Local Authorities . Torquay and Chicheste r
have opened new theatres . Croydon's is due to be finished this autumn ,
work has begun on Guildfor d 's, and Nottingham's should be ready a yea r
from now . The municipalities of Sunderland, Hull and Darlington have
each acquired theatres that were up for sale and propose to keep the m
running on a civic basis .
Another welcome action in which Local Authorities are deepl y
involved is the creation of the North Eastern Association for the Arts ,
a prototype of patronage which the Arts Council has been recommendin g
for some time . In this federation, now firmly on its feet, there ar e
brought together several municipalities, and such other regional interests
as Universities, television, amateur societies, voluntary bodies and adul t
education . The functions of the Association include those of acting as a
pressure group to secure a fuller and more balanced provision of the art s
in North East England, of raising funds to contribute to this expansion ,
and of sponsoring such major projects as might include a regional tourin g
theatre company and a full-scale regional orchestra . The primary
responsibility for nourishing the arts should be a local one, and, for th e
first time, this responsibility is being expressed and organised on a
comprehensive scale. Even though such bodies will prove a rod for th e
Arts Council' s back we welcome this Association unequivocally and hop e
that its example will be followed in many other regions . Signs of a
similar endeavour are reported in three other localities .
There are at present being planned two major enterprises which ar e
likely to have a resounding effect when they materialise . One is th e
Shakespeare Festival of 1964, designed to commemorate his 400t h
birthday on a national and international scale ; the other is the first
Commonwealth Festival of the Arts, to be celebrated simultaneously i n
London, Glasgow, Liverpool and Cardi ff during several weeks of 1965, and
animated by the purpose of displaying the range and quality of artisti c
achievement in our Dominions and Colonies . Nothing on the scale of
these operations has been attempted since the Festival of Britain, 1951 .
All these are matters of satisfaction, and they justify the assertio n
that the outlook for the arts is brighter than it has recently been . But
` brighter' does not mean ` bright' , and many anxieties continue . A young
body like the enterprising and avant-garde Western Theatre Ballet is i n
jeopardy, mainly because the Local Authorities of the western countie s
fail to support an artistic ensemble of which they ought to be proud .
A similar struggle faces the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra, a small bu t
excellent group which aspires to become a full-size orchestra . West o f
the Pennines there are two celebrated and successful permanent symphony orchestras . East of the Pennines there is none, and the Northern
Sinfonia could be the answer to this deficiency . But the build-up will b e
a long and costly operation and, again, one which merits a greate r
volume of local subsidy than is yet available .
In wider fields there are other causes of disquiet . Musicians in th e
provinces are poorly paid and the orchestras wish to introduce highe r
scales . Current budgets of the Arts Council and Local Authorities allo w
nothing for such a contingency, and the situation on this particular fron t
has now become critical . Although its Exchequer grant has multiplie d
fourfold in the last dozen years the Arts Council has no more tha n
nominal reserves to cope with such eventualities, or to give timel y
initial aid to new ventures in the arts, so that by the time it can affor d
to help a new aspirant the unfortunate claimant is liable to be on it s
last legs even if it is still on its feet . To this chronic lack of means t o
underwrite new and desirable ventures there must be added the incessan t
cost of inflation to all the bodies already on the Council ' s books . The
agreeable fact that the Arts Council has four times as much money fro m
the Government as it had in 1951 is offset by the fact that its earl y
budgets were too small for the activities it was trying to sustain . A scale
of patronage that was wrong from the start is not easily brought to a
proper level, and the continuing insecurity of several of the Arts Council' s
major beneficiaries has been masked for years by their mounting over drafts .
II
But, although it is still clouded by problems not yet resolved, the
prospect for the arts is distinctly better than it has been for many years ,
and very much better than it was before the Arts Council was constituted by Royal Charter in 1946. A retrospective summary of the Art s
Council' s development is appropriate at this point when, firmly established and well-experienced, it is facing some new problems o f
patronage . In all but name the Arts Council began in 1939, on th e
outbreak of war, when the Council for the Encouragement of Music an d
the Arts (CEMA) was set up . CEMA itself was, in turn, a tributary whic h
sprang from a source discovered in 1935 . In that year there began a n
experiment somewhat ambitiously, and perhaps portentously, calle d
`Art for the People' . It was conceived by the present writer and carrie d
out by the British Institute of Adult Education . The notion behind it
In retrospect
C:1 . 11Ain action
1
was that most people seldom see a good picture, for art galleries ar e
scarce, and good art galleries very rare indeed . There are, on the other
hand, a great number of pictures in private possession which migh t
be coaxed out of the hands of their owners for a few months and circulate d
among small towns and rural areas . In 1935 separate exhibitions were
assembled and shown at Swindon, Barnsley and Silver End (an Esse x
village) . The entire operation cost about £300, of which one-third wa s
provided by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, and most of the rest b y
individual supporters. The pictures, all French and English of the las t
fifty years, were lent by private owners, or by the Contemporary Ar t
Society and the Courtauld Institute . The enterprise thrived ; it attracte d
very large attendances and provoked wide discussion among them .
The project was expanded in successive years, and was fortified b y
small funds from some Local Authorities, and particularly by subsidie s
secured by Dr . Thomas Jones, C .H ., then Secretary of the Pilgrim Trust .
He was a resourceful as well as a dedicated man, this Nestor from the
Rhymney Valley, and in locating money to endow good works he had the
uncanny art of the water-diviner . When war broke out in 1939 he wa s
asked by Lord de la Warr, then Minister of Education, to discuss th e
possibilities of expanding ` Art for the People' as a morale-raiser . At the
decisive meeting they were joined by Lord Macmillan, Minister o f
Information and Chairman of the Pilgrim Trust, and at noon on Decembe r
14th, 1939, CEMA came to life with a grant of £25,000 from the Pilgri m
Trust. Its Chairman was Lord Macmillan ; its other founder-members
were Dr . Thomas Jones, Sir Walford Davies (a pioneer of musica l
appreciation by wireless), Sir Kenneth Clark, and myself . *
CEMA 's first method of carrying out its mission was to finance th e
expansion of those voluntary bodies already providing the arts . CEMA
was, then, to begin with, a patron of do-it-yourself activities in musi c
and drama, a sponsor of amateur exercises in play-acting and music making ; but it very soon began to enlarge its sphere of influence . Instead
of being simply a grant-aiding body assisting amateur societies it bega n
direct provision on its own account and, guided by Dr. Reginald Jacques ,
* As I am leaving the Arts Council in a little while, I may perhaps recal l
here, in my last Annual Report, how the opportunity was taken, at a
most inauspicious time, to transform a limited experiment into what ha s
by now become a strong and permanent instrument of patronage . And
as my own association with it all, in one capacity or another, has bee n
continuous for more than 27 years, I have good reason to remembe r
W.E .W .
with thankfulness the parable of the grain of mustard-seed .
moved into the professional field. It was persuaded by Sir Walfor d
Davies, most romantic of missionaries, to recruit ` Music Travellers ' :
professional singers and instrumentalists who went off on their own, lik e
medieval friars, and gave concerts, assisted by local talent, wherever the y
could raise an audience . It developed, under the direction of Sir Georg e
Dyson, a popular scheme of Factory Concerts, given by one or tw o
players in the lunchtime and midnight breaks . It took over from the
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, in 1943, the scheme for helpin g
orchestras such as the Halle and the Liverpool Philharmonic to visi t
towns like Grimsby and Luton which had never been able to accommodat e
or afford first-class symphony orchestras, and enabled these orchestra s
for the first time in their history to operate on a continuous and full-tim e
basis . Another variation was the provision of People ' s Concerts in areas
where the workers were heavily engaged in war-work, as on Tynesid e
and in the Midlands ; concerts which gave Kathleen Ferrier her earl y
opportunities and which brought such artists as Menuhin into contac t
with a new and receptive audience . There were concerts, too, of al l
sizes and types, in churches, hospitals, and even internment camps . Whe n
air-raids began, Air Raid Shelters and Rest Centres were included in thi s
complex network of provision . Music was employed as a relaxation for
harassed workers, a method of first-aid for bomb-shocked shelterers o r
convalescent patients . The scale of provision mounted rapidly, an d
before CEMA was a year old it was supplying 400 concerts a month .
A similar pattern developed in drama . For some time CEMA, unde r
the guidance of L . du Garde Peach, helped to develop amateur activities ,
either directly or through the recognised voluntary bodies . But again
it gradually moved into the professional field . Professional companie s
were raised and despatched on circuits which included many areas wher e
plays and players of quality had never been seen before . The Old Vic ,
driven from its London home, raised three companies to carry out extensive tours . Most of the performances were one-night stands, and man y
were given in town halls, Miners' Institutes and Factory Hostels. At one
time, in March, 1943, CEMA had sixteen of these mobile companies wor king under its auspices, as well as a batch of ballet and opera companie s
drawn from the Sadler 's Wells, Rambert and Jooss organisations .
In the field of visual art CEMA began by providing funds to expand
`Art for the People' . A considerable number of exhibitions was assembled
and circulated of paintings, prints and industrial design . In 1940 over
300,000 people visited exhibitions in eighty village and country townsand the total cost of the operation, despite free admission, was only £5,00 0
-mainly because, thanks to the generosity of private owners, no capita l
costs were involved . A team of expositors and interpreters went ou t
with many of the exhibitions and endeavoured to enlighten visitors about
--
'Art for the People '
expanded
This table is designed to show not only the grants made to the variou s
arts, but also the distribution of these grants between activities in
London and activities in the rest of Great Britain .
London (including Covent Garden £298,000, Sadler's Wells £1 :
£448,000
I Opera
I
2 Drama
Londo n
1
1
~=1=
00
3 ,'Music
4 Ballet
5 Administration
6 Visual Art
7 Festivals
Poetry
Art Centres
and Clubs
The Rest
2220,000
London
£27,000
London
£164,000
London
£50,000
The Res t
E66,000
1
London , ,
£32,000
.~ o
w
M
The Res t
993,00 0
1
I
Analysis of
Arts Council Expenditure 1961/6 2
2, Li the year 1962;63 them- figures will become £116 .000 .rnkl !225 .00 0
respectively as a result of the. Chancellor's inerea-41 uhventior i
earmarked for repertory theatres .
3. Of the Arts Council £10,700 grant to the London Philharn ► o ►n r
Orchestra £10,000 was spent on concerts outside London .
4. One Company of the Royal Ballet played 27 weeks out of London ;
the. Rambert played 30 weeks ; and Western Theatre Ballet 32 weeks .
5. The. cost of central administration is divided equally between Londo n
and the provinces and the operational costs in Scotland and Wale s
are included in the second section of the diagram .
6. This includes the net cost to the Arts Council in 1961 '62 of it s
exhibitions which was only £68,000 . A further £66,000 was earned .
7. Arts Council subsidies to Arts Festivals in Great Britain amounte d
to £35,000, to Arts Centres and Clubs £9,500, and to Poetry £4,500.
The above figures are not, of course, the entire cost of provision . I n
1961 62 total hos-oflice receipts of Arts Council beneficiaries amounte d
to over £3~ million ; Local Authorities contributed E250,000 : Independen t
Television, the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Pilgrim Trust provide d
over £8 0 ,000 between them, apart from their grants to budies not i n
1' .
our hoops
• The coat of all production costs of Opera and Ballet are charge d
.holly to London.
,
the traditional problems of art . Some private owners lent their entire
collections ` for the duration', many others contributed pictures t o
individual exhibitions . The Royal Academy, the Tate Gallery, and th e
Official War Artists lent extensively to touring exhibitions . CEMA
itself began to build up a pool of pictures for touring-and bough t
everything at a flat rate of £20 a picture . When this collection wa s
shown in London at the National Gallery, in October, 1942, Mr . R . A .
Butler, then Minister of Education, predicted that CEMA would surviv e
the war and would become an instrument of collective patronage .
CEMA began as a voluntary effort financed by a £25,000 grant fro m
the Pilgrim Trust ; but within four months of its creation the Government ,
through the Ministry of Education, had undertaken to match thes e
private funds pound for pound up to £50,000 . By March of 1942 the
success of CEMA ' s mission was so clear, and its implications so insistent ,
that the Pilgrim Trust was able to withdraw-having given no less tha n
£62,500 to the experiment-and leave the future development an d
finance to the Ministry of Education . It was at this turning-point, too ,
that Lord Macmillan and Dr . Thomas Jones retired, and Lord Keynes
became Chairman of CEMA . Its programme expanded year by year ;
in 1944 CEMA itself provided 6,140 concerts, and financed 804 symphon y
concerts by the leading orchestras .
III
T/le
1 r-ts Courtri!
rr ruled
When the war came to an end CEMA had not only earned its citatio n
for meritorious achievement : it had also shown that there was a continuing
role to be fulfilled in making the fine arts more accessible to a willin g
segment of the population . In the House of Commons, on June 12th ,
1945, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, then Sir John Anderson, declare d
that CEMA had shown that there would be a lasting need after the wa r
for a body to encourage- the knowledge, understanding and practice o f
the arts, and that the Government had decided to incorporate th e
Council, with this object, in the name of the Arts Council of Great Britain .
The Arts Council, unlike its progenitor, would be responsible to, an d
financed by, the Treasury and not by the Ministry of Education .
What, in fact, had CEMA demonstrated? First, that the size and th e
interest of the audience which its activities attracted exceeded al l
expectations . There was, of course, an element of inflation to be allowe d
for in reckoning the size and quality of the audience . To some extenti .e . in the air-raid shelters, rest centres, factories, and military camps-i t
was a ` captive ' audience, many of whose members would never hav e
crossed the street to attend a concert in peace-time or their own time .
10
Then, again, entertainment of any kind was scarce in many areas i n
wartime, and the CEMA multitudes no doubt included many who turne d
up simply to fill the vacuum left in their leisure by the lack of their
customary pleasures . Finally, the great dispersion of the arts which
occurred during part of the war meant that many little places were
offered plays and concerts of a calibre far above their normal expectations . Visits of distinguished actors and celebrated singers to place s
like Stonehaven or Maesteg were evidently the events of a lifetime, bu t
not necessarily events which proved more than a natural curiosity to g o
and listen to celebrities . Yet when all such allowance has been made for
the amenity element in CEMA 's work, and for its curiosity value, there
remains the incontestable fact that CEMA greatly enlarged the popula r
audience for plays, music and painting .
The second conclusion which CEMA had established was the necessity
to distinguish between the professional and the amateur practice of the
arts . Both are invaluable, but for different reasons . The amateu r
practice of music or play-production or painting confers a variety o f
benefits on its participants . Without seeking to arrange these in an y
order or proportion one may say they include, for instance, the therapeutic and social consequences of choral singing or oil-painting ; the
development of appreciation ; the provision, especiallv in smaller communities, of concerts and plays which would be economically beyon d
their reach on a professional basis . On such grounds as these the amateu r
performance of the arts is a vital clement in the national provision . Bu t
very rarely is it possible for the amateur to attain professional proficiency :
not so much through lack of talent, as through lack of time . The achievement and preservation of standards in the arts is, primarily, then, th e
role of the professional, just as the task of diffusing the arts outside the
cities is largely the business of the amateur . The professional movement
and the amateur movement are different in their needs as well as their
natures ; and early in its experience CEMA discovered the difficultie s
encountered , by an administrative body which seeks to act simultaneously as the trustee for both movements . Hence its decision t o
withdraw virtually from the amateur field, which in fact is well organise d
for its specific tasks through such bodies as the National Federation of
Music Societies, the British Drama League, etc . The only contact which
CEMA finally retained with the amateur practice of the arts, and which
the Arts Council continues, was its provision of grants to enable amateu r
societies to secure ` professional stiffening' for some of their major events .
(The present figure is £50,000 .) This action is in itself a further
affirmation of the belief that the primary obligation of such a body a s
CEMA or the Arts Council is to preserve the arts on their most vital an d
vulnerable level, which is the level of standard .
11
Professiona l
and Amateu r
IV
`Raise' or `spread'?
An Alternatire to
Diffusion
When CEMA was transformed into the Arts Council it was necessar y
to reconsider the aims and policies the new body had inherited . Opportunism and improvisation had largely determined the activities o f
CEMA and had, indeed, produced some exhilarating results . It wa s
inevitable that, in its formative years, the Arts Council should adjus t
itself to a new situation, but its members were at first amiably divide d
among themselves about what changes were imperative . There were
some who wished to put the accent on diffusion, in the geographica l
sense, to spread the arts on the widest possible scale ; and it was these
zealots, too, who were loth to see the Arts Council go out of business as a
direct provider of music and drama . Both these fundamental issues hav e
been settled by now. In the long debate between Raise or Spread? th e
decision has been adopted to put standards first . Widespread diffusion
is liable to produce the dry-rot of mediocrity . High values in the art s
can only be maintained on a restricted scale . They cannot be secured ,
for example, by gallant but ill-equipped teams of strolling players per forming one-night stands in village halls. There is a limited supply o f
first-class talent, and a shortage of buildings properly provided for
dramatic and musical performances . There is also a lack of the mone y
that would have to be found for such extensive mobile operations . The
decisive factor in the situation, however, is that both sound radio an d
television are the `natural' agents of diffusion and that both of them ,
whatever their deficiencies, are in fact bringing music and drama of
high quality to communities and individuals who seldom enjoyed the m
before . For all these reasons, then, the Arts Council puts less emphasi s
on diffusion than CEMA did.
For some years the Council continued CEMA's practice of sending ou t
touring companies for several weeks a year, to the `theatreless' towns o f
Wales and the North-East . These one-night stands were usually presented in improvised premises unsympathetic to the atmosphere whic h
drama seeks to promote in an audience, and unable to hold more tha n
300 or 400 people. Even when attendances were as high as 90 per cent .
of capacity, the result of these endeavours was a loss of around £300 a
week on each touring company. Astronomical funds would be require d
to conduct such operations on any substantial scale, even if enoug h
actors could be mobilised to endure the rigours of these guerrilla exercise s
in diffusion . Such mobile missions cannot be more than a token-service .
The Arts Council has, however, developed an alternative method o f
providing drama for people in small towns and villages . It offers repertory
theatres transport subsidies to enable them to bring in coach-partie s
from adjacent villages to see drama as it should be seen, in a real theatre .
12
By this device the Northampton Repertory Theatre, for example, use d
a subsidy of £750 last year to bring 13,000 more people to the theatr e
and an extra £3,000 to the box office . In 1961/62 sixteen theatres receive d
between them approximately £6,000, a subsidy which yielded four time s
as much additional money at the box office . This year' s total wil l
probably be £10,000. This is better economics, and better theatre, tha n
nomadic ventures can offer . Theatres on wheels are an expensive make shift ; but audiences on wheels get good value and attract more business .
On this point it is appropriate to note that the obligation laid upon the
Arts Council by the Royal Charter is ` to increase the accessibility of th e
fine arts to the public '. This injunction does not only or necessarily mea n
that we should, at whatever cost of dilution, diffuse an increasin g
quantity of the arts : it means that we should be diligent in developin g
better facilities for the public to see the arts at their best-and one such
facility is the provision of coach-parties to concerts and plays . Visits of
factory workers to concerts are similarly subsidised with equal success .
How the Theatre Transport Subsidy forked in 1961 16 2
. Resulting
Total
Subsidy
paid
No . of
people
at
theatre
Theatre
Barrow-in-Furness
Cambridge
Canterbury
Carlisle
Cheltenham
Colchester
Coventry
Derby
Guildford
Harrogate
Lincoln
Northampton
Nottingham
Richmond
Salisbury
Studio Theatre
£ s. d .
31 7 0
1,100 0 0
73 6 0
468 12 6
80 5 6
643 5 6
184 9 0
440 12 0
151 11 0
156 12 0
422 19 0
750 0 0
450 0 0
100 0 0
600 0 0
142 4 0
95,795
3
6
Extra money
at Bo x
Office due
to the Subsidy
£ s . d.
563
89 8 1 0
13,587
4,797 15 6
1,260
228 10 6
6,502
1,389 6 6
No figures available
11,333
2,354 19 0
2,469
382 1 7
6,720
1,174 0 0
1,385
274 17 6
2,103
427 10 6
4,794
865 18 6
13,041
3,123 7 6
7,178
1,429 0 6
2,187
471 12 6
8,974
1,886 2 6
2,234
292 3 6
84,330
£19,186 14 1 1
A number of theatres spent additional sums of their own in subsidising return
fares, over and above the amount paid to them by the Arts Council . These figures
have not been included .
13
The Priorities
Direct provision by the Arts Council has virtually ceased, except t o
some extent in rural areas of Wales and Scotland . Packaged tours o f
plays and music which were an inevitable function for CEMA would b e
wholly inappropriate nowadays, and it is Arts Council policy to leave th e
self-governing bodies of the arts to make the actual provision of the arts .
The only substantial exception to this rule is in the visual arts, wher e
there exists no body which has inherited and developed the concept o f
peripatetic art exhibitions initiated by `Art for the People' . The Art s
Council therefore continues this service by mounting every year a serie s
of exhibitions for touring the provinces as well as the internationa l
exhibitions which it organises at the Tate Gallery, the Victoria & Alber t
and the Royal Academy. It is interesting that the only major example o f
direct provision which the Arts Council still maintains is the one whic h
originated in the Art for the People experiment of 1935 .
The essence of Arts Council policy nowadays is to sustain the bes t
possible standard of performance at a limited number of permanent
institutions. Several of these inevitably are based on London, th e
capital of the arts in Britain : Covent Garden Opera, Sadler's Wells, th e
Royal Ballet, the Old Vic and the Ballet Rambert . It should not b e
forgotten, although it often is, that these national institutions als o
perform in the provinces as well as in the metropolis . Sadler's Wells now
plays forty-two weeks outside its base as well as an equal period in it s
Finsbury home . There are similar priorities in the provinces, too : si x
permanent orchestras ; over thirty repertory theatres and some twent y
Festivals of the Arts . This group of priority institutions are the trustee s
of high artistic standard, the main line of defence against the debasemen t
of values in public entertainment, and the Arts Council recognises a
paramount responsibility to them . Even if its income were larger it
would still prefer to consolidate these priorities than to dissipate it s
resources upon an extensive provision of the second-rate . If the powerhouses were to fail there would be a black-out of the living arts in Britain .
V
Housing the Arts
Although this basis of selective patronage is now widely accepted a s
the best way for the Arts Council to apportion its annual Excheque r
grant, there is a long way yet to go to secure a similar acceptance of othe r
basic elements in its policy . In the ` Housing the Arts ' Reports, publishe d
in 1959 and 1961, modest and specific recommendations were made for
building or refurnishing theatres and concert halls . The Government ha s
neither adopted nor rejected those proposals, although about one-fifth
of the Chancellor' s extra £150,000 for the theatre this year will be spent
14
-~
Who pays for the Arts'!
This table is compiled front the accounts of the opera companies .
orchestras, repertory theatres, arts festivals, and other major providin g
bodies receiving grants from the Arts Council in 1961 62 . Foreign tonr~ ,
e .g. of the Royal Ballet and Old Vic abroad, are excluded . The li-t .
also excludes minor activities and amateur activities .
£296,00 0
£261,00 0
£71,00 0
£68,00 0
£138,00 0
£150,00 0
£89 .000
£65,000
£736 .000
£1,063,00 0
Covent Garden Opera (London)
Royal Ballet (London)
tCovent Garden Opera (tours)
tRoya] Ballet (tours)
Foreign visiting ballet (Covent Garden)
5adler's Wells (London)
t5adler' , Wells (tours)
Art exhibition,
Orchestras
Repertory theatres
*This includes profits on bars, programmes, catering, etc .
tThese figures arc the companies' share of gross box
I :i . ,
.
~_ . .,I
office
tii
-id wi
.
1:298-001 1
£149 .00 0
£20,00 0
£39 .00 0
£58,00 0
£420,00 0
£145,00 0
£223,000
ins k,-1, :
Orchestras
Repertory theatres
Other activities (e .g . Festivals)
Other sul,,Pii~
include :
Offic e
receipts .
Covent harden Opera (London )
Royal Ballet (London )
Covent Garden Opera (tours )
Royal Mallet (tours )
Art exhibition s
Opera and Ballet (Covent Garden excepted )
Orchestras
Repertory theatre s
Local Authorow-
Bow
! ti
Orchestras
Repertory theatres
Others
£139,00 0
£52,00 0
£53,00 0
iikian 1' otmdntj,~ n
£45,00 0
£15,00 0
£22,000
15
Lo,al Aulhr,riEi . -
Local Responsibility
on capital improvements. Some Local Authorities are, indeed, plannin g
building schemes, and more might do the same if the Arts Council wer e
in a position to give them capital aid . Our lamentable lack in this country
of homes and shrines for the arts continues, and in several large an d
wealthy cities the only place where one can visit a symphony concert i s
in an all-purpose and antiquated barn of a hall where a boxing-bout wa s
held last night and where an orgy of jazz is billed for tomorrow . In th e
whole of Britain there are only four genuine concert-halls : i.e. halls
expressly built for making music . Apart from such matters as acoustics
and amenities, we neglect to provide that ambiance of dedication whic h
should be as apparent in a concert hall as in a cathedral . During th e
next few years the Arts Council will be very much occupied with its
efforts to provide the arts with homes worthy of their standards o f
performance .
It will no doubt be equally preoccupied with the endeavour, already
becoming more generally accepted, to develop a local responsibility fo r
the arts . Nothing could discourage local responsibility more than a
Ministry of Fine Arts, a system of provision planned and distributed by a
Government department. The arts are healthiest when they are self governing in their policies and programmes, and when they are held in
trust by the citizens who enjoy them. The best pattern of trusteeship is
the one now being developed, as recorded earlier in these pages, by th e
North Eastern Association for the Arts . If that prototype can be mad e
to succeed it will be an innovation of the greatest value in encouragin g
similar collective action elsewhere. If this concept of local responsibilit y
grows it will also require for its fulfilment a considerable increase i n
subsidies from the Government and Local Authorities. In the partnershi p
between central and local government the latter is the laggard, for
instead of providing the permissive sixpenny rate per annum for the art s
the Local Authorities are between them providing a paltry total whic h
amounts to less than one-tenth of a penny rate . Even if they multiplie d
their contribution by ten forthwith they would still be furnishing n o
more than a sixth of what they are entitled to provide under the Loca l
Government Act of 1948 . It would transform the situation if Loca l
Authorities put the arts on the same footing as Public Libraries an d
regarded them as being an equally indispensable civic provision . N o
voluntary body nowadays has to go and harangue City Fathers t o
provide a Public Library and be told that `only a minority' want such a n
amenity. A library is accepted as an item of basic provision, whether fo r
a minority or not . The arts, too, should be included in the same categor y
and provided with their necessary homes and subsidies out of the rates .
One of the other crucial problems confronting the Arts Council is t o
establish a standard pattern of financial relationship with Local Autho-
16
rities . Hitherto the Arts Council has made its grants to repertor y
theatres and orchestras without imposing the condition that Loca l
Authorities should also contribute . It has relied upon patient persuasion ,
and has indeed over the years been instrumental in causing man y
municipalities to initiate or increase grants for these purposes . Yet
there remain many towns which give no more than token assistance to th e
arts, and are content to let the Arts Council carry the whole cost o f
provision . The time is bound to come when the Arts Council will disclaim this unreasonable burden of responsibility and will refuse to add a
pound to every fourpence provided by the rates-which is actually th e
grotesque basis on which one of the best provincial repertory theatres i s
at present being run . After so many years of this easy-going and unequal
equation of responsibility it would not be unreasonable if the Arts Council
were to seek a clear-cut formula for sharing the cost (of the arts betwee n
central and local funds . A pound-for-pound system would cost Loca l
Authorities two million a year, which is about eight times their presen t
contribution and that sum would be only one-eighth of what they ar e
empowered to provide under the Act of 1948.
VI
The present audience in this country for music, opera and theatre i s
far larger than it ever was before . The portion of that audience whic h
supports the companies associated with the Arts Council pays over 60 pe r
cent . of the cost of those companies-and opera companies, balle t
companies and orchestras cost a lot to maintain . Such expensive art s
as these have never paid their way, and have depended for their existenc e
in the past upon the bounty of private patrons . In almost every countr y
the private patron is rarer and poorer than he was even thirty years ago ,
and most nations have accepted the obligation to replace private b y
collective or public patronage through rates and taxes . This countr y
has by no means been foremost in recognising the obligation, and i n
Britain the arts are not sustained from public funds on anything like th e
scale which is accepted elsewhere .
In a recent investigation carried out by the International Theatre
Institute, particulars were obtained from fourteen European countries o f
their national and civic expenditure on theatres and opera houses . In this
list Britain came tenth, three places lower than Bulgaria, and only a trifl e
higher than little nations such as Finland and Denmark. It is possible t o
subsidise the arts too liberally, as some would say the Germans and th e
Russians do, but we are in no danger of pampering the arts in thi s
country . Even now, when the Arts Council grant stands at over E2 million ,
17
Tenpence a Head
the per capita annual contribution works out at less than tenpence a head .
We apply 500 times that amount in this country to our public education system, a system which aims at fitting citizens for leisure as well a s
employment . A substantial portion of the £1,000 million now expende d
on schooling in this country is applied to giving children an introductio n
to music, painting, literature and dancing . It would be no exaggeratio n
to say that, in our primary schools, most of the expenditure goes o n
aesthetic training in the broadest sense ; and it would be reasonable to
say that, at the very least, something like £200 million of the overal l
expenditure on schooling is consumed in developing among children a
knowledge and feeling for the arts . On that account alone, it may well b e
contended, we should allocate more money than we do to ensure them an
adequate provision in later life of those arts for which they are given
some appetite in school .
If we think it proper, as most of us do, to spend at least £200 millio n
in providing the arts for children, we should invest more than one pe r
cent . of that sum in nourishing their appreciation later on. We are gettin g
more value than we deserve from the present low level of subsidy . We
have a wealth of national talent in opera, ballet, music, drama, paintin g
and sculpture, yet many of the artists who are setting these high standards of performance are badly paid and overworked, and enjoy no suc h
benefits as superannuation . Most of the buildings where our arts are
displayed are obsolete, unsuitable or shabby. We devote massive
subsidies to experimental and research work in science and industry, bu t
what opportunities do we offer to young artists to discover new idioms
and new styles in music or drama? If we had no aptitude for the arts, an d
no audiences for the arts, then our neglect to sustain them adequatel y
might be justified. But they are thriving better today than they hav e
done in the lifetime of any of us, and there is no art in which Britai n
cannot claim international prestige . In an Olympic contest we could wi n
gold medals galore for sculpture, opera-singing, ballet-dancing, acting ,
painting, orchestral music and piano-playing, yet we continue to maintain all this outstanding excellence on a meagre scale of subsidy . We
endure heavy taxation to keep down the cost of eggs, but to the cost o f
the arts we are contributing tenpence apiece in 1962 . (The equivalen t
subsidy for eggs this year will work out at more than ten shillings pe r
head.) To get the figure to tenpence has taken a long time, and we mus t
accelerate the pace of patronage if we are to retain our national talen t
for the fine arts . *
It is significant that there should be much discussion in America at
present about adopting some pattern of Federal patronage of the arts ,
• This figure relates only to the Arts Council's Treasury grant . In addition the Government makes direc t
grants to the National collections such as the National Gallery, the Tate, etc .
18
How the cake cut up in 19616 2
rl'.Ile E'rovinces, Scotlanr and ` ale s
U 2,000
Londo n
P36 7,00 0
Covent Garden i- regarded a, it - . p ;ir ;r~ nr ltt lwcau-e it attracts a
great part of its audience from l'ureign and +rovineial visitors . It also
provides provincial tours of Opera and Ballo .
19
for hitherto the arts there have been maintained for the most part b y
charitable trusts and private benefaction . John D . Rockefeller II I
recently put the case in a homely nutshell equally applicable to us : ` Box
office and admission fees can never support the arts, any more than
hospital bills can cover all hospital costs, or tuition fees the full cost o f
education . Just as society has accepted responsibility for health, welfare ,
and education, it must support the arts . Today creative development i s
as important to man ' s well-being and happiness as his need for physica l
health was fifty years ago '.
It is true that the prospect for the arts in Britain is brighter than i n
recent years, and that several calamities which seemed likely to occu r
have been averted . There is also a growing acceptance of the principle o f
public patronage among our legislators and elected representatives . But
what is still unresolved is the scale on which the arts should be subsidised .
That scale has been unrealistic from the start . If an air-pilot says h e
needs x gallons of fuel to fly the Atlantic it is no good asking him to tr y
it on x-10 . Yet that is the feat which many of our orchestras, theatre s
and opera companies have been asked to perform in recent years . At the
moment our two famous opera companies, Covent Garden and Sadler ' s
Wells, are being given sufficient fuel, but several of our national orchestra s
will need a timely tail-wind if they are to get by . There remain, then ,
anxieties which the Arts Council must confront, but which it can fac e
more confidently than it could a few years ago . Its own ` image ' , too, i s
less forbidding than it was in the days when it had to send so man y
claimants away empty-handed . Dr. Johnson, smarting from the snub he
had received from Lord Chesterfield, defined a patron as ` Commonly a
wretch who supports with insolence and is paid with flattery ' . In it s
eighteenth year the Arts Council, although still a sitting duck for th e
disappointed and the disaffected, could not be so described .
October, 1962 .
20
Secretary General.
Appointments, Retirements ,
and Honour s
The term of office of Dr . Wyn Griffith, C .B .E ., as Vice-Chairman and
a member of the Council came to an end on December 31st, 1961 .
Dr . Wyn Griffith joined the Council in 1949, and was appointed Vice Chairman in 1952 . He served as a member of the Welsh Committee from
1945 until 1949 when he became its Chairman, an office which he hel d
until 1956 . He also served as Chairman of the ` Housing the Arts ' Committee during an enquiry which extended from 1956 to 1960, and a s
Chairman of the Drama Panel from April, 1952 to October, 1953 . He wil l
continue to be connected with the work of the Council as a member o f
the Drama Panel .
Sir William Coldstream was appointed to succeed Dr . Wyn Griffith as
Vice-Chairman on January 1st, 1962 .
Other members of the Council who retired at the end of 1961 were :
Ernest Bean, C .B .E .
Professor Sir William Coldstream, C .B .E ., D .Litt .
21
Council
k'-Verutir•e>
Cotnmitte
•
\,vr ) car
062
11wif,111 .
-11
. i „h n
111/1'1, c„
11m,h,rrow .
Nm / .
J . Compton, C .B .E.
The Lady Dalton
Professor Gwyn Jones
Miss C . V . Wedgwood, C .B .E .
Hugh Willatt
Mr . Compton served as a member of the Council and the Executiv e
Committee from 1949 to the date of his retirement . He was also the first
Chairman of the Poetry Panel which was set up in 1950, and Chairman o f
the Poetry Book Society from its inception in 1954 . We wish him a
speedy recovery from his recent severe illness .
Lady Dalton served on the Council from 1949 to 1952 and wa s
reappointed to the Council in 1957 . Miss Wedgwood had been a membe r
of the Council since 1958 .
The Chancellor of the Exchequer reappointed Mr . Bean, Sir Willia m
Coldstream, Professor Gwyn Jones and Mr . Willatt to serve as members
of the Council for a further term, and Professor Gwyn Jones was re appointed by the Council as Chairman of the Welsh Committee . I n
addition the Chancellor appointed Dame Peggy Ashcroft, C . Day Lewis ,
C .B .E ., The Lady Hesketh and John Witt as new members of th e
Council from January 1st, 1962.
The following were appointed or reappointed as members of th e
Executive Committee for a period of one year from January 1st, 1962 ,
and where indicated as Chairmen of the Panels given against thei r
names :
Ernest Bean, C .B .E .
Sir William Coldstream, C .B .E .
C . Day Lewis, C .B .E . (Poetry )
Professor Gwyn Jone s
Professor Anthony Lewis (Music)
Hugh Willatt (Drama )
John Witt (Art )
We offer our congratulations to Sir William MacTaggart, President o f
the Royal Scottish Academy and a member of the Council 's Scottis h
Committee, who received the honour of a Knighthood ; and to Miss Mon a
Tatham who was awarded an M .B .E . Miss Tatham was Assistant Music
Director to the Council until her retirement which was recorded in th e
last Annual Report .
It is with deep regret that we record the death on April 19th, 1962, o f
Sir John McEwen of Marchmont, Bart .
Sir John joined the Scottish Committee of the Arts Council in January ,
1952, and became a member of the Council and its Executive Committe e
when he was appointed Chairman of the Scottish Committee in 1958 .
He came to the Arts Council with a long record of public service
22
behind him . After several years in the service of the Foreign Office ,
partly in London and partly abroad, he was elected a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Berwickshire and Haddington in 1931 an d
served as a Whip, and Under-Secretary for Scotland in the last year o f
the Chamberlain administration, and as a Lord Commissioner of th e
Treasury from 194244 .
He had wide interests in the arts ; but his special love was literature ,
and he was himself a poet, dramatist and translator of considerabl e
distinction . The combination of fine intelligence, wide sympathies an d
shrewd judgment made him an invaluable member of the Council i n
all its deliberations, and an ideal Chairman of the Scottish Committee .
Under his guidance, the interests of the arts in Scotland were adm rably
i
furthered, and he earned the loyalty and warm affection of all hi s
colleagues .
Sir John 's only daughter, the Lady Hesketh, joined the Council o n
January 1st, 1962 .
23
1
~
i
-
-
i
1500
- ^
2f 60
.'-
~'
YORK ROA D
13 00
r~
i
2
,i
%
"HELL 2'
IL
OO
__
__
BELVEDERE
1300
1
32 00
17 50
32 0
32 00
--
32 DO
F
SADLERS WEL L
3200
-
HA
1500
; ;
1200
NATIONAL THEAT
`
___--
4700
p°~ \
m
Q
28 GO
2800
1750
3
Art Gallery
National Film Theatre
Concert Hall
Royal Festival Hall
-_- ;
SQUAR ES
I CAR PAR K
; UNDE R
*
1750
AG :
NFT :
CH :
RFH :
C
ROAD
--- -
-
o
m
o
W
Z
2
OPERA
HOUS E
National Theatre and
South Bank Development s
When on July 3rd, 1962, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made an
announcement in the House of Commons about the National Theatre, he
gave the green light not only to the National Theatre project which ha d
been under discussion for over half a century, but also to the completio n
of a scheme for building an arts centre on the South Bank that ha d
emerged as a possibility after the Festival of Britain, 1951 . The text of
the Chancellor's reply to a question from Sir Hamilton Kerr was :
`The Arts Council report favourably on the proposals published by
the Joint Council of the National Theatre on April 17th . After
consulting the London County Council, the Government hav e
decided to accept the Joint Council ' s scheme in principle, and t o
arrange in conjunction with the London County Council for its
implementation to begin. The first step must be the appointment of
a National Theatre Board which will be responsible for creating an d
running the National Theatre Company . With the agreement of the
25
National Theatre
London County Council I have invited Lord Chandos to be the
first Chairman of this Board, and I am happy to inform the Hous e
that he has accepted the invitation . I also propose to appoint i n
consultation with the London County Council, a South Ban k
Theatre and Opera House Board, to be responsible-under th e
Government and the London County Council-for building th e
National Theatre and also the new Opera House on the South Ban k
as a replacement for Sadler 's Wells, and for advising on the allocation of the capital funds available . I am glad to say that Lor d
Cottesloe, as Chairman of the Arts Council, has accepted an invitation to preside over this body, which will include representatives o f
both the National Theatre Board and Sadler ' s Wells . I shall
announce the full composition of the National Theatre Board and of
the South Bank Theatre and Opera House Board as soon as possible . '
~mnl!
(nnn•N llul l
l rluhr(~,n i,nll, i
~
The only permanent building constructed on the South Bank site o n
the occasion of the Festival of Britain was the Royal Festival Hall ,
and even that was not completely finished . In 1957 the National Fil m
Theatre, which had enjoyed temporary premises on the South Ban k
since 1951, was given permanent accommodation under one of the arche s
of Waterloo Bridge.
The time has now come when in addition to the Theatre and Oper a
House mentioned in the National Theatre scheme, the L .C .C. is proceeding with plans which include the building of a small concert hall an d
recital room, an exhibition gallery and the completion of the Roya l
Festival Hall . These developments will complete an Arts Centre fo r
the South Bank that has been hailed as one of the most imaginative an d
exciting planning conceptions to be carried out in London during th e
current century . Work on the construction of the piled foundations o f
the small concert hall and exhibition gallery has commenced . The completion of the Royal Festival Hall has started under a separate contract.
Government approval is awaited before the erection of the superstructure
of the small concert hall and exhibition gallery, but this is hoped t o
commence in the spring of 1963 .
The small concert hall has been designed by the Architect to the L .C .C . ,
assisted by the acoustic consultant and the Building Research Station ,
and in consultation with the General Manager of the Royal Festival Hal l
and the Music Panel of the Arts Council . The main auditorium will sea t
1,100 people and the recital room 400 . The design of the main auditorium has been conditioned by the desire to achieve a reverberatio n
period that is appreciably longer than that of the Royal Festival Hall an d
to obtain a substantial degree of sound insulation against external noise .
The exhibition gallery has been designed in close consultation wit h
26
the Arts Council . The exhibition space will be capable of many varie d
uses with several separate displays proceeding simultaneously an d
independently. The solution adopted is a two-level public exhibitio n
area of 20,000 sq . ft . planned round a central staircase and lift, wit h
stores, workshops and loading bays beneath . This will allow separat e
access to any closed part of the exhibition space without conflict wit h
public circulation, and an independent public route by lift or staircase to
any part of the gallery. The lower galleries will be artificially lit to
create the maximum degree of display control ; the upper tier is naturall y
lit from above but with external viewing windows hooded to preserve th e
standard of illumination . In addition there will be three external
sculpture courts with varying prospects of the Thames and th e
immediate surroundings .
The plans to complete the Royal Festival Hall include new arrangements for entrances and circulation ; and a new restaurant will be added
to the existing amenities . There will be new back stage accommodation
with a floor of rooms for orchestra and soloists, together with a bar and
commonroom for the orchestra, and a practice room for individua l
performers or small groups . Other floors will include dressing roo m
accommodation, administrative offices, storage, engineering and maintenance staff accommodation .
As will be seen from the plan, the proposed site for the Nationa l
Theatre is on the north side of the Theatre Square next to Hungerfor d
Bridge, and that for Sadler' s Wells Opera House on the south side of the
Theatre Square next to County Hall .
In the House of Commons on August 2nd, 1962, the first members o f
the National Theatre Board were announced by the Chief Secretary t o
the Treasury :
Lord Chandos (Chairman), Mr. Hugh Beaumont, Sir Kenneth Clark ,
Sir Ashley Clarke, Mrs . Freda Corbett, M .P ., Mr . W . J . Keswick ,
Sir Douglas Logan, Mr. Henry Moore, Mr. Derek Salberg an d
Lord Wilmot.
At the first meeting of the Board on August 9th Sir Laurence Olivie r
was appointed Director of the National Theatre.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury also announced on August 2n d
the names of the members of the South Bank Theatre and Opera Hous e
Board :
Lord Cottesloe (Chairman), Sir Isaac Hayward, Sir William Hart,
Mr. Prince Littler, Sir David McKenna, Mr . Norman Marshall,
Sir Leslie Rowan, Sir Percy Rugg and Mr. Norman Tucker, with
two further nominations by the National Theatre Board, which ha s
since appointed Lord Chandos and Sir Laurence Olivier as it s
representatives .
27
Completion of th e
Royal Festival Hall
National Theatre Boar d
South Bank Theatre an d
Opera House Board
Drama
The present composition of the Drama Panel is as follows :
Hugh Willatt (Chairman)
Miss M . E . Barber
Derek Grange r
Michael Barry, O .B .E .
Wyn Griffith, C .B .E ., D .Litt.
Wynyard Browne
Frank Hause r
Miss H . Nancy Burman
Miss Jocelyn Herbert
John Bury
Eric Keown
Professor Bonamy Dobree,
Leo McKern
O .B .E ., D . de Dijon
Val Ma y
Miss Jane Edgeworth
Miss Yvonne Mitchel l
Richard Findlater
General Sir William Platt ,
Robin Fox, M .C.
G .B .E ., K .C .B ., D .S .O.
W . H . Fox
Miss Joan Plowright
Val Gielgud, C .B .E .
Patrick Robertso n
John Whiting
28
The project for the building of the National Theatre, announced in the
House of Commons on July 3rd, 1962 (see page 25) provides for a n
amphitheatre auditorium for Drama to be built on the South Bank a s
the National Theatre, on a site provided by the London County Council ,
and large enough for a second, proscenium auditorium to be added at a
later date . An Opera House, to replace the Sadler' s Wells Theatre i n
Rosebery Avenue, will be built on a separate site on the South Bank, als o
provided by the London County Council (see page 24) . The Old Vi c
Theatre in the Waterloo Road will serve as the proscenium stage of th e
National Theatre until replaced, in due course, by the new prosceniu m
auditorium on the National Theatre site .
A National Theatre Board will be formed to run the National Theatr e
Company, the first members of which will be appointed by the Chancello r
of the Exchequer, in consultation with the London County Council . The
National Theatre Board will appoint both the Artistic Director and th e
General Administrator, and the new National Theatre Company wil l
absorb, not be formed from, the existing Old Vic Company . The Old Vic
Trust will then be wound up, but the Governors of the Royal Victori a
Hall Foundation will continue as landlords of the Old Vic Theatre .
The Sadler 's Wells Trust will run its opera companies in the new
building on the South Bank as an organisation entirely separate from th e
National Theatre .
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, which with drew from the National Theatre scheme in December, 1961, will remai n
artistically and financially independent of the National Theatre, bu t
machinery will be set up to co-ordinate the policy and programmes o f
the two bodies .
For the capitalising of the National Theatre scheme, the followin g
funds will be available : (a) up to £1 million from H .M . Government under
the National Theatre Act, 1945 ; (6) up to £1 .3 million from the Londo n
County Council ; (c) the proceeds of the sale of Sadler' s Wells Theatre i n
Rosebery Avenue (subject to the consent of the Charity Commissioners) ;
(d) the assets of the Joint Council of the National Theatre . The ceiling
figure for Government subvention for headquarters ' expenditure at the
National Theatre and the new Opera House will be £300,000 per annum.
The contribution of the London County Council to both theatres will b e
not less than £100,000 per annum and will replace the present subsidy t o
Sadler' s Wells alone . Any touring operations carried out by these tw o
organisations will be separately provided for .
This scheme was submitted for comment to the Arts Council by th e
Treasury in April, 1962, and was recommended in its entirety, but som e
reservation was expressed on the adequacy of the proposed subventio n
for the metropolitan requirements of the National Theatre Board .
29
National Theatr e
Additional
Financial
Aid jor Pivatres
It rrkl~
luwr .sal
ondition .s
1
The recommendations of the Arts Council on the extent of th e
additional financial aid required, for both capital and revenue purposes ,
over a three-year period by provincial and certain London playhouse s
were submitted to the Chancellor in May, 1961 . On July 31st, th e
Council was informed that the Chancellor was prepared `to support a
suitable scheme to provide further Government assistance to provincia l
theatres within a maximum of £150,000 per annum . This sum is designe d
to cover the following : (a) capital assistance, through grant or loan, towards new theatr e
buildings in the provinces being provided through local initiative ;
(b) similar assistance towards the restoration and renovation o f
existing theatre buildings ;
(c) further support for provincial theatre companies (including th e
corresponding London companies) . '
The Arts Council was asked to put forward at once its proposals fo r
distributing such a sum, and these revisions of its earlier, and mor e
ample proposals, were submitted to the Treasury on August 16th . It wa s
subsequently made clear to the Council that none of this extra aid woul d
be available in the financial year 1961/62, but that provision could b e
made for distributing the additional £150,000 in the drama estimates fo r
the following year . The special sub-committee dealing with this matte r
accordingly allocated the extra grant towards meeting the needs of
provincial theatres in England, Scotland and Wales, and three Londo n
companies in 1962/63 .
During the autumn, the Arts Council received a deputation from th e
Theatres National Committee, which pleaded the case of commercia l
theatres in the provinces, and asked that some of this extra financia l
aid should be released to them . The Council decided, however, that i t
could not vary its policy of restricting financial aid to non-profit distributing concerns, but that the possibility would not be ruled out of
assistance from certain of the special drama schemes (e .g . New Drama ,
Transport Subsidy, etc .) being offered to commercial companies afte r
careful examination of the merits of each case .
Over the last few years grant-aid for weekly repertory companies ha s
increasingly carried with it a request that a proportion of the amoun t
offered should be applied by the company towards abolishing the syste m
of weekly rehearsals-a system which bedevils good standards and discourages good workmanship-by giving increased rehearsal time to a s
many productions as possible in each season . This suggestion has been
enthusiastically taken up and developed by more and more weekly
theatres each year ; once introduced and better standards achieved, they
find it impossible to revert to the old, bad system . The position today
is most satisfactory ; the end of weekly rehearsal conditions is in sight for
30
theatres receiving this special help . Some of the theatres, in fact, are n o
longer in the weekly repertory category ; they have taken the decision t o
give all their productions a full two weeks ' run . The lead given by Derb y
two years ago was followed by Northampton last year, and now the sam e
decision has been taken by Bromley, Cheltenham, Colchester an d
Leatherhead for the autumn of 1962 . Other theatres, still restricted to
producing a different play every week for each of the forty-eight weeks i n
the theatre year, have now so organised their affairs that every, or nearl y
every play, is given two weeks ' rehearsal ; such is the case at Salisbury ,
Canterbury and Guildford . All of which means that two-thirds of th e
theatres working under weekly rehearsal conditions three years ago ar e
now either completely released from this soul-destroying condition, o r
within near-release ; a brighter prospect, indeed .
The extent of the support given by Local Authorities to theatres an d
theatre companies-slender though it still is in most cases-is nevertheless effectively spreading each year . Two of the most striking example s
in recent months come from the North-East where theatres threatene d
with closure and sale were saved by the prompt action of the municipality .
At Hull, the New Theatre was purchased by the Corporation fo r
£50,000 and continued under direct management for touring productions ,
pending the formation of a local theatre trust . At Darlington, the
Hippodrome (very much in need of repair and modernisation) wa s
bought by a local trust for £8,000 with the help of £5,500 from th e
Corporation and £2,500 from three local amateur societies . The Corporation are also contributing over the next few years towards the costs o f
the very necessary renovations . A third important theatre in this area the Empire at Sunderland-was bought two years ago by the Corporation ; after carrying out complete redecoration and improvements, th e
Corporation has appointed, in the year under review, its own Director
to continue the theatre under direct management . These three municipalities have made a most dramatic intervention towards stabilising
the theatre in an area which was rapidly becoming completely theatreless .
A fourth theatre in the same area-Jesmond Playhouse in Newcastl e
upon Tyne-has been bought by a private company and will re-open thi s
autumn, considerably improved and modernised, as a fortnightl y
repertory theatre . The friendly interest of the Corporation (which in tw o
recent years voted £10,000 towards the reconstruction of a cinema as the
new home of that excellent local amateur group, the People ' s Theatre )
has already been assured for this new professional enterprise in the city .
In other parts of the country schemes for new theatres, new enterprise s
and improvements to existing buildings also attracted support for th e
first time from previously disinterested Local Authorities .
In Guildford the appeal for a fund of £200,000 to build a new theatre
31
Support by
Local Authorities
Hull
Darlingto n
Sunderlan d
Newcastle upon Tyn e
Guildfor d
Hampstead
Leicester
Liverpool
Newcastle under
LN
me
Chichester
Festival Theatre
(on a delightful site provided by the Corporation) was given a ` starter'
of £20,000 by the Corporation itself ; the fund has now reached £80,000,
and work on the site is to commence this autumn . Hampstead Borough
Council has agreed to meet the cost, £7,000, of erecting an intimat e
theatre of non-permanent design on a rent-free site which it owns, o n
condition that the Hampstead Theatre Club undertakes responsibilit y
for the equipment and furnishing at an estimated similar cost . The
efforts of a courageous young company of players to revive the ` Livin g
Theatre' in the theatreless city of Leicester have been rewarded an d
encouraged by a first contribution of £500 from the Corporation, an d
though the issue is still in doubt a further £2,000 in each of the next tw o
years has already been promised from the same source . To mark the
Golden Jubilee year of the longest established repertory theatre i n
Great Britain the Corporation of Liverpool has agreed for the first tim e
ever to contribute £7,500 in 1963 towards the sum of £90,000 needed b y
the Liverpool Playhouse to develop the adjoining property purchased
some years ago . This development will add considerably to the amenities ,
technical facilities and earning power of the theatre . The other remain ing historic theatre in the City-the Shakespeare-has been saved ,
temporarily at least, from being converted into a warehouse by th e
intervention of local enthusiasts, who secured the decision of the Inspector
at a Public Enquiry to suspend the fate of the building for two years i n
the hope that a sound scheme for its continuation as a theatre coul d
meanwhile be evolved .
The application of the local authority for loan sanction to spen d
£99,000 on a building in Newcastle under Lyme, which was to include a
theatre-in-the-round, was refused by the Ministry and this particula r
proposal has been abandoned . In its place a new proposal for an
experimental theatre of flexible design, to serve the needs of drama ,
music and like entertainments, is under consideration by the Corporation .
The new open-stage Festival Theatre at Chichester-the first of its kin d
to be built in this country-was completed during the year . The openin g
took place on July 3rd, 1962, with a performance of The Chances, a play
written by John Fletcher and later considerably adapted by the Duke o f
Buckingham . Two other plays-The Broken Heart, by John Ford, and
Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov-were then added to the repertoire fo r
the remainder of the ten weeks ' season .
The building itself and the style of production it demands have pro voked lively and stimulating argument among audiences and critics, an d
it is clear that the impressions which this new theatre has already mad e
are likely to influence all future planning of theatres in this country . Th e
creation of the Chichester Festival Theatre has been a model operation i n
every way. It has been carried out entirely by an imaginative local
32
Chichester Festival Theatre : the auditorium ,
showing the three acting levels and the elaborat e
roof structure. (Architects : Powell and Moya)
i
"
u
4
e
1~
r :h
~r .
w
~ s
r
I,~
.,
. 1
14
~.rc~
f
I
,
1
group, whose initiative and zeal secured 90 per cent . of the required capita l
before the building was completed, and Sir Laurence Olivier as Director
of a distinguished team of players for the opening season .
The Arts Council is concerned at the threat to theatres by the use o f
such buildings for other purposes, and the threat is growing . Thi s
important matter was dealt with in some detail in the Housing of th e
Arts Reports prepared by the Arts Council and submitted to th e
Chancellor in 1959 and 1961 . It is suggested that in a worsening situation
urgent consideration should now be given by the Government to th e
implementation of the Committee 's recommendations . There is, however ,
one aspect of the matter which could be simply dealt with by the Ministe r
of Housing and Local Government without new legislation . The Town
and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order, 1950, sets out in its schedul e
a wide range of changes of use of buildings which may take place withou t
involving development within the meaning of Section 12 of the Town
and Country Planning Act, 1947 . The schedule sets out different classe s
of use and Paragraph 3 of the Order provides that where a building o r
other land is used for a purpose of any of these classes the use of suc h
building or other . land for any purpose of the same class shall not b e
deemed to involve development . The class in which theatres are place d
is class XVIII and the other types of building included are ` a cinema,
a music hall, a dance hall, a skating rink, a swimming bath, a Turkish o r
other vapour foam bath or a gymnasium or for indoor games ' . (It is
interesting to note that the ` use-class' covering theatres in the Order o f
1948 simply read ` use as a theatre, a cinema or a music hall ' . Th e
further types of building referred to above were added when the Order
of 1950 was issued . )
It is clear, therefore, that a theatre owner could, without the necessit y
of obtaining planning permission, change the use of his building no t
only to a cinema or music hall, but to one of a fairly wide range of othe r
totally different sorts of activity .
The Arts Council has made submissions on the unsatisfactory positio n
to the Minister which propose the creation of a separate Use Class fo r
theatres . This would have the effect of making it necessary for any
changes in the use of a theatre building to be the subject of a plannin g
application.
Similar concern about this danger is felt by British Actors Equity, th e
Theatrical Managers Association and other theatre organisations . Meeting s
have been held during the year with a view to establishing a Theatres
Advisory Council of national status which would take whatever actio n
was felt necessary to safeguard the existence of theatre buildings . This
Council would also encourage the building of new theatres and provid e
for technical and other expert opinion to be available, if requested.
Chichester Festival Theatre : frontal elevation
showing entrances to the foyer, bar and interna l
staircases .
C
33
Theatre Buildings :
Change of Use r
Theatres Advisory
Counci l
Independent
Television
ksoeiated Theatres
- -Birnzin leant
Bepertor. Theatre
Bristol Old I i(
The Committee of Review of Grants to the Arts and Sciences ,
established by the Independent Television Companies in 1958/59, ha s
given valuable financial support and encouragement to theatres and
theatre schools all over the country . Without imposing obligations o r
conditions, help has been given by way of subvention to a theatre ' s
general requirements, or towards the purchase of equipment or t o
assist in the appointment of specialised staff . A most interesting and
stimulating scheme, sponsored by one of the companies, for the selectio n
of six young producers to be trained for a year under the experience d
directors in six selected theatres has now been in operation for two years ,
and has already been well justified in the resulting entry of good youn g
talent into the production field . Another company has initiated an d
endowed a Chair of Drama at Manchester University, and is now activel y
engaged in finding the right site for a new theatre in the area . Behin d
all this constructive support is Television ' s wise recognition that th e
living theatre is the finest training ground for artists and technicians i n
the performing arts, and that its survival and vigorous growth must b e
assured beyond all doubt . The fund from which this help is given wa s
created by contributions from each company, based on an agree d
formula, and in the fourth year of operation totalled just over £150,000 .
The amounts allocated for Drama only, to theatres, theatre schools an d
theatre schemes in each of the four years are approximately £23,50 0
in 1958/59, £43,000 in 1959/60, 00,000 in 1960/61 and £55,500 in 1961/62 .
In addition, grants to the Arts have been made for Opera and Opera
training, Ballet and Dance training, Orchestras, Arts Festivals an d
Art Galleries, which, together with the grants to Drama, comprise the
greater part each year of the available funds (see page 37) .
The death of Sir Barry Jackson made reorganisation of contro l
inevitable ; as a result the Directors invited Sir Robert Aitken, Vice Chancellor of the University, to become Chairman of the Board . His
ready acceptance to help guide the affairs of this distinguished theatr e
through the vital stages of its future development has given great
satisfaction . Miss Nancy Burman, Assistant Director with Sir Barry fo r
many years, has been appointed Administrator, and Mr . John Harriso n
is the new Artistic Director of the Company . This is the only provincia l
playhouse which can give a four or five weeks ' run to its productions, an d
the high standard made possible thereby has been maintained during th e
year with the now familiar mixture of classic and contemporary drama ,
e .g . She Stoops to Conquer, The Caretaker, The Way of the World, Mister
Universe, The. Tempest (playing for five weeks to an average of 85 pe r
cent. of capacity) and the second production in England since its premier e
at the Arts Theatre in 1951 of John Whiting ' s Saint's Day .
Mr . Val May from the Nottingham Playhouse was appointed Artistic
34
D irector from the commencement of the autumn season, which ha s
included the first performance in England of no less than four plays :
Period of Adjustment, by Tennessee Williams (subsequently produced at
the Royal Court and successfully transferred to the West End) ; Th e
Flander ' s Mare, by Jean Carolle, The Big Client, a new musical by Malcolm
Hulke, Eric Paice and Mike Pratt, and Wear and Peace, a German
adaptation of Tolstoy 's novel, translated by David MacDonald . Val
May 's production of this adaptation earned an invitation to the Old Vi c
in London, where success was repeated, and followed by transfer to th e
West End .
The year was spent in the steady building up of a permanent compan y
and experiments in choice of play, style of production and length of run ,
all with a view to establishing a new system of production in tru e
repertory for the Festival Celebrations connected with the opening of th e
new Cathedral . If successful (and the signs are already good) this bold
experiment will encourage others to adopt, on a seasonal basis, a production schedule which has immense advantages for theatres presentin g
an attractively varied selection of rare classics or new plays mingled with
the box-office certainties .
The company' s fortunes at the Royal Court are as variable as the y
always have been ; after six years as the outstanding contributor to the
contemporary theatre in Europe, there is no reliable audience to ensure a
reasonable amount of financial stability . The company, in consequence ,
is more and more under pressure to exploit its productions in the West
End or abroad . This is not in itself a bad thing for our theatre in general ,
since a much larger audience is thereby reached and influenced ; but it
could result in artistic policy wavering disastrously between a play tha t
will ` sell' and one which probably will not, but is of undoubted merit .
There is no evidence of this tendency in the year under review, however .
John Osborne' s Luther was an immense success artistically, and a lon g
run in the West End followed, but an attempt to infuse a strong con temporary flavour into A Midsummer Night 's Dream had to be hastil y
abandoned. A steady and sure recovery followed during the rest o f
the year, with productions of The Kitchen, by Arnold Wesker, and The
Keep, by Gwyn Thomas (revived twice at the Royal Court and subsequently transferred to the West End) ; other important productions
which firmly established the prestige of this company were Jacques, by
Ionesco, Altona, by Sartre, The Blacks, by Genet, August for the People ,
by Dennis, and Herr Biedermann and the Fire Raisers, by Max Frisch .
A new and interesting experiment to establish a link with a provincia l
theatre centre was attempted at Cambridge Arts Theatre . With the help
of grants from the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Cambridge Art s
Theatre Trust, the company mounted a season of plays, new to this
35
Coventry
Belgrade Theatr e
English Stag e
Company
The Old I is
~r trirr_h nn
ll a,v
11 u h
I'%- ; ,., r .
country, some of which were subsequently brought to the Royal Cour t
Theatre . The experiment, however, was not sufficiently successful t o
justify going on beyond the trial period of three months .
Apart from the continued success of the Zeffirelli production o f
Romeo and Juliet, the 196162 season has been disappointing, except fo r
an interesting experiment in the autumn when Eugene O ' Neill ' s
Mourning Becomes Electra was produced for a short provincial tour and
staged at the Old Vic immediately following the production of Th e
Oresteia trilogy by a company from the Meadow Players, Oxford . These
two productions were outstanding successes artistically and at the bo x
office ; the short run of The Oresteia, indeed, broke all records at th e
theatre . Considerable success was also enjoyed by the Old Vic Compan y
which undertook a provincial tour of thirteen large towns with productions of Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant o f Venice ; with one exception, the box office records showed average attendances of 90 per cent .
capacity . At the end of this arduous but very well worth-while tour, th e
same company went to North America with Macbeth, St . Joan and Rome o
and Juliet, and enjoyed considerable success for the greater part of th e
six months ' visit . A tour by a third company of Australia and Ne w
Zealand with Twelfth Night, The Lady of the Camellias and Duel of Angels ,
which it had been hoped would more than cover its costs, ran into serious
financial difficulties when it failed to attract the necessary public support .
Mr . Michael Benthall, who had been Artistic Director of the Compan y
for eight years, resigned his post, for private reasons, during the year an d
the Trust appointed Mr . Michael Elliott to succeed him as from
April 1st, 1962 .
Mr . Frank Dunlop was appointed Director of Productions to succee d
Mr. Val May in the autumn of 1961, and Mr . John Neville accepted hi s
invitation to join the company as Associate Director and leading actor .
With this help from an actor of national reputation, and the read y
response of other established artists to work with the company, th e
season had been one of considerable achievement and growing audiences .
In the autumn of 1961 the company was invited by the British Council t o
visit the Manoel Theatre in Malta ; John Neville led the company in
highly successful productions by Peter Dewes and Colin George respectively of Macbeth and A Man for All Seasons . An increasing number of
presentations at Nottingham have run for three weeks, instead of th e
usual two, and the exemplary liaison with the City and County Educatio n
Authorities has been maintained to the benefit of the theatre and o f
young people over a very wide area .
In the autumn of 1961 Meadow Players mounted a most ambitiou s
production of the complete Oresteia of Aeschylus, produced by Mino s
Volonakis, who had also translated the second and third parts . Th e
36
whole production was then transferred for two weeks to the Old Vic ,
where all previous box office records were broken . This impressiv e
undertaking was mounted with the help of a special grant from the Arts
Council and the Gulbenkian Foundation . Two other productions of th e
year-Hamlet and Heartbreak House-were also outstandingly successfu l
and were transferred immediately to London .
Grants to the Arts
by Independent Television Companie s
FOUR-YEAR SUMMAR Y
Year 1 Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
1958/59 1959/60 1960/61 1961/62
Four
Years
Total
DRAM A
Theatres, School s
and Universities
23,800
43,035
OPERA an d
BALLE T
Theatres and Schools
22,15 0
3,64 0
30,155
55,620
152,610
15,400
15,545
13,417
66,51 2
8,225
15,890
19,038
46,793
11,000
5,700
2,100
1,275
20,07 5
5,85 0
5,855
7,270
7,795
26,770
Total for the Arts only 66,440
78,215
70,960
97,145
312,760
ORCHESTRAS
ART
Galleries and Societies
FESTIVALS
NOTE : The total distributed by Independent Television Companies throug h
the Committee of Review of Grants to the Arts and Sciences during th e
above four-year period amounts to £522,400 .
37
Music
South Bank
Dereloprnews
The Council' s Music Advisory Panel %hose advice is also sought o n
opera and ballet policy consists of the following members :Professor Anthony Lewis (Chairman)
Dennis Arundell
Roy Henderson
John Cruft
Miss Imogen Holst
John Horto n
Norman Del Mar
Keith Falkner
Professor Ivor Keys, D .Mus .
Roger Fiske, D.Mus .
Ivor Newton
Watson Forbes
Dennis Pilcher _
John Gardner
Alec Robertson
William Glock
Ernst Rot h
The Countess of Harewood
Professor Sir Jack Westru p
David Willcocks, M .C .
Developments on the South Bank have engaged the special attention
of the Panel during the year, in addition to those matters which normally
38
appear on the Panel ' s agenda. At the request of the London Count y
Council the Panel has studied the plans for erecting a small Concert Hal l
and Recital Room on the site immediately upstream from Waterlo o
Bridge . Two special meetings were convened for this purpose, an d
selected representatives from concert promoting societies, concert agents ,
artists and performing groups were also invited to attend and discuss th e
detailed proposals for these buildings with representatives of the L .C .C .
Architects ' Department and other technical experts .
The Panel has also been considering the various proposals which ar e
included in the National Theatre scheme to house Sadler 's Wells Oper a
on the South Bank .
On March 31st, 1962, the Council received from the Orchestra l
Employers ' Association a memorandum setting out the results of it s
comprehensive review of wages and working conditions for players i n
the permanent symphony orchestras based outside London . The complex
task had taken nearly two years and involved much consultatio n
between the managements of the orchestras . The Association had als o
ascertained the views of the Musicians ' Union on a number of occasions
during the preparation of the memorandum, which contains importan t
recommendations for a revision of the wages structure, pensions an d
other conditions of employment for players in these orchestras .
The cost of these proposals is estimated at £165,000 per annum . Most
of it will have to be found through additional subsidies from the Counci l
and Local Authorities, neither of whom can provide extra funds in th e
current financial year . The players, therefore, had to be informed tha t
the scheme could not, for the time being, be carried out, even in part,
and their disappointment led to a unanimous decision, through th e
Musicians ' Union, to terminate contracts of service on September 30th.
An extension of two months has, however, now been agreed to enabl e
a meeting between Local Authorities, the Council and Treasury Minister s
to consider what prospects there may be of increasing subsidies to thes e
orchestras and when it may be possible to put them into effect .
The Council was able to make some increase in its grants to th e
symphony orchestras during 1961/62 and most Local Authorities have a t
least maintained their contributions .
The number of concerts given in the last two years by the permanen t
symphony orchestras associated with the Arts Council are these : City of Birmingham Symphony . .
Bournemouth Symphony
Halle
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic . .
1960-61•
204
2211
244
186
1961-62 '
20 1
2201
25 0
189
*Excluding television and sound broadcasting .
tIncluding performances abroad and engagements with opera companies .
39
Symphony
Orchestras
Scottish Nationalt
Northern Sinfonia§
1960-61*
1961-62 *
180t19 1
85
Orchestras associated with the Council for specific concert promo tions :London Philharmonic
London Symphony
l ah
nl Birinin l1am
,
. ~;N
m plion c
0i (h, ,tt a
P mrn,vm lith
~imhhont
t to to,trn
73 1
30
The improvement in Birmingham audiences noticed during the 1960/6 1
season was again maintained in 1961162 and for the second year runnin g
the Promenade Series attracted a record attendance with an exceptionall y
high proportion of young people at these concerts . New music in th e
programmes included the Symphony by Zoltan Kodaly, Andrzej
Panufnik 's Piano Concerto, and John Gardner 's Herrick Cantata with
the Birmingham City Choir . The last two works were commissioned b y
the Feeney Trust which has now offered eleven large-scale commission s
to British composers for first performance in Birmingham . A programme
devoted entirely to new music included a Symphony by the Midlan d
composer, Dr . Christopher Edmunds . A Town Hall concert in honou r
of the late Sir Barry Jackson, a great music lover and supporter o f
the orchestra for many years, was an impressive occasion at whic h
many of his friends and admirers gathered in Birmingham to pay tribut e
to his life and memory . The orchestra took part in the Three Choir s
Festival at Hereford and in the Coventry Festival of Music . In May ,
1962, the orchestra played an important part in the Coventry Cathedra l
Festival. Its appearances there included collaboration in the worl d
premiere of Benjamin Britten' s War Requiem, under the composer an d
Meredith Davies in the new Cathedral .
The Western Orchestral Society continued its policy of presentin g
regular concerts by the full orchestra of seventy-five players in al l
the larger towns in the region, while many other places in the Wes t
Country were served by sections of the orchestra in specially devise d
programmes .
The year was notable for the appointment as Principal Conductor o f
Constantin Silvestri and-for the first time with the aid of a specia l
grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation-an Assistant Conductor ,
James Loughran .
During the year many opportunities were given to younger conductor s
to demonstrate their capabilities by performances with the Orchestr a
both in and outside Bournemouth .
The Orchestra appeared for the first time in the Llandaff Festival and ,
•Excluding television and sound broadcasting .
[Including performances abroad and engagements with opera companies .
iA brief report on the Scottish National Orchestra appears in the Scottish Section on p . 73 .
f included in the table for the first time . The return is for the period September, 1961, to March, 1962 .
11 Includes forty-six concerts presented in centres outside London, seven industrial concerts and twenty i n
the series presented by the London Philharmonic Society.
40
under the direction of Silvestri, undertook an extremely successful shor t
tour in the North of England.
On January 3rd, 1962, a special programme of contemporary musi c
was performed in the Colston Hall, Bristol, for the Annual Conference o f
the Incorporated Society of Musicians .
Twenty-five works received their first performance in Bournemouth ,
seven of which were by British composers, and a special Walton/Blis s
programme was given in Bristol and Bournemouth to celebrate th e
sixtieth birthday of Sir William Walton, who, with Sir Arthur Bliss, th e
Society' s President, shared the conducting of the programme .
The close association with the Welsh National Opera Compan y
continues and the orchestra appeared in seasons at Cardiff, Swansea an d
Sadler' s Wells .
Sir John Barbirolli continued as Conductor-in-Chief for the Society 's
105th season which featured the complete cycle of Schubert symphonies .
Many works new to Manchester audiences, including those of Frederic k
Delius-to celebrate the centenary of his birth-Bruckner 's Ninth
Symphony-in which the orchestra joined forces with the B .B .C .
Northern Orchestra-the Chamber Concerto by Alban Berg, the complet e
Daphnis & Chloe ballet music by Ravel, and works by Werner Egk,
Malipiero and Poulenc, were also performed. The Public Orchestra l
Rehearsal Series, with support from Associated Rediffusion (TV) Ltd . ,
continues to provide a hearing for works by young and lesser-know n
British composers both in Manchester and London .
o
In addition to the traditional Tuesday subscription concerts and other
series in Liverpool, the orchestra fulfilled a large number of outside
engagements including three concerts at the Leeds Triennial Festival and
eight opera performances at the Wexford Festival in Ireland. Th e
Society sponsored an Orchestral Student Course in which some thirt y
selected advanced students from British Academies and Colleges o f
Music were given an opportunity of sampling professional orchestral life
by living and playing with the orchestra for a three weeks ' period . Th e
experiment proved to be a rewarding and successful experience for al l
those taking part . The cost of this Course was met by a generous grant
from the Gulbenkian Foundation. The Musica Viva series continued t o
provide a unique forum for new music and it now enjoys the B .B .C . ' s
active and valuable co-operation . Mr. Charles Groves has been appointe d
principal conductor to succeed Mr . John Pritchard who will leave
Liverpool at the end of the 1962/63 season in order to take up his position
as conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra .
The highlight of the year was the tour of India, Hong Kong, the
Philippines, Australia and Ceylon . This was the first tour to be undertaken by a British Symphony orchestra to the Far East and official
41
Halle Orchestra
Royal Liverpoo l
Philharmonic
Orchestra
Londo n
Philharmoni c
Orchestra
London
Phitharrnonir
Societe
London
mphorn
Orchestra
S~
Northern Sirnfornia
Orchestra
reports from all sources are unanimous in expressing appreciation of th e
quality of the concerts and of the impact of the orchestra 's presence in
these territories . The complex operation of organising the transport an d
all other administrative arrangements reflects great credit upon all
concerned. The members of the orchestra were described as first-clas s
ambassadors of British music and their performances received the highes t
praise from press and public. The tour lasted nearly seven weeks and th e
conducting was shared between Sir Malcolm Sargent and Mr . Joh n
Pritchard . At home, the orchestra continued to present its regula r
pattern of concerts in the Home and S .E . Counties where the scheme of
co-operation with Local Authorities is developing satisfactorily both fo r
concerts in halls and in churches . The annual series of Industrial Concert s
at the Royal Albert Hall was supported by an increasing number o f
commercial organisations and parties of employees, who enjoy bloc k
booking and transport facilities, filled the hall to capacity . During the
year it was announced that Mr . John Pritchard had been appointe d
Artistic Director of the orchestra from September, 1963 . He become s
the Principal Conductor at the beginning of the 196263 season .
The 196162 Winter Series comprised twenty-eight concerts . Seven of
these presented programmes of contemporary works . The London
Philharmonic Orchestra appeared throughout the season and a numbe r
of well-known British and visiting conductors were engaged . A pro gramme in honour of Sir William Walton's sixtieth birthday included the
first London performance of his Gloria as well as performances of the
Viola Concerto and Belshazzar' s Feast. Further programmes included the
first public performance of the Piano Concerto No . 2 by Franz Reizenstein
and Hindemith ' s An American Requiem which was heard for the firs t
time in London . In addition to grants from the L .C .C ., and Art s
Council, the Society enjoy generous assistance from several industria l
organisations.
The season in London comprised thirty concerts given at the Roya l
Festival Hall . Both audiences and press have expressed particular
admiration of the orchestra ' s performances . The orchestra announced, i n
August, 1961, that the much beloved veteran conductor Pierre Monteu x
had agreed to become their principal conductor. Among the programme s
he directed, a complete performance of Berlioz 's Damnation of Faust was
of singular interest . Other outstanding programmes included the first
professional performance of Mahler 's Third Symphony, under Horenstein ,
a concert performance of Bartok ' s Bluebeard's Castle with Dorati an d
Hungarian singers as well as a concert performance under Colin Davis o f
the opera Beatrice and Benedict by Berlioz.
Courageous enterprise has been the policy for the last year . Th e
Directors of the Society decided to offer full-time contracts to some
42
twenty players who now serve the North-East Region as a permanen t
chamber orchestra which is augmented to symphonic proportions fo r
certain concerts in the larger cities . A number of Local Authorities i n
the area have formed an association for providing the orchestra wit h
financial support and a new pattern of professional orchestral concert giving is now taking shape in this region where many places had hitherto
not been served with regular concerts . Other interesting features have
included three Musica Viva type concerts in Newcastle and the engage ment of international conductors and soloists, some of whom have both
played and d rected
i
the orchestra for the entire programme . The Society
commissioned Arthur Butterworth 's Concertante for Chamber Orchestra ,
given for the first time in Middlesbrough and repeated in Newcastle upo n
Tyne the following evening. During the summer period Promenade
Concerts were given for the first time at the City Hall, Newcastle .
The Philomusica of London presented concerts in various provincial
centres and undertook another series of six well-attended concerts during
the summer at the Victoria and Albert Museum . They were devoted
primarily to music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries an d
included the six Brandenburg Concertos and many of Purcell 's String
Fantasias . Granville Jones, Director of the orchestra, with Sir Adria n
Boult, Musical Adviser, and guest conductors shared the artistic direction .
A tour of Eastern Germany included concerts and appearances in Berlin
and in Halle with the Handel Opera Society, and press notices spoke o f
the scholarship and undoubted virtuosity of the orchestra in its per formances of eighteenth century music .
The Council supported the concerts presented by the English Chamber
Orchestra and Music Society which announced plans for its first Londo n
season early in the year . The Society has been formed to promot e
performances of chamber orchestral music of the highest standard and to
stimulate interest in this field of music through research and commis sioning of new works . The programmes were conducted by Raymon d
Leppard, the Society' s Music Director, Mme Nadia Boulanger and Coli n
Davis. The first commission was offered to Peter Maxwell Davies whos e
Sinfonia 1962 was played twice at the last concert of the season .
The Society' s 150th season included the following new works :Roberto Gerhard's Symphony No . 1 and the Piano Concerto No . 1 by
Boris Blacher . In the latter work the composer 's wife, Miss Gerty
Herzog, was the soloist . The Honorary Committee of Management ha s
planned a special season of international orchestras and artists fo r
1962/63 which will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Society ' s
Foundation. The Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship continues to b e
administered by the Society and this year it received a record entry of
eighty candidates .
43
Chamber
Orchestras
Royal
Philharmoni c
Society
Bri rhtoii
Philharmonic
,tiocioti
Coahv ml,oran
l/n is
Socirtii ,s
\nti uta/
1
l
ration
of l)n,ic
i, ti, .
Twelve concerts were promoted by the Society during the year of whic h
half were given by the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra . The remainin g
six were undertaken by the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras . All the performances were
conducted by the Society' s Musical Director, Mr. Herbert Menges . The
season has been a successful one and the average attendance has show n
a marked increase . The recently formed Brighton Philharmonic Choru s
took part in performances of the Verdi Requiem and Sir Arthur Bliss' s
Pastoral . At the last concert, Mr. Artur Rubinstein played two pian o
concertos before a very large audience .
Apart from arranging its normal concert season, the Committee of th e
music section of the Institute of Contemporary Arts was actively engaged
in the preparation and planning of the annual International Society fo r
Contemporary Music Festival, held in London for the first time sinc e
1946 . A large number of foreign delegates arrived to participate in a pro gramme of events which, though concentrated in London, included visit s
to Cambridge and to Coventry for a performance of Michael Tippett ' s
new opera King Priam . The programmes in London comprised tw o
orchestral concerts arranged by the B .B .C ., one each of chamber musi c
and works for chamber ensemble and one devoted entirely to music b y
contemporary British composers . The international jury of the I .S .C .M .
selected all the programmes which were representative and characteristi c
of many contemporary styles of composition .
The Society for the Promotion of New Music expanded its activitie s
considerably in the field of public experimental rehearsals . Thos e
arranged with the co-operation of the Ha116 Orchestra and with Associate d
Rediffusion are mentioned elsewhere while the normal monthly studi o
recitals continued to be given in London . Studio Concerts were also
presented at the Aldeburgh and Cheltenham Festivals .
The Macnaghten Concerts were especially noteworthy for the si x
programmes mounted to celebrate the Thirtieth Anniversary Season .
A programme of contemporary music written for and performed by youn g
people provided a novel feature at the opening concert . The composers
represented included Stravinsky, Bartok, Benjamin Britten, Anton y
Hopkins and Michael Tippett whose Crown q f the Year was given its first
public performance . Since 1931 nearly eighty first performances of majo r
chamber works have been given, thus presenting a singularly importan t
platform for both performers and composers .
The total number of Clubs and Societies affiliated to the Nationa l
Federation of Music Societies at January 1st, 1962, increased to 82 0
compared with 810 in the previous year . The proportion of Music Club s
to Performing Societies remained at about one Club to four Societies .
Under the Federation 's general scheme of financial assistance toward
44
the cost of professional artists taking part in the concerts, 529 Clubs an d
Societies were offered guarantees ; in addition, forty smaller Societies i n
England were offered aid under the Federation 's subsidiary scheme .
The Council ' s grant to the Federation for disbursement among its
applicants was increased by ten per cent, and the following table gives
details of the sums offered in 1961/62 : ENGLAN D
336 Choral and Orchestral Societies were offere d
136 Chamber Music Clubs were offere d
SCOTLAND
23 Choral and Orchestral Societies were offered
13 Chamber Music Clubs were offere d
WALE S
21 Choral and Orchestral Societies were offered
£22,95 5
£5,40 5
£1,67 5
£70 5
£87 5
The claims on the 507 guarantees offere d in the previous seaso n
(196061) were as follows : ENGLAND
323 Choral and Orchestral Societie s
offered £21,217 ; claimed £19,28 1
129 Chamber Music Club s
offered £4,990 ; claimed £4,17 8
SCOTLAN D
24 Choral and Orchestral Societie s
offered £1,545 ; claimed £1,51 7
14 Chamber Music Club s
offered £805 ; claimed £765
WALE S
18 Choral and Orchestral Societie s
offered £735 ; claimed £609
91 per cen t
84 per cen t
98 per cen t
95 per cen t
83 per cen t
As in previous years special consideration was given to Chambe r
Music Clubs who engaged during the season a String Quartet of national
or international repute .
Sixty-nine Chamber Music Clubs entered for the special Award offere d
for enterprise in programme selection combined with efficiency i n
planning and administration . It is expected that the names of th e
winners will be announced in the autumn .
Most Regional Committees arranged for a choral rehearsal under a
well-known conductor to be held immediately after their Annual Genera l
Meetings . Several unfamiliar works introduced at these rehearsals wer e
subsequently chosen for performance by various societies .
Son of Science, by Philip Cannon, a work with a contemporary them e
specially composed for amateur Societies, was given its first performanc e
in December by the Aylesbury Choral Society . Arrangements have bee n
made for Mr. Cannon to rehearse this work with other Societies and it i s
hoped that it -will be performed again in the 196263 season .
The N .F.M .S . Award for Young Artists, inaugurated in 1961, took th e
form of a competition for pianists under the age of twenty-five years .
The adjudicators were Dr . Reginald Jacques, Louis Kentner, Peter Katin
45
Wier lhisical
Ictii ities
and Lamar Crowson . John Barstow was declared the winner, wit h
Norma Fisher and Philip Jenkins as joint runners-up . As a result, th e
winner received twenty engagements for the 1961/62 season from
affiliated Clubs and Societies .
The Federation 's Annual Conference, held in October at the Tow n
Hall, Dover, was well attended . Sir Thomas Armstrong, Principal of the
Royal Academy of Music, was installed as President in succession t o
Sir George Dyson, founder of the Federation, who did not wish to stand fo r
re-election . The proceedings ended with a concert divided into thre e
parts. The first consisted of Sir George Dyson' s Hierusalem performed by
a choir selected from East Kent Choral Societies accompanied by th e
Dover Orchestral Society ; the second was a short piano recital by th e
winner of the N .F .M .S . Award for 1961 ; a performance by the Riple y
Choir of Britten ' s Rejoice in the Lamb ended the concert .
As in previous years, the Council assisted a number of organisation s
whose activities fall outside the scope of the National Federation of Musi c
Societies . In all thirty-nine different organisations presented a total of
193 concerts. These included local festivals which took place at suc h
centres as Warwick, Dawlish, St . Bees, Tilford, Bromsgrove, Linto n
(Cambs) and Little Missenden . In London support was given to the
Redcliffe Festival of British Music . Orchestral concerts were again presented by the Paragon Orchestra in Bristol, Orchestra da Camera i n
Birmingham, and the Lemare Orchestra in York . The Southern String
Orchestra and Newbury String Players provided concerts in their ow n
localities and winter series of orchestral concerts by national and international orchestras were sponsored by Ipswich Civic Concerts and Sutto n
Coldfield Philharmonic Society . The Haydn-Mozart Society continued its
scheme of provincial touring and during the season eighteen of its concert s
were assisted by the Council . In London, the Wind Music Society under took concerts during the winter season in St . Pancras Town Hall unde r
the Society' s new scheme of ` Polyphonia Workshop' for students an d
amateur orchestral players . Two concerts by the Haydn Orchestra wer e
given with Arts Council support at the Royal Festival Hall .
Other performances in London given with the Council ' s aid include d
those by the Elizabethan Singers, Musica Antica c Nuova, The Plainson g
and Mediaeval Music Society and three autumn Sunday concerts presented at the Mermaid Theatre . Continuing with their long-term plan
to present all Bach ' s church cantatas, the London Bach Society
performed a further thirteen of these works during the season. The
Council continued to give its support to the South Place Sunday Concert s
and the Manchester Tuesday Mid-day Concerts .
Chelsea Opera Group again made three appearances at Oxford an d
Cambridge in concert versions of opera .
46
Opera and Ballet
From every point of view the year ' s work at Covent Garden can b e
recorded as notable and successful . George Solti, Musical Director of th e
Opera, took up his duties in the autumn and has quickly made his mar k
both as a conductor and as artistic overseer of the policy and repertoire .
Many distinguished international conductors, producers and singers hav e
brought lustre to the season but have not eclipsed the achievements of the
resident company and staff without whom the general standard of nightl y
performance could not be maintained at the consistently high level whic h
visitors from abroad and the London public now seem generally t o
recognise . The Opera Company appeared at the Edinburgh Festival fo r
the first time in 1961 and, since the close of the year under review, ha s
taken part in the Coventry Cathedral Festival at which Michael Tippett ' s
new opera, King Priam, was presented for the first time . New productions during the year have included Falstaff, Iphigenie en Tauride, Di e
Walkiire, The Silent Woman, Die Zauberfl6te, Don Giovanni and Alcina .
47
Royal Opera Hous e
Covent Garden Oper a
and the Royal Ballet
!
!t
l it u n l I n l r„
i . ; r -L, n
It has been gratifying to note that Britten' s most recent opera, A Midsummer Night 's Dream, has held its place successfully in the repertoir e
and apart from performances by the English Opera Group and other
companies abroad has so far achieved no less than twenty performances a t
the Royal Opera House .
The Royal Ballet has travelled far and wide both at home and abroa d
in addition to sustaining a full programme at Covent Garden . The large r
section visited the U .S .S .R . for the first time in June and July, 1961 .
Both in Moscow and Leningrad their repertoire and performances wer e
received with an acclaim and respect transcending the usual popular
welcome accorded to visiting companies from other countries . The Kirov
Ballet from Leningrad paid a return visit and captivated audiences wh o
filled Covent Garden to capacity at greatly enhanced prices for a four week season in mid-summer . In addition to providing twenty-two week s
of ballet in centres outside London, the Royal Ballet also visited Japan ,
the Baalbeck Festival, Damascus, Athens and Monte Carlo . New productions have included Diversions (choreography by Macmillan), Jabez
and the Devil (Rodrigues), and Persephone (Ashton) .
Attendances, despite substantially higher admission prices, have bee n
maintained. Costs under all headings continue however to rise eve n
more steeply and the Directors of the Royal Opera have expresse d
their anxieties about the future in unequivocal terms, year by year, i n
their Annual Reports . The year 196162 was the third and last in a
triennial period during which the subsidy had been calculated on th e
basis of 43 per cent . of approved expenditure with a limit of £500,000 i n
any one year. After discussions between Covent Garden, the Arts Counci l
and the Treasury, new arrangements were announced in January whereb y
the subsidy will no longer be based on approved expenditure but o n
reckonable receipts both in respect of home and overseas activities .
For 196263 the subsidy will be calculated on the basis of provision b y
the Government through the Arts Council of 17s . 6d. for every £1 o f
reckonable receipts earned by Covent Garden and no upper limit wil l
apply . In the light of experience during 196263, the arrangements wil l
be reviewed so that the rate of subsidy in relation to receipts with any
other necessary adjustments may be fixed for the three subsequent years .
Certain additional payments will be made to Covent Garden during the
next three years to complete the liquidation of the accumulated ban k
overdraft and to meet capital expenditure on urgent and essential repair s
and renewals to the Opera House .
Sadler ' s Wells has a dual. responsibility in presenting a full season o f
opera in London as well as regular weekly visits to the main centres o f
population throughout the country . The two-company policy describe d
in last year ' s report has been running smoothly and working solution s
48
have been found to the initial difficulties and stresses imposed upo n
directors and principal singers in dividing their activities betwee n
performances in and out of London . The younger singers are playing a
larger and more important part in the casting lists and the division o f
repertoire between the two companies who share the London and tourin g
assignments more or less equally, has now been established .
Touring conditions continue to deteriorate . Few provincial theatre s
can now maintain a regular season of high quality visiting companies s o
that local managers find it difficult, if not impossible, to provide Sadler ' s
Wells and other large-scale companies with experienced stage hands an d
other technical staff . The railways, moreover, seem now unable t o
provide a reliable service for Sunday `theatrical traffic' and these factors
impose a heavy burden on those members of the Sadler ' s Wells staff who
travel with the companies . Experiments are to be made with roa d
transport for scenery and baggage during the autumn season of touring .
Both Mr . Colin Davis and Mr . Glen Byam Shaw have accepted permanent appointments as Musical Director and Director of Productions
respectively . Their co-operation will add valuable support to the artistic
direction of both companies and in the development of a consisten t
long-term policy .
In London attendances have shown a welcome increase not withstanding the higher admission prices which the Trust and Governors of th e
Foundation felt bound to impose, in prevailing conditions, at th e
beginning of the 1961 autumn season.
New productions, seen both in London and elsewhere during the year,
were La Vie Parisienne, Carmen, La Boheme, Iolanthe, The Bartered Bride
and The Rake's Progress .
Touring activities included thirty-five weeks of general repertoire i n
twenty-three towns, and two weeks of operetta/light opera were presente d
in Manchester and Oxford .
The financial picture at the year ' s end is likely to show better result s
than the forecasts estimated eighteen months ago . At the beginning of
the year the Arts Council was not able to provide more than £325,00 0
against an estimated deficiency of £390,000 . The situation was saved ,
however, by the Government 's approval of a supplementary vote to th e
Arts Council which enabled it to give Sadler 's Wells an additional £40,000 .
This, together with an increased contribution from the London Count y
Council, grants from Local Authorities in areas visited on tour an d
improved trading results has made it possible to reduce the accumulate d
deficiency . The appeal by Sadler' s Wells to Local Authorities outside
London showing detailed costings of each visit, is an important ste p
forward in consolidating the arrangements for financing provincia l
operatic activity . Many Authorities have been helping the symphony
49
D
The London
Opera l :entre
Opera Tran .4ation
Competition
orchestras and other artistic ventures, but only in the last year or tw o
have they decided to support professional opera . The example of thos e
who responded to the first request is encouraging, but it will have to b e
followed up in the future by others if operatic seasons in the provinces
are to be secured and developed on a regular and adequate basis .
An encouraging new feature of the Sadler 's Wells annual programme i s
the series of special performances arranged by the London Count y
Council for schoolchildren and by Sir Robert Mayer, through Youth an d
Music, for young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five .
Both these organisations `buy' a number of performances at an agree d
price and, through block booking arrangements, enable the younge r
generation to sample opera at specially reduced prices . The Council ha s
made a contribution to Youth and Music in connection with this scheme .
Both Covent Garden and Sadler ' s Wells will publish their own Annua l
Reports shortly after this Report appears, and full details of thei r
activities and finances will be available to interested readers . Copies wil l
be available direct from the theatres concerned as soon as publication i s
announced in the national press .
The Council ' s proposals for extending and developing opera trainin g
were summarised in last year' s Report . The new centre whose full titl e
is the London Opera Centre for Advanced Training and Development, ha s
begun its preparations and is negotiating for suitable premises . Dis cussions have taken place with the Governors of the National School o f
Opera and arrangements completed for the latter to continue to offe r
training facilities for a further academic year until July, 1963 . During
this period the school will receive financial support from the Council .
The London Opera Centre is expected to begin training in the autumn ,
1963, and the Governors of the Centre have appointed Professo r
Humphrey Procter-Gregg as the first Director for a three-year term o f
office . Both Miss Joan Cross and Miss Anne Wood (Principals of th e
National School of Opera), whose talents and experience in opera trainin g
are widely recognised, have accepted senior posts on the staff of th e
Centre ; the former will be Director of Studies and the latter will b e
Warden of the Centre . As already announced, the Centre will be inde pendent and autonomous, but the Governors have decided that there is
every advantage to be gained from the closest collaboration with th e
professional opera companies, and Sir David Webster, General Adminis trator of Covent Garden, will be responsible in a similar capacity for th e
Centre. The Earl of Drogheda and Mr . David McKenna, Chairmen o f
Covent Garden and Sadler' s Wells respectively, have accepted invitations
to become additional Governors to those named in last year ' s Report .
The Council announced an open competition for a new English version
of Gounod' s Faust . Nearly fifty entries were received from many parts
50
of the world, and an adjudicating sub-committee of the Music Pane l
selected two joint winners, Mr . Leonard Hancock and Mr . Elwyn Nott Bower. Each received a prize of £50, and, subsequently, met th e
adjudicating sub-committee to discuss their entries and the variou s
technical and stylistic problems involved . The two winners are now
engaged on completing acts IV and V of the opera, which were not set
for the competition, and the Council hopes to arrange for selecte d
extracts from both versions to be given at an informal ` run through '
performance later in the year . The competition forms part of a revie w
and survey of the problem of translating opera into English now being
undertaken by the Panel .
During its first year under the management of the Royal Opera House ,
the Group has presented Britten 's A Midsummer Night 's Dream at th e
Schwetzingen and Leeds Festivals with The Turn, of the Scretv a t
Aldeburgh and Rosehill . Noyes Fludde was also presented at Aldeburgh .
With the support of the Vic-Wells Association, the Company mounte d
the European premi6re of John Joubert' s opera, Silas Marner, in a work shop performance at Sadle r' s Wells . The 1962 annual season was given in
association with the English Opera Group who brought a new production
of Albert Herring from the Aldeburgh Festival . The company 's own
contribution was the first performance in Great Britain of Hans Werne r
Henze ' s Boulevard Solitude . Valuable support has been achieved throug h
the efforts of a fund-raising committee who have secured substantia l
industrial patronage on a covenanted subscription basis .
The Society mounted its third annual season at Sadler ' s Wells Theatr e
early in the year . The decision to present Rinaldo, which was Handel' s
first work to be written for the English stage, was a particularly happ y
choice in that it commemorated the 250th anniversary of its first production in London . The following month it was taken to both Berlin an d
Halle where outstandingly successful performances received both critica l
and public acclaim . As well as this opera, the Society followed it s
example of the previous year and revived one of its earlier productions .
The choice fell on Semele, first produced during the Purcell/Hande l
celebrations in 1959 .
Eighty performances were given during the year, which included a fift h
tour of Scotland, the Shetland and Orkney Islands . Performances i n
schools continued to figure largely in the work of the company whic h
was also engaged for performances at many of the smaller festival centres .
In its thirteenth season Opera for All toured two groups, each of te n
members, and each travelling nearly 4,000 miles, to give 180 performance s
-129 in England, eighteen in Scotland and thirty-three in Wales . Both
groups played The Marriage of Figaro and Cosi fan Tutte, the repertoire
being completed in one case by Don Pasquale and La Cenerentola, and in
51
English Opera Group
New Opera Company
Handel Opera Society
Intimate Opera
Opera for All
_amateur and other
Opera Societies
the other by La Traviata and a double-bill of The Boatswain' s Mate an d
Il Tabarro . A number of programme changes had to be made owing t o
a more-than-average incidence of sickness among the singers ; but with th e
aid of substitutes no performance had to be abandoned, although one (a t
Plymouth) took the form of a miscellaneous programme compered by th e
group ' s manager . In two performances of La Cenerentola at Sandown th e
presentation was adapted to allow the participation of the Isle of Wigh t
Opera Company ' s chorus . Geoffrey Gilbertson and Stephen Webber
(both of Glyndebourne Festival Opera) again worked tirelessly an d
resourcefully as the groups ' touring managers .
The fourteenth season of Opera for All has already opened with th e
1,264th performance since the venture began in 1949 . It is the third i n
which the Council has sent out two equal groups for simultaneous tour s
in order to cope with the demand for bookings . Although most of th e
local organisations that engage Opera for All can take only one-night
stands, an increasing number of bookers (now over a dozen) ask for tw o
or more nights . An interesting feature of the 1962/63 season is the introduction, for the first time in Opera for All ' s history, of a work by a
contemporary composer-Lennox Berkeley ' s diverting comedy, A Dinner
Engagement.
The Council is particularly grateful to Sadler's Wells who provid e
valuable assistance to Opera for All in connection with wardrobe, scener y
and properties, electrics, and the accommodation needed for musi c
coaching and rehearsals . The musical and artistic direction remain in th e
expert hands of Bryan Balkwill and Douglas Craig .
Professional opera companies from time to time choose to revive, fo r
some special reason, a little-known opera . The many worthwhile but
rarely performed operas provide, however, an attractive ground for loca l
amateur societies looking for works suitable to their resources, and th e
Council encourages their diligence and initiative in exploring it . Unusual
choices of this kind may well appeal not merely to ` opera collectors ' but
to opera-goers in general . From their own experience of favourite operas
- in professional productions in London and on tour, and from recordings
and broadcasts - a large number of them are already familiar with th e
standard repertoire . Are they likely to be so strongly attracted to thes e
works when staged by amateurs, even in professionally assisted performances? If not, will they welcome an opportunity offered by the loca l
group to see a production of a work which might not otherwise com e
their way ?
In many areas the answer to the last question seems to be ` yes ' .
Unfamiliar choices formed the great majority of the amateur performances supported by the Council during the year . Alessandro Scarlatti' s
Mitridate Eupatore was given by the Oxford University Opera Club (it s
52
twenty-eighth major production), and the European premiere of Copland's
The Tender Land was presented by the Cambridge University Oper a
Group . Stanford ' s The Travelling Companion was staged by the Bristo l
Opera School, which also produced a new pastiche, arranged from little known Gilbert and Sullivan material, entitled Engaged. At Leeds Love
at the Inn (Quilter) was performed by the West Riding Opera Circle, a t
Birmingham Moses (Rossini) by the Midland Music Makers, and a t
Abingdon Partenope (Handel) by the Unicorn Theatre Club . Two
societies chose Rossini' s The Italian Girl in Algiers, the Bath Oper a
Group and the Kentish Opera Group, the latter production at Orpingto n
being alternated with the first performances in this country of Carlil e
Floyd 's Susannah . The Palatine Opera Group at Durham playe d
Britten ' s realisation of The Beggar 's Opera and the Liverpool Opera
Company staged Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Dibdin 's Thomas
and Sally .
In London, the Council offered aid to University College London Musi c
Society ' s production of Cherubim 's Lodoiska, to a Finchley group' s
performances of Britten ' s Noyes Fludde and Let 's Make an Opera, and to
three productions seen during the eighth St . Pancras Arts Festival.
These were Arne' s Artaxerxes, given by the Handel Opera Society, as a n
extra to its annual Sadler 's Wells season, Verdi 's I Masnadieri, by the
Philopera Circle (which had earlier in the year performed Rossini ' s
Otello), and a double-bill of Sven-Erik Back ' s Crane Feathers (firs t
performances in Britain) and Bizet ' s Dr . Miracle by the fully professiona l
Group Eight Productions Limited . The Council also assisted performances in London and Cambridge churches staged by the Medieval Music Drama Society . The above twenty-one productions given by the eightee n
societies referred to represent a total of eighty-five performances .
The Company is controlled and financed by the Mercury Theatre Trust,
whose Chairman, Sir David Waley, died in January . His enthusias m
and wisdom were invaluable at all times in the company's affairs ,
and he will be sadly missed by his colleagues . He is succeeded by Hug h
Willatt, who is a Director of the Trust .
Thirty-two weeks of the year were devoted to touring outside London ,
while other activities included a season at Sadler' s Wells and a long tou r
in Italy . Two new ballets were presented, Night Shadow, with choreography by Balanchine, and A Place in the Desert, by Norman Morrice ;
and the company revived its productions of linter Night and Fagade .
Walter Gore and Paula Hinton appeared as guest artistes in London .
Madame Rambert received a D .B .E . in the New Year Honours List . She
continues to exert her unique personality, influence and zeal upon the
company which she founded more than thirty years ago ; it remains a mos t
valuable vehicle for displaying native talent while serving the need of a
53
Ballet Ramber t
estern
Theatre Ballet
l{
Odwr
Ballet -)rtirities
ballet-loving public throughout the country and abroad .
Recent additions to the general repertory included one of particular
interest - Mme . Tamara Karsavina 's special reproduction for the
company of Schumann ' s Le Carnaval. Two others mounted during the
year were Stravinsky' s Ode with choreography by Peter Darrell and
Street Games which Walter Gore set to Ibert ' s music . The latter wa s
relayed in full by B .B .C . Television in May, 1961 . A three-week tour i n
the West Country of one and two-night stands covered several town s
not previously visited . At the 1961 Festival at Taynton, Gloucestershire ,
the entire company took part in the production of Gluck ' s Orpheus a s
well as presenting programmes drawn from their own repertory .
Guarantees against loss have been offered on a limited number of
performances arranged by the Sunday Ballet Club-where youn g
choreographers are given opportunities to experiment-and by tw o
smaller groups, the Harlequin and Minerva companies, whose intimat e
presentations have been weicomed in theatreless towns and centre s
situated in the more distant and rural areas of the country .
54
Art
The present composition of the Art Panel is as follows : John Witt (Chairman)
Alan Bowness
Professor
Nikolaus
Pevsner,
Sir Trenchard Cox, C .B .E ., F .M .A .
C .B .E ., Ph .D .
Guy Dixon
Claude Rogers, O .B .E .
Professor L . D . F.tthnger
The Earl of Rosse, M .B .E .
Lawrence Gowing, C .B .E .
Robert Rowe, A .M.A.
Basil Gray, C .B .E .
John Russel l
Francis Haweroft
R . J . Sainsbury, F .C.A .
F. E . McWilliam, A.R .A .
Mrs . Lilian Somerville, O .B .E .
Adrian D. Stoke s
M . A . Palmer, F .M .A .
Roland Penrose, C .B .E .
David Sylvester
Professor Carel Weight, C .B .E ., A.R .A ., R .B .A .
The Arts Council's Art Department continues to regard as its mai n
task the provision of a succession of major and minor exhibitions i n
55
London and the provinces . All of these require many months of planning ,
and for some two or more years are needed . Once the consent of owner s
to lend works of art has been obtained, transport arrangements ofte n
extending into several continents must be made . Their security while i n
our care involves complicated staffing and escort arrangements, and
detailed insurance operations, varying according to the source and natur e
of the exhibits, have to be carried out . All these things precede th e
arrival of an exhibition at the gallery, and in the meantime the compilation, editing and printing of the catalogue, often in an edition o f
20,000 and sometimes many more, will have been put in hand . I n
addition, detailed arrangements will have been made for posters an d
other publicity and some thousands of private view tickets printed an d
despatched . Once on show the exhibition must be staffed and machiner y
set up for dealing with tickets and catalogue sales . When it closes most
of the arrangements described have to be put in hand again, this tim e
in reverse, until all the exhibits are safely back with their owners .
This cycle of operations, applied to twenty-nine different new exhibitions-more than one in every nine working days-was the mai n
preoccupation during the year of the Art Department, with a staff o f
twenty and a financial allocation for this purpose of £35,900 .* Of th e
remainder of the Department ' s total allocation, £7,000 was allotted i n
grants and guarantees to twenty-eight societies and bodies, themselve s
largely concerned with exhibition activities . Of the remaining £6,275 ,
which was devoted to the purchase of pictures, sculpture and prints, a
proportion went to the artists on whose work future exhibitions will s o
much depend .
Among the year 's exhibitions, perhaps the most memorable was th e
collection of Italian Bronze Statuettes of the early and later Renaissance ,
organised with the help of the Italian Government and fastidiousl y
selected by Mr . John Pope-Hennessy, Keeper of the Department o f
Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where the exhibition wa s
shown from July to October, 1961 . A second major event of the year was
the very complete exhibition of paintings by Daumier held at the Tat e
Gallery in June and July and referred to in the Report for 1960/61 . This
was followed by the important retrospective exhibition of Max Ernst i n
September, organised by Roland Penrose and greeted with unusua l
enthusiasm by young artists . Meanwhile at the Edinburgh Festival w e
were able to secure the loan of the notable collection of the late Emi l
Buhrle, generously lent by Madame Buhrle and catalogued for us b y
Douglas Cooper . This exhibition was shown from September to Novembe r
1961 at the National Gallery, and we are indebted to the Trustees fo r
making this possible .
* As will be seen in the Accounts, actual expenditure was £58,380 .
56
In November, 1961, at the Tate Gallery a large commemorative
exhibition of the sculpture of Jacob Epstein was arranged, some of hi s
largest works in stone as well as the big plaster models being assembled .
This was followed in the new year by an exhibition of ninety works b y
the young and dynamic school of Spanish abstract painters . In April
we were lent a large part of the collection of Miss Sonia Henie and he r
husband Niels Onstad, whose enthusiasm and personal presence at the
Tate Gallery enhanced the pleasures of this exhibition of recent Frenc h
and Scandinavian painting . An exhibition of 140 mainly new works b y
painters of the Ecole de Paris, many of them little known in this
country, came in May as a useful sequel to the Sonia Henie-Niels
Onstad collection . This was organised by M . Frangois Mathey, Conservateur of the Musee des Arts D6coratifs in Paris . Of a quite different
nature was the exhibition celebrating the foundation in April, 1861, o f
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co . (the decorating firm inspired b y
William Morris) . The exhibition was selected and catalogued by Mrs .
Barbara Morris of the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose staff gave u s
every possible help, and was later shown at the Whitworth Art Gallery ,
Manchester, and other galleries outside London .
At the Arts Council Gallery an exhibition of recent British architectur e
named Architecture Today and organised in conjunction with the RIB A
was held in June, 1961, to coincide with the Congress of the Inter national Union of Architects . In August an exhibition of modern stag e
design in this country was held, and in September a jubilee exhibitio n
organised with the Senefelder Club of prints by present and distinguishe d
past members . In September the Arts Council ' s exhibition of Moder n
Stained Glass, which represents among others all the artists who designe d
and made glass for the new Coventry Cathedral, was shown at ou r
Gallery after a year 's provincial tour. This was followed in Novembe r
by what was thought by many to be one of the year' s most remarkable
exhibitions, of paintings, drawings and designs by the expatriate Russian
artists Larionov and Goncharova, who themselves lent much of th e
material and gave us every help . We were fortunate early in 1962 to b e
able to show a large selection of old master drawings of the principa l
European schools from the collection of Mr. C . R . Rudolf, and after this ,
also at St . James ' s Square, another exhibition of drawings, this time o f
the durable and enjoyable Camden Town School . After these exhibitions ,
the corpus of the Arts Council ' s recently purchased paintings was shown .
Press comment varied from criticism of our safe committee taste to a n
attack on our preoccupation with abstraction, but we felt that we had a t
least succeeded in airing the extraordinary variety of present-da y
British schools . An exhibition of modern Japanese prints followed, an d
as this Report closes in June, 1962, the surprisingly fine and well -
57
differentiated collection of British Self Portraits chosen by Mr . Lawrence
Gowing opens at our St . James 's Square Gallery . A complementary
exhibition, of British Self Portraits from Sickert to the Present Day, als o
selected by Mr . Gowing, was shown in a number of galleries outside
London after opening at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, in February ,
1961 .
The early summer of 1962 saw the opening in mid-June at the Diploma
Gallery of the Royal Academy of 5,000 Years of Egyptian Art, consisting
mainly of treasures from the Egyptian state museums and backed b y
important loans from some British collections .
We were able during this year to give financial assistance to the two
notable exhibitions held at the Whitechapel Gallery of Mark Rothko and
Mark Tobey, and we organised provincial tours of two more Whitechape l
exhibitions-those of Prunella Clough and Keith Vaughan. It was als o
possible to arrange an extended provincial tour in the summer of 1962 o f
the retrospective exhibition of the work of William Coldstream firs t
shown at the South London Gallery .
Among exhibitions specially arranged for showing outside London ,
mention should be made of the outstanding collection of small an d
medium sized bronzes and drawings by Henry Moore, all of them lent b y
the sculptor and his family, which opened early in 1962 at our Cambridg e
gallery and after a tour closed in midsummer at the Aldeburgh Festival .
A centenary exhibition of paintings by Francis Danby (1793-1861) wa s
organised in September, 1961, with our support, by the City Art Gallery a t
Bristol, where Danby worked during his formative years . This wa s
afterwards shown at the City Art Galleries at Birmingham and Bradfor d
and marked an important step towards adequate critical treatment o f
this neglected artist . A new addition to our series of open-air exhibitions
of Contemporary British Sculpture was also seen in centres as varied a s
the new Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, St . John 's
College, Cambridge (in May Week), the College of Further Education ,
Stevenage New Town, and Caerphilly Castle . We were fortunate also in
1961 to obtain a large selection of the late Mr . Minto Wilson 's collection
of satirical drawings and prints, which were shown as a touring exhibitio n
entitled Hanoverians in Caricature. A further touring exhibition of
Six Young Painters was opened in March, 1961, at Penarth, the artist s
selected being Dennis Creffield, Robyn Denny, Kate Nicholson, Cyri l
Reason, Ian Stephenson and Brian Young. Three Masters of Moder n
British Painting, an exhibition of sixty-two paintings by Ivon Hitchens ,
Graham Sutherland, and the late Sir Stanley Spencer, was opened i n
June at Plymouth Art Gallery and afterwards visited Sheffield, Leeds ,
Manchester and Cheltenham. In June also we were able to show at th e
new Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, an exhibitio n
58
of Modern Argentine Painting and Sculpture, and after six months ' tou r
this was shown early in the New Year at the ICA Gallery in London .
An exhibition giving unusual insight into the creative processes involve d
in picture-making, entitled Drawing Toiaards Painting, was prepared fo r
us by David Sylvester and opened in October, 1961 . Finally in December ,
1961, through the generosity of its President and Council, we were abl e
to form an exhibition of forty-eight important canvases from the histori c
collections of the Royal Academy for showing in major provincia l
galleries .
Our own collections of painting, sculpture and prints have continued i n
demand outside London, and additions are continually made by those
appointed members of the Art Panel who devote trouble and enthusias m
to selecting new works for purchase . Requests for the loan of works fro m
our collections to domestic and international exhibitions of British art
are on the increase, but in meeting them we are sometimes compelle d
to withdraw works from our own existing exhibitions, and this ha s
caused disappointment in the places where these exhibitions were shown .
No mention has been made of the very large number of exhibitions o f
reproductions which we circulate not only to galleries but to schools ,
libraries and other institutions . The Loan Schemes which enabl e
provincial galleries to show works from the reserve collections of th e
National and Tate Galleries continue to be administered by the Ar t
Department . Our interest in the production and showing of films on th e
fine arts has also been maintained .
59
Poetr y
/' o
tr
Book
.tiorivt~
The present composition of the Poetry Panel is as follows :C . Day Lewis, C .B .E . (Chairman )
William Plomer, D .Litt .
Thomas Blackburn
James Reeves
Charles Causley
Alan Ross
Miss Rumer Godden
Miss Janet Adam Smith
Philip Larkin
George MacBeth
Anthony Thwait e
Miss Kathleen Nott
Professor Constantine Trypani s
Miss Helen Spaldin g
One of the most important poetry events in 1961 was the Festival o f
Poetry that the Poetry Book Society sponsored at the Mermaid Theatr e
in July . This was widely reported at the time ; and in fact, some of th e
best notices came from New Zealand and North and South America .
Widespread interest was aroused, and the view was generally held tha t
the Festival had played an important part in providing an opportunit y
60
for poets and lovers of poetry to meet together on common ground and to
appreciate the dynamic part that can be played by English poetry in th e
English-speaking world today . Encouraged by this success, the Society 's
Board of Management has decided to hold a similar Festival of Poetry at
the Royal Court Theatre, July 15th-20th, 1963, and Patric Dickinso n
has been appointed Director .
The Society ' s membership rose from 705 in 1960 to 734 in 1961 . Ther e
is every indication that the rise in membership will continue in 1962 ,
though it is doubtful bow long the Society can continue to offer it s
service of four book choices each year, together with four issues of its
bulletin, an annual checklist of newly published books of verse, and a
Christmas Supplement of new poems, for a subscription which has
remained at two guineas since the Society was set up in 1954 . Rising
costs may force an increase in the near future .
The Society appointed Michael Hamburger and Anthony Thwaite a s
its Selectors in 1961, and on their advice the following books wer e
chosen : David Holbrook
Imaginings
Elizabeth Jennings
Song for a Birth or a Death
R . S . Thomas
Tares
Peter Redgrov e
The Nature of Cold Weather
An unusually large number of volumes received the Society 's recommendation : Louis MacNeic e
Solstices
John Wain
Weep before God
Thomas Blackburn
A Smell of Burning
Alan Brownjoh n
The Railings
Edward Lucie-Smith
A Tropical Childhood
Richard Kell
Control Tower
The Reordering of the Stones
Jon Silki n
Bulletins accompanying each Choice included specially written contributions by the poet concerned and carried poems by Louis MacNeice ,
John Wain, Thomas Blackburn, Alan Brownjohn, Richard Kell, R . S .
Thomas, Edward Lucie-Smith and Jon Silkin . (Those contributed b y
the three last-named poets had not previously been published .) A specia l
supplement of new American poems entitled West Wind was edited for
the Society by W . S . Merwin and distributed to members at Christmas .
Ted Hughes and Anthony Thwaite have been appointed the Society 's
Selectors for 1962 .
In pursuance of its policy for awarding triennial prizes for the publication of poetry, the Arts Council has agreed to offer :
(A) £200 for the best book of original English verse by a living poe t
published during the period July 1st, 1959, and June 30th, 1962 ;
61
Poetry Prizes
1959162
Poetry
Magazines
I -nirersities'
Poetr_N
Poetn Readinbs
Apollo
SoeietN
Stratford
Festirol of Poem
and
(B) £150 for the best first or second book of original English vers e
published during the same period.
Helen Gardner, C .B .E ., G . S . Fraser and Patrick Garland have bee n
appointed judges, and the awards are likely to be announced in th e
autumn of 1962 . (Previous prize-winners in Category A have bee n
Kathleen Raine, R . S . Thomas and Roy Fuller ; and in Category B .
Elizabeth Jennings, J . S . Fletcher, Wilfred Watson and Thom Gunn . )
During the last few years the Council has offered a small measure o f
help to a few magazines concerned solely with the printing and reviewin g
of poetry, and in so doing has made it clear that its subsidies are mad e
for a limited period and in no case for longer than three years . The
Council has now modified its policy, and help is being extended to littl e
magazines of general literary interest, provided they devote adequat e
space to poetry of good quality . Grant-aid in any one particular year ,
however, does not necessarily imply that it will be continued in sub sequent years . The latest magazines to receive help under this head ar e
Ambit and Unicorn .
Similar help is given to the Universities ' Poetry Committee, which
under the chairmanship of Professor Bonamy Dobr6e publishes a n
annual anthology of new verse from the universities .
The Council has continued its policy of promoting readings by poets i n
London ; and in the winter of 1962 it sponsored a series of three lunchtime recitals at the National Book League . William Plomer, R. S . Thomas ,
Anthony Thwaite, John Heath-Stubbs, Louis MacNeice, and Richar d
Murphy took part in programmes that were directed by Rumer Godden ,
Thomas Blackburn and Helen Spalding . The programme of the final
recital also contained poems by Philip Larkin read by Hugh Dickson.
Each recital contained a proportion of hitherto unpublished poetry ; an d
at the last recital Richard Murphy gave the first public reading of hi s
new long narrative poem The Cleggan Disaster.
In 1961 the Apollo Society was forced to find a new setting for its
London recitals, owing to the closing of the Recital Room in the Roya l
Festival Hall . Two Sunday recitals were held at the Aldwych Theatre by
kind permission of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the artists
included Vanessa Redgrave, Tony Church, Ossian Ellis, Edith Evans ,
Christopher Hassall and Nina Milkina . The Society has presente d
programmes at various arts festivals in different parts of the country ,
and also in a number of country houses .
At Stratford-upon-Avon the eighth Poetry Festival was directed b y
Patrick Garland . The Poet of the Year was Louis MacNeice ; and as in
previous years many of the readers were drawn from the company of th e
Royal Shakespeare Theatre . The first eight Sunday readings were given
62
in Hall 's Croft (July 9th to August 27th) and the final recital (September
3rd) in the Theatre .
Although owing to difficulties in engaging speakers it proved necessary
to cancel the 1961 Cheltenham Festival of Literature, the Poetr y
Competition sponsored by Messrs . Arthur Guinness, Son & Co . was hel d
as in previous years . The judges were Elizabeth Jennings, Laurie Le e
and Anthony Thwaite, and on their recommendation prizes of £75, £5 0
and £25 were awarded to Sylvia Plath, Bert Lomas and Alastair W .
Thomson respectively. At Cley-nest-the-Sea the Tenth Little Festival
of Poetry was held (June 4th to 8th) and the programme included a tal k
with readings by John Pudney. The Hampstead Festival of the Art s
(May 27th to June 11th) included a successful poetry recital given b y
the Barrow Poets .
63
Other Festivals
Arts Festivals : Arts Associations ,
Centres and Club s
Vesth als
Last year ' s Annual Report included a diagram showing the proportio n
of box office receipts to total expenditure and the way in which differen t
festivals fill the gap by securing (in varying proportions) contribution s
from individual and corporate subscribers, radio and television fees, and
subsidies from Local Authorities as well as the Arts Council . Although
this means that ticket prices are of necessity subsidised, they remain
comparatively high at most festivals of quality ; and the fact that the
public response continues to be satisfactory shows that these Festival s
still meet a definite need .
Each festival tries to stress its individual attractiveness by emphasisin g
the unique quality of its programmes and their setting . Stratford fo r
Shakespeare ; Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester for the treasures o f
church choral music ; York for the York Mystery Plays ; and so on . In
1962 two new festivals have made their appearance-one devised mainl y
to show off the glories of the re-dedicated Coventry Cathedral in it s
64
setting of a modern industrial town which has made a remarkabl e
recovery from its devastation in the last war ; and the other centred in th e
City of London and making use of the City 's magnificent buildings-th e
Mansion House, Guildhall, the Tower of London, and many of th e
churches and livery halls . Both have achieved a considerable measure o f
success . The Coventry Cathedral Festival was linked to a great occasio n
which is not likely to recur again . The City of London Festival seems to
have demonstrated that there is a call for an occasional festival displa y
of music specially chamber music-and of the other arts in the heart
of the metropolis .
One point, however, needs to be stressed ; and that is the importance
of first-class artistic d irection . Any failure to secure the highest standard s
in the choice of material and in its presentation is fatal .
Contributions from the Arts Council to Festivals of the Arts whic h
took place in 1961 are listed in the Accounts (Appendices A, B, and C) .
In 1962 subsidies were given to the following main Arts Festivals : Delius Centenary Festival (March 29th-April 7th )
Coventry Cathedral Festival (May 25th-June 17th )
Saddleworth Festival (May 26th-June 3rd )
Bath Festival (June 14th-June 24th)
Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts (June 14th-June 24th )
Ludlow Summer Festival (June 26th-July 7th)
Cheltenham Festival of British Contemporary Music (July 2nd July 13th )
City of London Festival of the Arts (July 9th-July 21st )
Haslemere Festival (July 14th-July 21st )
King's Lynn Festival (July 21-July 28th)
The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales (Llanelly) (August 6th August 11th)
Edinburgh International Festival (August 19th-September 8th )
Three Choirs Festival (Gloucester) : (September 2nd-September 7th )
Cheltenham Festival of Literature (October 1st-October 5th )
Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts (October 8th-October 19th )
Stroud Festival of Religious Drama and the Arts (October 21st October 28th )
Separate mention is made of the Edinburgh Festival in the Scottis h
section of the Report and of the National Eisteddfod and Swanse a
Festival in the Welsh section of the Report .
The sixth year of the South Western Arts Association ' s existence was
an encouraging one. The Association listed twenty-nine full member
societies, thirty-seven associate member societies and ninety-fou r
individual and life members in its annual report, and its activities durin g
the year included an important ` Symposium on the Theatre ' held in
65
South Western Art s
Associatio n
MidlandsArts
Association
North h :(t g vrn
1 .s . uriation
/or th
lrts
lrt : l :,-ntic, and
in th rc t
or FnJtind
lit, (Jab,
Bath on November 24th-26th, 1961, with the collaboration of th e
Everyman Club, and the successful continuance of its quarterly poetr y
magazine Unicorn .
Although 1961 saw the payment of the last of the three annua l
Gulbenkian grants for administrative purposes, that Foundation ha s
recently intimated its intention of continuing its help to S .W.A .A . for a
further two years . Finally a scheme to provide the South West with reg ular play tours has now been agreed with the Hampstead Theatre Club .
1961 was a year of steady progress for the Midlands Arts Association,
during which society membership was almost doubled . The Association 's
activities during the year included a ` Summer Festival of the Arts, '
designed to illustrate both the theory and practice of running an Art s
Centre or Society, the annual Arts Exhibition, held on this occasion a t
Worcester, and the fourth annual Assembly, with a music recital as it s
focal point, which took place at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts i n
Birmingham on September 23rd .
The setting up of the North Eastern Association for the Arts too k
place in July, 1961, when its constitution was formally approved at a
meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne of representatives of local authoritie s
and industrial groups . An executive committee was formed and in th e
following December Councillor Arthur Blenkinsop was appointe d
acting secretary . Considerable progress has already been made toward s
securing an annual income for the Association through inviting Loca l
Authorities to contribute the product of at least a Id . rate . This association differs from those already existing in the South West and th e
Midlands largely in the greater breadth and comprehensiveness of it s
aims and in the basic and integral part Local Authorities are being aske d
to play in it .
A total of twenty-one Arts Centres and Arts Clubs outside the area s
covered by the S .W .A .A . and M .A .A. also received financial assistanc e
from the Arts Council during the year, towards the cost of the professiona l
element in their programmes .
66
Scotlan d
The Scottish Committee's Tour s
To the average city-dweller with perhaps a concert a week to go to
(a concert a day if he lives in London), such works as Schubert' s Trout
quintet, Brahms ' s horn trio, Borodin' s string quartet in D major an d
Cesar Franck's sonata for violin and piano are familiar fare . He has
beard them many times and they are part of his heritage . This is as it
should be . Were it not for broadcasting, the gramophone and the Art s
Council, this heritage would have been denied to thousands of people wh o
live and work in the remoter parts of Scotland . But no one who doe s
not hear great music at first hand can ever fully appreciate its power an d
beauty . To many music lovers in these distant towns-and villages a liv e
performance of Brahms ' s horn trio, for instance, comes with a tremendous, electrifying impact . It is something new-just as it was when it
burst upon the world nearly a hundred years ago.
In framing its programme policy for the concerts which it sends to the
more distant parts of the country, the Scottish Committee has constantl y
67
Music Tour s
Opera Tours
Ballet Tours
to bear in mind that a large proportion of its audiences has heard very
little great music at first hand . The majority of these audiences ar e
completely dependent on the Committee for their professional concerts .
A policy has therefore been adopted of gradually building up a knowledg e
and understanding of the master works of all periods, and, because of th e
growing numbers of young people attending these concerts, this is a
continuing process .
About sixty places are now receiving concerts regularly . Some have
been going for seventeen years, and their audiences have become highly
discriminating in their tastes ; in others music clubs are in course o f
formation. That the Committee ' s policy is proving successful is show n
not only by the gradual growth in audiences but also by an ever-increasin g
demand for chamber music . Visiting ensembles this year included Leo n
Goossens and Iris Loveridge (two tours), the Alan Civil Horn Trio (tw o
tours), Musica da Camera (for the Trout quintet) and Carl Dolmetsc h
and Joseph Saxby. In addition fifteen concerts were given by the
Glasgow Trio and eight by the Edinburgh Quartet .
In all, 132 concerts were presented bythe Scottish Committee, thirty-si x
coming under the heading of Opera (q .v .) . Of the remainder more than
fifty (including the Glasgow Trio and the Edinburgh Quartet) wer e
given by artists resident in Scotland . The number of chamber musi c
concerts presented by the Scottish Committee rose from forty-nine i n
1960/61 to sixty-seven in 1961/62 .
The demand for opera among the smaller towns and villages continue s
to grow, and a total audience of 8,842 for the tours undertaken by th e
Intimate Opera Company and the Arts Council ' s Opera for All is the
highest yet . The Intimate Opera Company, who visited the island o f
Islay as well as Orkney and Shetland and places on the mainland fro m
Wick to Stranraer, brought a repertoire which included True Blue
(Carey), Ten o 'clock Call (Hopkins), Masque in Timon of Athens (Purcell )
and The Music Master (Pergolesi) . Opera for All, in its four weeks ' tour ,
gave eleven performances of La Traviata, four of Cosi fan Tutte, one o f
The Marriage of Figaro and two of the double bill, It Tabarro and
The Boatswain's Mate .
The Ballet Rambert made a very welcome return visit to Scotland ,
playing in the course of its three week s' stay to a total audience of 11,651 .
A special feature of the visit to Perth Repertory Theatre and Glasgo w
Citizens' Theatre (each for one week) was the production of the earl y
nineteenth century ballet La Sylphide, which has a Scottish setting . For
the touring week, during which the company visited Inverness, Troo n
and Greenock, the full presentation of Coppelia was given . Two matinee
performances for school-children from the counties of Inverness, Mora y
and Nairn were arranged while the Company was at the Empire Theatre ,
68
Inverness . More than 1,600 childreff saw this ballet for the first time .
Interest in ballet remains high, and the demands of the rest of th e
country were met by the Harlequin Ballet making its first tour i n
Scotland . Eleven widely-separated centres were visited, ranging fro m
Oban, Fort William, Stornoway and Elgin in the North, to Duns,
Moffat and Dumfries in the South .
Two drama tours were arranged . The New Scottish Touring Theatre,
covering its usual circuit of the highlands and islands, selected Goldoni ' s
The Servant of Two Masters in the translation by Edward J . Dent.
Audiences showed little variation from last year except in Shetlan d
where there was an increase of over twenty-five per cent.
For the second year in succession the southern tour was undertaken
by the Citizens' Theatre Company . The play chosen was Robert Bolt ' s
A Alan for All Seasons and the tour was outstandingly successful . The
total audience for the twelve performances was nearly 700 more than fo r
last year ' s tour of Hedda Gabler .
The annual tour of the Childre n 's Theatre had its usual packed house s
and made history by being the first professional theatre company ever t o
play in Baltasound on the Isle of Unst-the most northerly of th e
Shetland Islands . This was the company' s first visit to Shetland fo r
more than six years and over 2,300 people attended the seven performances in the Islands .
Bringing the spoken word, in the form of drama or poetry, to place s
which do not have facilities for mounting plays is one of the problem s
always facing the Scottish Committee . This year Maud Risdon an d
David Steuart gave the name of Sense and Nonsense to thei r
interesting joint recital which ranged from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde ;
and Ian Gilmour and Meta Forrest once more toured for the Scottis h
Committee with their special Barrie programme as well as their mor e
varied programmes of Scottish verse .
Very popular visitors to Scotland were the Hogarth Puppets who were
touring here for the first time . Although they had the misfortune to b e
greeted by the December snow-storm which caused the cancellation o f
one performance, over 3,500 people attended the thirteen remainin g
shows .
Edinburgh International Festiva l
Though most people will probably remember this Festival for the
great Epstein exhibition, for music lovers it was Schoenberg year . It is
part of Lord Harewood 's policy as Artistic Director to make a feature of
the works of a selected composer each year, and for his first Festival he
chose Schoenberg . Fifteen of this composer' s works were performed,
including orchestral and chamber music, ranging from the earl y
69
Drama Tours
Puppets
Schoenberg
Gurrelieder, with which the Festival opened, to his last complete work ,
De Profundis for unaccompanied choir, written half a century later .
A second composer to be given special prominence this year was Liszt ,
whose works were performed at nine concerts .
Orchestras taking part in the 1961 Festival were the London Symphony ,
Orchestras
the Scottish National, the Berlin Philharmonic, the B .B .C . Scottish, th e
Philharmonia and the English Chamber Orchestra .
Covent Garden Opera, paving its first visit to the Festival, presente d
Opera
four operas at the King ' s Theatre : Gluck ' s Iph.igenie en Tauride, whic h
was specially produced for Edinburgh ; Donizetti ' s Lucia di Lammermoor ,
with Joan Sutherland in the title role ; Rossini' s Il Barbiere di Siviglia ,
and Benjamin Britten' s A Midsummer Night 's Dream . Over 24,50 0
people attended these performances-ninety-four per cent of the ful l
capacity of the theatre .
Chamber Music concerts were given by the Allegri, the Amadeus an d
Chamber _Music
the Drolc String Quartets, the Concertgebouw Wind Quintet and th e
Trio di Trieste, and recitals were given by many distinguished interna tional soloists .
In the first week at the Lyceum Theatre the premiere of Lawrenc e
lhama
Durrell ' s verse play, Sappho, was presented by the Bristol Old Vic
Company . During the second week Bernard Dheran ' s company from the
Theatre du Vieux Colombier in Paris was seen in two plays : Moliere ' s
Le Misanthrope (given in modern dress) and Marcel Achard ' s Jean de la
Lune. In the final week at the Lyceum the English Stage Company gave
the first performance of Nigel Dennis ' s August for the People ; this play
was specially commissioned by the Edinburgh Festival Society . At th e
Assembly Hall the Old Vic Company presented Marlowe' s Dr . Faustus
and Shakespeare 's King John ; the Gateway Company performed Robert
Kemp 's comedy, Let Wives tak Tent, freely based on Moliere 's L ' Ecole des
Femmes ; and the drama programme was completed by John Osborne 's
Luther at the Empire Theatre, with Albert Finney in the title role . Also
at the Empire Theatre were the Western Theatre Ballet and the Scottis h
National Orchestra in Triple Bill, which consisted of Milhaud 's Salade ,
Stravinsky ' s Renaud, and the Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill satire ,
The Seven Deadly Sins.
Late Night Entertainment included Songs of Battle, Bed and Bottle ,
1?et iie
which attracted a near-capacity audience ; a revue, Five plus One ; and
An Evening with Juliette Greco, who was making her first appearance in
Great Britain .
Two art exhibitions were assembled : The Biihrle Collection of French
.]rt
paintings from Ingres to Picasso, shown in the Royal Scottish Academy ,
and the Epstein Memorial Exhibition in the Waverley Market . The latte r
was one of the most outstandingly successful events of the Festival,
70
being seen by nearly 125,000 people .
This year Edinburgh Corporation gave a special donation of £20,000
to meet the Festival Society ' s deficit from the previous festival, an d
increased its annual grant from £25,000 to £50,000 . The Scottis h
Committee of the Arts Council again contributed £15,000 and, in addition ,
agreed to waive the repayment of their interest-free loan of £5,000 . Th e
net deficiency for the year was £2,604 or approximately £22,000 less
than for the previous year . The Festival Fund now stands at the figur e
of £28,565 .
Art
The year 1962 will see the fulfilment of a project undertaken by the
Scottish Committee in collaboration with the British Council and the
Films of Scotland Committee : the making of a film showing the work o f
three contemporary Scottish painters. The three artists invited to tak e
part in this film were John Maxwell, Robin Philipson, and Joan Eardle y
-each representing a different generation . Each artist, interviewed an d
filmed at work, will be represented by a selection of paintings which trac e
the development of his or her particular approach .
At the time of writing most of the filming has been done and it i s
hoped that the film will be ready for showing in the autumn of 1962 . It i s
particularly fortunate that the shots of the late John Maxwell at wor k
were completed before his untimely death ; at one time it seemed tha t
illness would prevent him from taking part, but a few months before h e
died he made a temporary recovery and courageously placed himsel f
and his studio at the film director's disposal. This is the only record in
colour film of this artist at work .
Visitors interested in art at the Edinburgh Festival this year were
offered a wide selection of exhibitions . In addition to those sponsored
by the Festival Society-the Epstein Memorial Exhibition and the
Biihrle Collection, already mentioned-the Scottish Committee exhibite d
at its own Gallery a sumptuous selection of Gothic Tapestries from th e
Burrell Collection ; these were mainly of German origin, showing Biblica l
subjects . At the Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Visit of George I V
to Edinburgh, 1822 was reconstructed, often amusingly and almos t
step-by-step, in paintings, prints, drawings and costume . At th e
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art the Arts Council exhibitio n
Contemporary British Sculpture was set out on the lawn and was seen t o
advantage against a background of shrubs and the Edinburgh skyline .
At the same time, Alexander Reid 's charming little exhibition Figures i n
Costume was on view at the Scottish Craft Centre.
The Stirling Festival continued to flourish . The art exhibition this
year consisted of paintings, wood-carvings, furniture, pottery and
71
Finance
Three Scottish
Artists
Festival
Exhibitions,
Edinburgh
Stirling
Support to
othcr bodies
Toiiri ig
Exhibitions
,, cottislt
Pairttin,c,~
lor Canoda
tapestries from the Burrell Collection . These Flemish tapestries an d
those seen at the Arts Council' s Edinburgh Festival exhibition show, t o
some extent, the supet rb quality of hangings in this great collection .
These two exhibitions constituted a brief but welcome glimpse of a
treasure which remains buried until the problem of housing it is sol ve d
by Glasgow Corporation and the Trustees of the Collection .
Financial support of one kind or another was also given to the follow ing :-The Scottish Society of Artists for a loan exhibition of sculpture b y
Robert Adams ; The Scottish Society of Women Artists for the loan o f
works from Munich and Frankfurt Contemporary Artists ; The Aberdeen
Artists ' Society for a loan exhibition ; Glasgow Citizens ' Theatre for one man shows in their exhibition room ; and the '57 Gallery for a series of
small exhibitions by young artists .
A large memorial exhibition of 146 examples of the work of J . D .
Fergusson opened in November, in the Diploma Galleries of the Roya l
Scottish Academy . With the co-operation of the artist 's widow, Mrs .
Margaret Morris Fergusson, it was possible to assemble a fairly comprehensive survey of Fergusson ' s artistic progress . This began with the
influence of Whistler and the Glasgow School, about the year 1879, i n
El Grao, Valencia : Nocturne, and concluded with a typical Fergusson ,
The Pink Dress, Cap d ' Antibes, which was on the artist' s easel at the time
of his death in 1961 . The authoritative catalogue produced by Mr .
Andrew McLaren Young, of the Fine Art Department of Glasgo w
University, contains biographical information and a bibliography . Th e
exhibition toured Scotland and was then given two showings in Englan d
-at Coventry and Eastbourne . From this exhibition Edinburgh
Corporation bought The Blue Hat, one of the first pictures to be acquire d
for the city' s newly formed collection .
Another exhibition which toured widely was Figures in Costume-Fact
and Fantasy ; these delightful decorative figures are the work of Alexande r
Reid, a craftsman member of the Scottish Craft Centre . Tbirty-four
doll-like figures of historical and mythical subjects were created fro m
beads and wire, satin, silk and velvet . At the close of the tour th e
complete exhibition was acquired by an American buyer .
Other exhibitions which toured Scotland were Pictorial Embroidery ,
Contemporary Scottish Paintings, Contemporary Danish Design an d
Watercolours and Drawings by Contemporary Scottish Artists .
In addition to these touring exhibitions the Scottish Committe e
arranged sixteen programmes of films on art and sixty-one lectures .
Through the Scottish Council (Development and Industry) th e
Scottish Committee of the Arts Council arranged an exhibition representative of Contemporary Scottish Painting, for Commonwealth Promotio n
Fortnight, which was shown in The Auditorium Foyer, Eaton 's College
72
Street, Toronto, Canada . This proved to be a most successful venture .
Eleven of the paintings were sold .
During the year the Committee bought fourteen paintings : six from
the annual exhibition of the Scottish Society of Artists, six from th e
annual exhibition of the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and two fro m
one-man shows . These new acquisitions bring the total number of
paintings and drawings by Scottish artists owned by the Committe e
to 157 .
Music
The number of subscribers to the main series of concerts given by the
Scottish National Orchestra* continues to increase in each of the four
chief cities . The average attendance at these concerts over the last three
years, shown in terms of percentage of the capacity of each hall, wa s
as follows : 1959/60
1960/61
1961/6 2
Aberdeen
77%
83%
86 %
Dundee
65%
67%
78 %
Edinburgh
66%
74%
84 %
Glasgow
78%
71%
80 %
The orchestra performed on 199 occasions during the year, includin g
four B .B .C . studio broadcasts and three appearances with Scottis h
Television . An interesting new departure this season was the orchestra' s
highly successful engagement with Scottish Opera, a note on which
appears below in the section on opera . The orchestra gave two concert s
at the Edinburgh Festival and accompanied the Western Theatre Balle t
in Triple Bill during the final week of that event. Thirty-one children' s
concerts were given in co-operation with local education authorities .
A series of promenade concerts in Glasgow was also very successful .
In addition to the grant given by the Scottish Committee of the Arts
Council, the orchestra received a total sum of over £47,000 from no less
than 122 Local Authorities throughout Scotland . Of this total, nearly
£43,000 came from the four counties of cities, headed by Glasgow 's
£25,162 ; the rest was made up of sums ranging from Lanark County 's
£1,000 to the two or three guineas contributed by many of the smalle r
burghs .
The Scottish Committee is offering a prize of £150 to the winner of a
competition for an overture or other short orchestral work of ten minutes '
duration. The competition will be open to composers who are Scots b y
birth or by parentage, or have been ordinarily resident in Scotland fo r
four years or more . The judges will be Dr . Hans Gal, Dr . Herbert
Howells and Dr. Herbert Wiseman, together with Mr . Alexander Gibson,
See also p. 40 .
73
Purchases
Scottis h
National
Orchestra
Orchestral
Competition
_\otional
Federation
o/' _1111sic
.,~orirgies
Other Concert
Societies
Sadler's If
Opera
ells
Scottish Opera
conductor of the Scottish National Orchestra, which will perform th e
winning composition at the beginning of its 196364 season . The final date
for entries is January 31st, 1 .963 . Further particulars may be had from
the Director for Scotland, Arts Council of Great Britain, 11 Rothesa y
Terrace, Edinburgh, 3 .
During the year 108 concerts were presented by the thirty-six musi c
societies receiving guarantees against loss through the Scottish Committee of the N .F .M .S .* Thirty-four of these concerts were given b y
nineteen choral societies, and included four performances each o f
Messiah and The Seasons, and three of The Creation, as well as single
performances of Judas Maccabaeus, Solomon, and Semele, Bach' s
St . Matthew Passion, Beethoven ' s Missa Solemnis and Mass in D, the
Requiems of Mozart and Faure, Holst ' s Te Deum and Hymn of Jesus ,
Britten 's St . Nicholas, and Dyson 's Canterbury Pilgrims .
Four amateur orchestral societies gave a total of eight concerts, an d
fifty-two recitals of chamber music were provided by eleven music clubs .
Twenty-one of these chamber music recitals were given by string quartets .
The following organisations continued their valuable series of concert s
with help from the Scottish Committee-The Saltire Society, th e
Edinburgh Lunch-Hour Concerts in the National Gallery of Scotland ,
the Connoisseur Concerts in Edinburgh, The College of Piping and th e
Edinburgh Organ Recitals Committee . Guarantees were also given fo r
single concerts in Ayr, Banff, Dumfries, Edinburgh and Peterhead .
Opera and Ballet
Sadler' s Wells Opera made two visits to Scotland during the financial
year ; the first in April and May, 1961, when the company appeared in
Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with a popular programme whic h
included La Traviata, The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro ,
Tosca, and even Lehar' s operetta The Land of Smiles ; on the company' s
second visit in November it was unable to visit Dundee because of th e
closing of the Gaumont Theatre, but Edinburgh and Glasgow heard i t
again, this time in La Boheme, Tannhduser, Traviata, Cenerentola an d
Orpheus in the Underworld .
In June, 1962, there occurred in Glasgow an operatic event of considerable significance-the birth of Alexander Gibson ' s brain child,
Scottish Opera. Two operas were given fully professional production s
with international soloists at the King' s Theatre, each for three performances . The orchestra was, of course, the Scottish National, and th e
conductor and artistic director, Alexander Gibson . The operas, which
were sung in their original languages, were Pelleas et Melisande, to mark
the centenary of the birth of Claude Debussy, and Madama Butterfly ;
• See
74
also p . 45.
both received high critical acclaim . Scottish Television Ltd . and th e
Scottish Committee of the Arts Council each contributed £1,000 toward s
the costs and the public paid £2,512 at the doors . Mr. Gibson ha s
ambitious plans for the future and hopes to bring Scottish Opera next
year to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Financial assistance towards the cost of engaging professional
musicians was given again this year to the Glasgow Grand Opera Societ y
for performances of Verdi' s Macbeth and Flotow' s Martha ; to th e
Drawing-Room Music Society for Die EntfUhrung aus dem Serail ; to
Bellahouston Music Society for a triple bill of Gianni Schicchi, Goyesca s
(Granados) and La Serva Padrona (Pergolesi) ; and to the Edinburg h
Opera Company for Der Freischiitz.
In November the Royal Ballet returned once more to Edinburgh and
Glasgow, playing for a week in each city. For the first half of each wee k
The Sleeping Beauty was performed, followed in the second half by a
mixed programme which included two works new to the company 's
repertoire : The Invitation and The Two Pigeons .
Help was given to the Scottish Ballet School towards the cost of
engaging professional solo dancers and musicians for seven performances
of Coppelia in Edinburgh .
Drama
In March, 1962, the Scottish Committee made a public announcement
to the effect that it had been taking a special look at the Scottish theatr e
problem in the light of last year 's promise by the Chancellor of th e
Exchequer of increased support for the repertory theatres, and of th e
public discussion that had been taking place on the possibility of a
National Theatre for Scotland .
After due consideration the Committee came to the conclusion tha t
in present circumstances the greatest service that could be done fo r
drama in Scotland would be for the Scottish Committee and the respectiv e
Local Authorities to ensure between them the continuance of the existin g
repertory companies . Not until civic theatres were firmly established in
Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, in new buildings on central sites an d
with all the proper amenities, would the Committee feel justified in
considering any scheme for a National Theatre for Scotland .
For the year which ended on March 31st, 1962, the five Scottis h
Repertory theatres received from the Scottish Committee £22,500 in th e
form of grants and guarantees towards their running costs, plus a
further £1,900 in bonuses for worth-while plays, £1,220 in guarantees fo r
first productions of new plays, and £174 in transport subsidies . Fo r
1962/63 the basic sum has been increased by £17,000, of which £4,00 0
has been earmarked for renovations.
75
Amateur Opera
Royal Ballet
Scottish
Ballet Schoo l
Civic Theatres
Dundee Repertory
Theatre
l :dinhurdi
Ivan-nun Comhain
Dundee Repertory Theatre 's output varied considerably during th e
year, which started excellently with some fine productions : notabl y
Tennessee Williams ' s A Streetcar Named Desire ; a new adaptation o f
Chekhov' s The Seagull, transplanted to the present-day Scottish Highlands ; and, by contrast, a modern Soviet play, Victor Rozov ' s In Search
of Happiness, which proved especially attractive to young people . Wit h
the aid of a grant from Scottish Television the theatre also commissione d
a first play from one of Scotland 's leading young writers, Clifford Hanley .
This play, The Durable Element, was also the first to receive a specia l
guarantee under the Scottish Committee 's scheme for the promotion o f
new drama .
However, these and other productions cost considerably more tha n
usual, with the result that by August it was clear to the Board o f
Directors that stringent economies would have to be instituted if th e
theatre were to finish the financial year within its subsidies . As alway s
on such occasions, ` economies ' meant the presentation of small-cast ,
one-set, modern, `safe ' plays ; and, most of the good ones having already
been done in Dundee, many were below the artistic standard expecte d
from this theatre although standards of production and presentatio n
remained high . This policy was rigidly adhered to until towards the en d
of the financial year when Shakespeare ' s The Merchant of Venice broke
all box ofice
f records for a fortnight ' s run and even made a considerabl e
profit .
The Board ' s decision proved to be right, and the continuity of th e
theatre was preserved . The year ended with an accumulated defici t
which was exactly wiped out by Arts Council and Corporation subsidies .
With increased grants for 1962/63 from both the Scottish Committee an d
Dundee Corporation the theatre hopes to be more adventurous in it s
choice of plays and at the same time to improve still further the qualit y
of its productions .
The ninth season of the Edinburgh Gateway Company at the Gatewa y
Theatre was handicapped by there being no permanent producer, and
although the work of the guest directors was highly competent th e
consequent divergence in emphasis manifested itself in an apparen t
lack of consistent policy . In spite of this a number of excellent productions was presented, the most successful being Pygmalion and Let Wives
Tak Tent, Robert Kemp ' s adaptation of Moliere 's L 'Ecole des Femmes,
which was the Company 's contribution to the Edinburgh Festival .
Two new plays were given their first production : these were The Ma n
from Thermopylae by Ada F. Kay, and The Sleepless One by Vincent
Brome. Both received special guarantees against loss from the Scottis h
Committee . The Christmas presentation was That Old Serpent!, a n
adaptation of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century miracle plays by Joh n
76
Prudhoe . Increased aid from Edinburgh Corporation and the Scottis h
Committee has restored the financial stability of the Company .
The Citizens ' continued the ambitious policy embarked upon in the
previous year. The season opened with Inca, a new play by Joseph
O ' Conor, which was enhanced by the presence of Joss Ackland, Joh n
Phillips and the author himself as guest artists . This was followed by a
very successful production of Romeo and Juliet . The Doctor and th e
Devils (a stage presentation of Dylan Thomas 's film scenario), Le Malade
Imaginaire and The Righteous are Bold completed the autumn pro gramme .
The usual Christmas Revue was followed by Robert Bolt ' s A Man fo r
All Seasons (which also toured the south of Scotland for the Arts Council) ,
Tennessee Williams 's Suddenly Last Summer, Allan Ramsay 's The Gentle
Shepherd (a rarely seen Scottish classic), and The Carmelites by George s
Bernanos. The company was especially privileged to present Arnol d
Wesker' s new play, Chips with Everything, almost simultaneously with
its London opening at the Royal Court, and the season concluded wit h
Arthur Miller ' s Death of a Salesman and the complete version of The
Fire Raisers by Max Frisch.
Productions have been on a larger and more ambitious scale than in
previous years . The policy of eschewing the commercial play an d
concentrating only on work of the best quality is gradually yieldin g
results . Audiences consist of increasing numbers of young people, bu t
there is still a great deal of room for improvement in the attendanc e
figures .
The Citizens ' continues to receive the friendly interest and financia l
backing of Glasgow Corporation, which increased its grant for the yea r
from £2,500 to £5,000 .
The Perth Theatre Company has given up its winter touring programme
for economic reasons and instead has been working a new policy of
playing two plays in repertory on alternate nights over the space of a
fortnight . This means maintaining a company large enough to cast tw o
plays each fortnight, but the scheme provides the all-important fort nightly rehearsal period for each play. The scheme has been popula r
with both artists and audiences and will be continued next season .
Attendances improved over the season and the gap between expenditur e
and income (including grants) was successfully bridged by the Playgoer s
Aid Fund which this season collected £3,900 . The Aid Fund is now base d
on solid foundations and can be relied upon to produce at least £3,50 0
each year (its chief source of income is a football lottery!) . The summer
touring programme still remains and fifty-four places in the rura l
districts of Scotland were visited last summer. Important production s
during the season were The Aspern Papers, Ghosts, A Passage to India,
77
Glasgow Citizens '
Theatre
Perth Repertory
Theatre
Pit/ochry
F estiral Societe
St . AmIreics,
RN re Theatre
-1 pprore-rl Plays
Scheme
The Long the Short and the Tall, The Hamlet of Stepney Green, The
School for Scandal, Much Ado about Nothing, The Skin of our Teeth and
A Taste of Honey.
On May 19th, 1961, Pitlochry Festival Theatre celebrated its tenth
anniversary with a gala performance of J . M . Barrie 's Mary Rose,
directed by Richard Mathews . The other plays in the eleventh annua l
festival were Somerset Maugham' s The Circle, Terence Rattigan' s Th e
Deep Blue Sea, Miles Malleso n' s The Slave of Truth adapted from Moliere ' s
Le Misanthrope, Guglielmo Zorzi' s I am Married, and James Forsyth' s
version of the Chu-Su-Chen/Weisenborn Chinese classic Fifteen String s
of Money.
The Pitlochry policy is to present two classical, two popular and tw o
new plays each season. The captive audience of holiday-makers invite d
to Stay Six Days And See Six Plays tends to prefer light entertainment ,
and this preference is reflected in the choice of plays . Prices were maintained at 12s . 6d . down to 6s . 6d . but even with profits from the flourishin g
restaurant and bar, and from locally sponsored fund-raising activities ,
the season ended with a deficit ; this was, however, more than covered by
contributions from the Arts Council and Scottish Television .
Building additions in recent years have included a new dressing-roo m
block, towards which the Pilgrim Trust gave a grant of £2,000, a ne w
kitchen and an extension to the restaurant . A theatre workshop is i n
course of construction, and the Arts Council has promised a grant o f
£1,500 towards its cost .
For the first time, the St . Andrews Players, who run the Byre Theatre ,
sought the Committee 's help . This tiny theatre, constructed from an old
byre and holding only seventy-five people, opens its season each year in
March with an amateur production in order to make a little money to star t
its professional season, which runs from April to December . Running costs
are small compared with the larger repertory theatres, and subsidies of a
few hundred pounds are all that are required to keep the theatre solvent .
The 1961 programme included the following plays :-The Lady's Not fo r
Burning by Christopher Fry, It Depends What You Mean by Jame s
Bridie, Bernard Sbaw ' s The Devil 's Disciple, Giraudoux' s Amphitryon 38
and Pinter 's The Caretaker.
The Scottish Committee ' s scheme of awarding bonuses to repertor y
theatres for the production of plays of good quality was introduced i n
1960 and has now been running for two years . The scheme applies to al l
plays, both old and new, except those being given their first production ,
which are dealt with under the Committee 's New Drama Scheme (se e
below) . Each of the theatres taking part is expected to put on at leas t
one ` worth-while ' play in three before being entitled to a bonus . An
anonymous panel of specialists decides whether a play is `worth-while ' ,
78
and the growing list of approved plays is kept constantly under review .
At the rate of £100 bonus for each approved play in excess of th e
required proportion of one in three, the awards made in the first two year s
of the scheme have been as follows : 1961/62
1960/61
£800
£800
Glasgow Citizens ' Theatre
500
400
Edinburgh Gateway Company
100
100
Dundee Repertory Theatre
400
500
Perth Repertory Theatre
100
100
Pitlochry Festival Society
£1,900
£1,90 0
In order to encourage the theatre managements to increase stil
l
further the proportion of worth-while plays in their programme, th e
Scottish Committee has raised the bonus for the year 1962/63 to 9200 .
The Council ' s scheme for encouraging repertory theatres to give new
plays their first production was extended to Scotland for the first time
in April, 1961 . The scheme, which has proved valuable in England ove r
the last ten years, invites repertory managements to submit scripts of
new plays to the Committee ' s Play Panel, who decide whether or no t
to recommend guarantees against loss on the first production . Th e
maximum guarantee that may be offered for any one production is £300 .
In the first year of this scheme in Scotland the following six play s
received guarantees against loss on their first productions : The Durable Element by Clifford Hanley at the Dundee Repertor y
Theatre (June, 1961 )
Fifteen Strings of Money by Chu-Su-Chen, adapted by Jame s
Forsyth at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre (1961 Festival )
Inca by Joseph O ' Conor at the Glasgow Citizens ' Theatre (September,
1961 )
The Doctor and the Devils by Dylan Thomas and Donald Taylor at
the Glasgow Citizens ' Theatre (September, 1961 )
The Man from Thermopylae by Ada F. Kay at the Edinburg h
Gateway Theatre (November, 1961 )
The Sleepless One by Vincent Brome at the Edinburgh Gatewa y
Theatre (February, 1962) .
A travel grant was awarded during the year to Alex McAvoy towards
the cost of a course of mime in Paris .
In October, the Old Vic Company brought two Shakespeare plays to
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow ; these were The Merchant of'Venice
and Romeo and Juliet, the first directed by Peter Potter and the second b y
Franco Zeffirelli, who also designed the scenery .
79
New Drama
Scheme
Travel Gran t
Old Vi c
New Saltire
Spoken Poetry
Poetry
When the twenty-third and final issue of The Saltire Review wa s
published in February, 1961, it appeared as if Scotland might well b e
for a long time without any sort of national literary periodical . Th e
Saltire Society was, however, persuaded to put its name to an entirel y
new quarterly, New Saltire, and the Scottish Committee agreed t o
subsidise its first eight issues .
The purpose of the magazine is two-fold . First, to provide a platform
for creative writing, notably poetry, and second, to build up a sectio n
devoted to responsible and constructive criticism . The editor is particularly anxious to publish the works of new young writers, especiall y
poets, who otherwise might remain unknown in Scotland .
A recital of his own poetry was given in Edinburgh by Norma n
Nicolson under the auspices of the Scottish Association for the Speakin g
of Verse, which was guaranteed against loss on this event by the Scottis h
Committee .
Appointments, Retirements and Honours
The following retired from the Committee during the year : Mr . Davi d
Baxandall, Mr . Colin Chandler, Mr . Hugh Marshall and Mr . James
McNaught . Mr . Hugh Marshall and Mr . James McNaught were appointe d
for a further term . In addition the following new members wer e
appointed to serve on the Scottish Committee : Mr . George Singleton an d
Professor David Talbot Rice .
11onoars
In the New Year Honours List for 1962, Mr . William MacTaggart,
President of the Royal Scottish Academy and Convener of the Scottis h
Committee ' s Art Sub-Committee, was created a Knight Bachelor .
Staff In December, 1961, Mr. William Buchanan was appointed to succee d
the late Mrs . Ellen Kemp as the Scottish Committee ' s Exhibitions
Officer .
Scottish
Committee
80
Wales
The theme of last year' s Arts Council report was the need for increase d
local support for the arts . Nowhere is this more true than in Wales .
It is therefore heartening that during the financial year 1961/62 ther e
have been many indications of a sharpened awareness of local responsibility towards the arts . Local authority support for the Welsh Nationa l
Opera Company increased from £4,700 in 1960/61 to £6,900 in 1961/62 .
Of this latter sum £3,000 was contributed by Glamorgan County Council ,
£1,000 by Swansea Corporation, £2,000 by Cardiff Corporation an d
£1,000 by Monmouthshire County Council . Over £700 in smaller amount s
was received from twenty other local authorities . ` Television Wales and
the West ' (T .W .W .) gave a grant of £2,500 to the Company . All the music
festivals held in Wales had financial support from local authorities as ,
did the orchestral tour organised by the Welsh Committee to Cardiff ,
Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil and Pembrokeshire . Merthyr Tydfil County
Borough set an example by being the first local authority in Wales to give
81
financial aid to a music club . The spring drama tour organised by th e
Welsh Committee received aid from many local authorities . The Borough
of Colwyn Bay gave a guarantee against loss for a week 's performances a t
their municipal theatre, Caerphilly Urban District Council bought thre e
performances and Aberystwyth one performance . The performances a t
Caerphilly were part of an arts festival, the first of its kind in Wales to b e
organised directly by a local authority .
Caerphilly 's lead is significant because the promotion of the arts i n
Wales is not only hampered by a lack of money but also by difficulties of
local organisation . A few local authorities in urban areas have entertainments managers. In some rural areas officers of the Rural Community
Council help in organising the arts, but this is in addition to their othe r
duties . The local organisation of the arts in Wales is therefore essentiall y
a voluntary activity. Without the enthusiastic support of a large
number of unpaid organisers it would be impossible for the Wels h
Committee to implement its policies . If, however, the provision of larg e
scale activities such as orchestral concerts, performances of plays and o f
opera is to increase, some paid organisers will be needed to aid th e
voluntary enthusiasts in their work .
Most local authorities in rural areas are too small by themselves t o
make a significant contribution to either financing or organising the arts .
The pioneering work of the Pembrokeshire Joint Concerts Committee ,
formed by ten local authorities joining together to promote orchestra l
concerts, is an example of what can be achieved in a rural area by cooperation between authorities . The Welsh Committee hopes that othe r
rural authorities will try experiments of a similar nature .
Finance
The Welsh Committee of the Arts Council received a grant of £78,34 5
for the year 196162, an increase of £17,522 on the previous year . Ful
l
details of the accounts appear in Appendix C . The general expenditure
on the arts during the year was £56,211 14s . 4d . (see Schedule 1), and
the general operating costs amounted to £13,159 13s . 1d. (see Schedule 2) .
Musi c
Opxvn
This year the Welsh National Opera Company finally lost the
appearance of being a temporary organisation. The Company now has a
permanent musical director and a director of productions, and during the
year its administrative headquarters, rehearsal rooms and workshop s
came into full operation . A grant of £5,000 from the Gulbenkia n
Foundation made possible the purchase of a scenery store which ha d
previously been rented . The Company now makes all its own scenery,
costumes and properties . The establishment of an opera school in th e
82
autumn of 1962 will take the professionalisation of the Company yet a
stage further. Five weeks of opera were performed during the year : a
season of two weeks at Cardiff and of one week at Swansea, Llandudn o
and Sadler' s Wells respectively . At Sadler 's Wells the Company gave
their first London performance of Verdi' s Battle and Rimsky-Korsakov' s
May Night. The major new production was Rossini ' s William Tel l
which was given its first performance at Cardiff on October 2nd, 1961 .
William Tell appeared again in the programme at Swansea in March ,
1962, where another new production, The Marriage of Figaro, was also
given . This was the first time the Company had produced an opera b y
Mozart . The Llandudno season during late August included performance s
of Nabucco, Tosca, Il Trovatore, The Barber of Seville and La Boheme .
The support given to the Company was the best they have- ever had in
North Wales . All the operas performed during the year were produced b y
John Moody, and the conductors were Charles Groves, Warwick
Braithwaite, Ivor John and Wyn Morris .
During the year thirty-three performances were given in Wales by the
Arts Council 's Opera for All Group . The demand for Opera for All
throughout Wales is now much greater than the supply, so that many
requests for performances have had to be refused . This widesprea d
interest in opera is perhaps one of the most striking features of Wels h
musical taste at the present time .
It has become customary for many choirs in the more rural parts o f
Wales to come together annually and take part in a one-day festival a t
which they perform with a professional orchestra and under a gues t
conductor . Such festivals organised during the year included the
Montgomery County Music Festival at Newtown, the Dee and Clwy d
Festival at Corwen, the Brecknock County Festival at Ystradgynlais an d
the festival organised by the Welsh Region of the National Federatio n
of Music Societies at Bargoed .
Festivals of quite a different character are held at Swansea and
Llandaff. The basis of the Swansea Festival is a week of concerts o f
well-known music by a well-known orchestra . This year the orchestra wa s
the Hall6, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli and Hugo Rignold . Th e
only new works to be performed were the Divertimento for Strings an d
the Elegy for Strings, by the Swansea composer Gareth Walters . With
the aid of a grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation one concert wa s
devoted to English music. The first week of the Festival ended with a
performance of Beethoven 's Choral Symphony conducted by Hug o
Rignold with the Pontardulais Choral Society and Heather Harper ,
Norma Proctor and John Mitchinson . There followed in the second week
an organ recital by Geraint Jones and a concert by the Geraint Jone s
Orchestra in St . Mary 's Church . Attendances throughout the Festiva l
83
Opera for All
Festivals
were greater than ever before .
The seating capacity of Llandaff Cathedral is about half that of th e
Brangwyn Hall at Swansea . The Llandaff Festival has therefore to b e
on a somewhat more modest scale and orchestral concerts are interspersed with recitals by smaller ensembles and soloists . Relieved of the
necessity of ensuring a large audience, the programmes at Llandaff ca n
be more adventurous than those at Swansea . The opening concert o n
June 18th was given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducte d
by Meredith Davies, and the programme included the first performance o f
William Mathias 's piano concerto with Robin Wood as the soloist . This
work was commissioned by the Welsh Committee of the Arts Council .
Other concerts were given by the London Baroque Ensemble conducte d
by Karl Haas, the Amadeus String Quartet with Gervase de Peye r
(clarinet) and Cecil Aronowitz (viola), and a recital by John Ogdo n
(piano), Osian Ellis (harp) and Manoug Parikian (violin) . The Wels h
National Opera Company with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestr a
gave a performance of Verdi ' s Requiem . This concert was conducted b y
Charles Groves and the soloists were Heather Harper, Tano Ferendinos ,
Janet Baker and Ronald Lewis . Probably the most notable concert was
the first performance of a liturgical opera The Race of Adam by Alu n
Hoddinott to a libretto by Moelwyn Merchant, commissioned by th e
Festival Committee . The story was narrated and the action mimed, t o
an accompaniment of orchestra, choir and soloists . The producer was
Clifford Williams. This performance would have been impossible withou t
a substantial grant from the Welsh Committee ' s fiend for the promotio n
of new music.
The Welsh Committee has for many years given financial aid to th e
F;ist((1(11MIm(
National Eisteddfod but this year the Committee also gave a grant to th e
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod towards a concert given a t
the close of the Eisteddfod by the London Philharmonic Orchestr a
conducted by Rudolf Schwartz .
Although these festivals make a valuable contribution to Wels h
1111sir ( 1((h . (uid
musical
life they do concentrate musical activity into a short period o f
It,(h(ar(~7 (~~n~~ rr,
time . The greatest need in Wales at present is to establish the habit of
concert-going as a regular rather than a sporadic activity. The thirty-one
music clubs in Wales make an important contribution to this, as does th e
Barry and District Concerts Committee, which has now established a
series of concerts throughout the winter season . This year the programme
at Barry included three orchestral concerts given respectively by th e
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Groves, the
Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, and the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Anatole Fistoulari . The Hall e
Orchestra also gave a concert at Rhyl which was organised by the Bbvl
84
Music Club, and in March the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestr a
conducted by Edgar Cosma made a tour of South Wales, playing a t
Fishguard, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea and Cardiff.
During the year the Committee made the following commissions :Dr. R. Smith Brindle-a short work for voice and chamber orchestra ;
Kenneth Harding-A sonata for violin and viola ;
Mansel Thomas-A song-cycle .
In addition, Philip Croot, Alun Hoddinott, William Mathias, Patric k
Piggott, Mervyn Roberts, Manse] Thomas, Gareth Walters and Davi d
Wynne were invited to contribute to an anthology of short piano pieces .
Commission s
Art
The number of Arts Council exhibitions shown in Wales increased from
forty-nine in the year 196061 to sixty-five in 1961/62 . Some of thes e
exhibitions were mounted by the Arts Council in London while other s
were planned by the Welsh Office . The principal exhibition staged by th e
Welsh Committee was Sculpture 1961 . This exhibition was planned as a
review of contemporary British sculpture, and recent works by Henr y
Moore, Kenneth Armitage, Bernard Meadows, Barbara Hepworth, F . E .
McWilliam, Ralph Brown and Ivor Roberts-Jones were shown . It was
the most ambitious exhibition ever staged by the Welsh Committee an d
was indeed one of the largest travelling exhibitions of sculpture to b e
shown in the British Isles . Each artist was represented by a group o f
seven or more pieces, which in every case included some major works .
Particular attention was paid to display, and a series of screens wa s
devised to allow the work of each sculptor to be seen separately . Th e
exhibition opened in Cardiff at the National Museum of Wales in Jul y
and was later shown at Swansea, Aberystwyth, and Bangor .
The Welsh Committee has an obligation to be a patron of the Wels h
artist . The Welsh Collection which has been built up over the past twelv e
years now numbers some 200 works, and a selection is always on tour .
These works have been bought from exhibitions in Wales and London
and from the artists ' own studios, but one of the main sources is th e
Welsh Committee' s own annual exhibition of contemporary painting and
sculpture . This year 's exhibition was first shown at the National
Museum of Wales to delegates at the Conference of the Arts, and late r
moved to Swansea, Aberystwyth and Bangor . The selectors were Caret
Weight, Antony Gross, Kenneth Rowntree and Austin Wright . An eve n
greater entry was attracted than in previous years, so that the exhibitio n
included a representative selection of the best contemporary painting an d
sculpture in Wales .
It has also become part of the Welsh Committee's policy to moun t
annually a small group exhibition of work by contemporary Wels h
85
Exhibition s
Art Films
Didactic
11"
hibitions
Catalogues and
Guide Lectures
Tours
artists . This year an exhibition was arranged of the work of Kyffi n
Williams, Jonah Jones and John Petts, all artists who have drawn thei r
subject matter from Wales . Jonah Jones works in North Wales a t
Portmadoc, and John Petts at Llanstephan on the Towy estuary, whil e
Kyffin Williams divides his time between London and his native Anglesey .
The exhibition was shown in many of the more rural areas, where there are
few opportunities for seeing exhibitions of original work . It had a much
greater impact because it was accompanied by a film showing the artist s
at work and explaining their aims . This film was originally shown on
television and re-edited by the B .B .C ., who kindly made it available t o
the Welsh Committee .
The Arts Council' s art films have always been popular in Wales, an d
this financial year tours were arranged in South Wales in the autumn o f
1961 and in North Wales in the spring of 1962 . Of particular interest t o
Welsh audiences was the film based on Ceri Richard s' s series of painting s
that had been inspired by Debussy' s La Cath6drale Engloutie. This fil m
was produced by the Arts Council and its Welsh Committee in associatio n
with Marlborough Fine Art Ltd . The success achieved by this film i s
instructive . Wales is a country with but a slender tradition in the visua l
arts, but much can be done to break down a lack of interest an d
understanding.
Exhibitions can also be organised for an avowedly `educational '
purpose . The first of such didactic exhibitions was mounted this year by
the Welsh Committee and consists of reproductions in which the development of the Impressionist Movement in France is traced, so that th e
work of each painter is related to his social and cultural background .
The exhibition is mounted on screens which can be set up in premise s
which are not equipped to show pictures on the walls . During the yea r
this exhibition was shown at ten places in Wales .
An attempt has also been made to provide more informative catalogue s
for all the exhibitions organised by the Welsh Committee and to increase
the number of guide lectures .
The Committee produced a short monograph on Ceri Richards and hi s
work on the occasion of the award to him of the Gold Medal by th e
National Eisteddfod for his contribution to the visual arts in Wales .
The text of this monograph was in both Welsh and English and there ha s
been considerable demand for it not only from the general public but als o
from schools and colleges .
Drama
For many years it has been the Welsh Committee ' s policy to organis e
spring and autumn tours of the theatreless towns of Wales by a professional theatre company . By this means professional performances o f
86
plays have been brought to a large number of people, but despite a n
encouraging response in all parts of Wales, the Committee has bee n
conscious that the life of each drama tour has been short and that the y
did little towards creating a permanent organisation for professiona l
drama . The Committee resolved therefore that as soon as possible a
permanent touring company should be formed . This they felt should b e
the first step in the establishment of a professional theatre for Wales .
The announcement in March, 1961, of a special Treasury grant to ai d
provincial theatres has made it possible for the Welsh Committee t o
plan the establishment in the autumn of 1962 of a permanent Wels h
touring company with its headquarters in Cardiff . It is hoped that at least
some members of this company will be bi-lingual so that plays in bot h
Welsh and English can be performed . As a step towards the formatio n
of such a company the Welsh Committee decided that all the arrangements for the spring tour in 1962 should be organised by the Wels h
Office . In previous years the company has been formed by the Arts
Council in London and only the local organisation has been done by th e
Welsh Committee . The play chosen for the tour was Robert Bolt 's
A Man for All Seasons . The producer was Warren Jenkins, who ha s
been appointed Artistic Director of the permanent company . The set
was designed by Richard Lake .
This company also broke new ground in that it played for a week a t
the New Theatre, Cardiff, and the Prince of Wales Theatre, Colwyn Bay ,
three nights at Caerphilly, and two nights at the Dragon Theatre ,
Barmouth, in addition to a number of one-night stands . This was a ste p
towards the Committee's policy of creating a number of centres i n
Wales so that ultimately it might become possible to do away wit h
single performances in small and inadequate halls .
The Arena Theatre Company's Summer Festival this year took plac e
at the Prince of Wales Theatre instead of the familiar marquee in th e
Castle grounds . The Company presented an adaptation by John English
of Moliere 's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, The Matchmaker by Thornton
Wilder, and Roots by Arnold Wesker. In spite of some misgivings abou t
the effect of the move to a theatre, the audience was greater than in any
previous year. The season was as usual guaranteed against loss by th e
Cardiff City Council and the Welsh Committee on a pound for poun d
basis .
As there is no professional company to perform plays in the Wels h
language, it is the Welsh Committee ' s policy to give some financial ai d
to amateur groups who reach high standard. One such group is th e
Theatr Fach Llangefni . This Little Theatre was fortunate to obtain a
Gulbenkian award of £2,000 towards its appeal for £5,000, which ha s
made possible the extension of the floor heating in the auditorium and
87
Arena Theatr e
Welsh Dram a
Poetn'
LiterarY anc ards
building a completely new stage with facilities for flying scenery . The
Committee continued its support of the Welsh Drama Week at Swanse a
and the Anglesey Welsh Drama Festival . At this latter festival on e
evening was devoted to a poetry reading, Perthyn, produced by Mis s
Cassie Davies and presented by the Welsh Committee.
Two other programmes of poetry were presented during the year .
A recital of the work of R . Williams-Parry, compiled by John Gwily m
Jones and entitled Cerddi' r Haf ar Gaeaf was given by W. H. Robert s
and J. O. Roberts at Penygroes, Llanuwchlyn and Llanelly in Novembe r
and December, 1961, and in Anglesey early in 1962 . Five Poets from
Wales, a recital of some work by Dylan Thomas, R . S . Thomas, Alun
Lewis, Vernon Watkins and Anthony Conran, and read by Heathe r
Black, V. C . Clinton-Baddeley and Hugh Dickson, was given at Llandrindod Wells, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Wrexham in March 1962 .
The Committee awarded £100 each to Richard Hughes, for his novel
The Fox in the Attic, and to Islwyn Ffowe Elis for his novel Tabyrddau ' r
Babongo.
Welsh Committe e
The following retired from the Committee during the year : th e
Chairman, Professor Gwyn Jones ; Professor D . E . Parry Williams ;
Lady Amy Parry-Williams ; Mr . Alex J . Gordon ; Mr . T . Glyn Davies an d
Mr . Alan Pryce-Jones . Professor Gwyn Jones, Professor D . E . Parr y
Williams, Lady Amy Parry-Williams and Mr. Alex J . Gordon wer e
re-appointed for a further term . In addition the following new member s
were appointed to serve on the Welsh Committee : Professor Brinle y
Thomas and Mr . Iorwerth Howells .
The death of Mr . Iolo Aneurin Williams on January, 18th 1962 ,
was a grievous loss to the Welsh Committee . His wide knowledge of the
arts and of Wales, and his long experience of journalism, were invaluabl e
to the Committee .
Welsh Oftc e
During the year Mr . David Peters resigned his appointment as Deput y
Director and emigrated to Australia . Mr. Alfred Roy Bohana, B .A . ,
B .Mus ., was appointed Music Assistant Director, and Mr . Dennis
Curthoys, L.R .A .M ., was appointed Drama Assistant Director .
88
Notes on the Accounts
These notes are given in amplification of the Annual Accounts which ar e
contained in Appendices A, B and C following .
1. The Revenue and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31st
March, 1962, includes a specific reserve of £3,000 for the Coventry Cathedra l
Festival held in May and June, 1962 . This sum, together with £4,50 0
included in the budget for the year ending 31st March, 1963, has bee n
offered in the financial year 1962/63 as a guarantee of £7,500 against an y
loss incurred on this Festival .
2. The grants of £20,450 for Nottingham Theatre Trust Limite d
shown in Schedule 3 under Drama comprise a revenue grant of £10,00 0
for the Company ' s work for the year ended 31st March, 1962, a Transpor t
subsidy of £450 and a capital grant of £10,000 towards the cost of seatin g
the new theatre . A further grant of £300 for the Nottingham Theatr e
Trust Limited is shown in Schedule 3 under Art . This is the first o f
three annual instalments totalling £900 towards the cost of a design by
Geoffrey Clarke for the outside of the drum of the auditorium of the ne w
Nottingham Civic Theatre .
3. An amount of £750 is shown in Schedule 3 for the Three Choir s
Festival at Hereford . This guarantee was for the final year in a cycle of
three during which the guarantees of £750 per annum were considered
cumulative so that any uncalled balances in 1959/60 and 1960/61 wer e
carried forward and added to the 1961/62 guarantee . Since the schedul e
has been completed the results of the Hereford Festival have been mad e
known and the total claim for three years ended 31st March, 1962 will
be £2,218 4s . 2d . for the Festivals in Gloucester, Worcester and Herefor d
against a total cover of £2,250 .
4. A holding of £100 in 42 per cent . Conversion Stock 1962 was shown
as part of the Mrs . Thornton Fund in the Special Fund Investments as a t
31st March, 1961 . This Stock was redeemed on the due date and the
proceeds re-invested in 51 per cent . Funding Stock 1982/84 as shown in
Schedule 6 as at 31st March, 1962 .
89
A p p e n d ix A The Arts Council of Great Britai n
1960 61
£1,225,434
125,709
£
General Expenditure on the Arts in England (See Schedule 1)
d.
9
124,783
2
4
10,575
Capital Expenditure Transferred to Capital Account
9,271
9
4
-
Specific Reserve-Coventry Cathedral Festival
3,000
0
0
54
110,394
60,823
General Operating Costs in England (See Schedule 2)
s.
1,438,945 16
Reserve for Capital Purchase
Grant to Scottish Committee
Grant to Welsh Committee
£1,532,989
1 .21 3f~
26,467
Balance brought down
Balance carried forward
£22,231
90
- - 123,267
3
4
78,345
0
0
£1,777,612 11
9
19,040 14
0
7,426 13
1
£26,467 7
1
Revenue and Expenditure Account
for the year ended 31st March, 196 2
£
1960161
£1,500,000
23,101
£
s . d.
s. d .
1,745,000
Grant in Aid: H.M. Treasury
Picasso Exhibition
3,195
Repayment of Loans
1,951
Cancellation of Grants, Guarantees and provision for expense s
in previous year not required
5,783
Amount Transferred from Reserve for Capital Purchase
Sundry Receipts
Interest : Bank and Investment
Proceeds of Sale of Assets
Miscellaneous
5,972
420
21
0
3
7
54 10
0
6,414
Balance carried down
0,532,989
22,231
0
9 0
711
7 3
6,906
4,236
0
- - 1,320
2,072
0
Balance as at 1st April, 1961
£22,231
91
4
2
19,040 14
0
£1,777,612 11
9
26,467 7
1
£26,467 7
1
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
Liabilities
I 9n", 61
Capital Account
£
s. d.
Balance as at 31st March, 1961
Add Capital Expenditure during year
transferred from Revenue and
Expenditure Account
Less Book Value of Assets sold :
Office Equipment
Cars and Vans
Lithographs
£101,188
46,236
£
s. d .
£
s . d.
101,187 13 1 0
9,271
9
4
110,459
3
2
1 ,611
4
4
590 11 8
1,020 4 9
7 11
108,847 18 1 0
Grants and Guarantees Outstanding
54,881
4
4
31,944 19
6
17,161 15
9
Credit Balances
30,951
19,899
Sundry Creditors and Accrued Liabilities
Special Funds (See Schedule 5)
Reserve for Capital Purchase s
Balance as at 31st March, 1961
Less Amount transferred to
Revenue and Expenditure Account
54
30,000
228 ,328
54 10
0
54 10
0
- - -
Reserve for Special Art Projects
I :arried it r\,,ird
92
30,000
0
0
242,835 18
5
Balance Sheet as at 31st March, 196 2
Asset s
1960(61
Office Equipment
£
s . d.
At valuation as at 31st March, 1956, and additions
at cost less items sold to 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
16,718 16
1,421 15
1
0
Less items sold during year
18,140 11
590 11
1
8
216,719
£
s. d.
17,549 19
5
13,660 13
0
100
0
0
11,341 15
0
10,926
1
4
571 11
2
48,226 13
9
Motor Vans and Car s
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
13,225 5
1,455 12
4
5
Less items sold during year
14,680 17
1,020 4
9
9
13,225
Cello Account
100
At valuation as at 31st March, 1960
Theatre and Concert Hall Equipmen t
11,342
At valuation as at 31st March, 1956, and addition s
at cost less items sold to 31st March, 1961
Art Exhibition Equipmen t
10,926
At valuation as at 31st March, 1956, and additions
at cost less items sold to 31st March, 1961
Lithographs
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Less items sold during year
571 19 1
7 11
572
Pictures and Sculptures
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
41,897 1 1 0
6,329 11 1 1
41,897
Reproductions
At valuation as at 31st March, 1957, and addition s
at cost to 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
6,406 15
64 10
2
0
6,407
6,471
5
2
247 12
1
Wigmore Hall Canteen Stoc k
172
101,360
As at 31st March, 1962
3
Carried forward
109,095 10 1 1
93
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
Liabilities
£
1960 61
£228,328
-
Brought forward
Specific Reserve-Coventry Cathedral Festival
s. d.
242,835 18
5
3,000 0
0
7,426 13
1
9253,262 11
6
Revenue and Expenditure Account
26,467
Balance as at 31st March, 1962
Note : No provision has been made for
depreciation of Assets : renewals ar e
charged to Revenue .
Chairman: COTTESLOE
Secretary-General : W . E . WILLIAMS
£254,795
A
I have examined the foregoing Account and Balance Sheet . I have obtained all the
information and explanations that I have required and I certify, as the result of m y
audit, that in my opinion this Account and Balance Sheet are properly drawn up so a s
94
Balance Sheet as at 31st March , 196 2
Asset s
£
1960/61
9101,360
s . d.
Brought forward
£
s. d.
109,095 10 1 1
Loans to Associated and Other Organisation s
(See Schedule 4 )
Secured by Mortgage
Secured by Investment
Unsecured and only conditionally recoverable
Less Reserve
6,455
3,000
3,330
8,070
0
0
0
0
0
0
14,400
8,070
0
0
0
0
0
0
15,741 14
4
5,598 13
0
6,330
Special Fund Investments (See Schedule 6)
15,744
At cost or as at date of transfer
(Market value £11,559 lls . Od.)
Investments
3 per cent. Savings Bonds 19607 0
(Market value £4,052 14s . 3d .)
3j per cent. Defence Bonds, Conversion issu e
(Market value at par)
5,000
0
0
598 13
0
5,599
Debit Balances
Sundry Debtors and payments in advance
Due from Scottish Committee
Due from Welsh Committee and in transit
44,488
44,082 19
30 0
1,104 3
3
0
6
45,217
2
9
71,279 10
6
£253,262 11
6
Cash
On Bank Deposit
Less Balance on Current Account
Add Imprests
In hand
81,149
103,000 0
32,584 19
70,415
458
406
0
3
6
0
6
6
4
8
£254,795
to exhibit a true and fair view of the transactions of the Arts Council of Great Britai n
and of the state of their affairs .
Signed : E. G . COMPTON, Comptroller and Auditor General .
Exchequer and Audit Department ,
13th August, 1962 .
95
Schedule 1
The Arts Council of Great Britain
General Expenditure on the Arts in England for th e
year ended 31st March, 1962
Music
Opera and Ballet :
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Drectly
i
Managed Performances (Opera for All)
Other Activities :
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Wigmore Concert Hall (Including costs of Repairs to Building )
Net Revenue of Wigmore Hall Caterin g
Audition Expenses
Net Total Expenditure
Dram a
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Art
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Exhibition s
Art Films Tour s
Lithograph Sales
Net Total Expenditure
Festivals
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Poetry
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Poetry Library and Miscellaneous Expenses
Net Total Expenditure
Arts Centres and Arts Club s
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
96
Gross
Revenue
£
s. d.
Gross
Expenditure
£
s. d.
Net
Revenue
£
s. d.
Ne t
Expenditure
£
s. d .
3
6
21,699
7
4
926,602
6,471
2 3
3 10
11,400 15
4
13,931
2
6
190,831
2,530
1
7
5
2
82
5
0
1,126,516 19
426 16
8
8
15,228
426 16
426 16
£
s. d .
8
8
1,126,090
3
0
222,635 11
7
65,799 7
1
222,635 11 7
64,526 5 10
1,153 10 11
122,906 3
1,574 2
I,vvv v v
58,379 17 4
420 11 1 0
2
9
12
1
1 2 1
65,800 9 2
1 2 1
12,675 4 11
12,675 4 1 1
2,815 13 1
339 17 1
3,155 10
2
8,590 0
0
£1,438,945 16
9
8,590 0 0
Net Expenditure transferred to Revenue and Expenditure Account
97
G
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
Schedule 2
General Operating Costs for the year ended 31st March, 1962
£
s . d.
£
s . d.
£
s . d.
Salaries :
Music
Drama
12,193
2
8
8,128
4
2
Art
24,414
3
5
Finance
13,035 10
5
Secretarial and General
23,351 14 11
Superannuation
81,122 15
7
7,063 16
8
88,186 12
Travelling and Subsistence
3
5,365
5
7
18,476
2
8
Publicity and Entertainment
4,136 12
4
Office and Sundry Expenses
8,618
6
Rent, Rates and Rouse Expenses
Transferred to Revenue and Expenditure Account
Note: Endowment benefits due to members of the Pension Fund ar e
assured by Policies held by the Council .
98
9
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
Grants and Guarantees for the year ended 31st March, 1962
£
s. d.
Schedule 3
£
s. d .
Music
Opera and Balle t
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Limite d
Sadler's Wells Trust Limited
Royal Ballet School Limited (Grant for Capital Expenditure )
Mercury Theatre Trust Limited (Ballet Rambert )
Western Theatre Ballet Limite d
National School of Opera
English Opera Group Limited
tNew Opera Company Limite d
Intimate Opera Society Limite d
Handel Opera Societ y
tDirect Grants and Guarantees to other Opera and Ballet
organisation s
tAmateur Operatic Societie s
Symphony Orchestras
tCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
tHalle Concerts Societ y
tLondon Philharmonic Orchestra Limited
London Philharmonic Society Limite d
tLondon Symphony Orchestra Limite d
Northern Sinfonia Concerts Societ y
tRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Limited
Western Orchestral Society Limited (Bournemouth Symphon y
Orchestra )
Other Activitie s
tBrighton Philharmonic Society Limite d
British Institute of Recorded Sound :
Administration
Central Gramophone Library
£750 0
1,500 0
505,991 10
365,000 0
15,000 0
20,450 0
4,500 0
4,250 0
3,500 0
2,000 0
1,500 0
1,250 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
817 16
2,342 15
8
7
29,000
28,000
10,700
7,700
6,100
2,500
29,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
32,500
0
0
2,000
0
0
2,250
450
900
2,000
1,750
1,250
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
28,357 18
2
6,373
-
3
926,602
2
3
145,500
0
0
45,331
1
5
1,117,433
3
8
0
0
English Chamber Orchestra and Music Society
Institute of Contemporary Arts (Music Section)
Philomusica of London Limited
The Royal Philharmonic Society
Society for the Promotion of New Music
Payments to Music Societies and Clubs affiliated to the Nationa l
Federation of Music Societies in respect of guarantee s
(including Federation Administration )
tDirect Grants and Guarantees to Musical Organisations fo r
special Concert Activities
3
Carried forward
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
99
F
s. d.
Brought fonN and
Dram a
'tBarrow-in-Furness : Renaissance Theatre Trust Company
Limited
t$Birmingham Repertory Theatre Limited
t$Bristol : Old Vic Trust Limited
•tCambridge Arts Theatre Trust
'tCanterbury Theatre Trust Limited
•t$Carlisle Theatre Trust Limited
•t$Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company Limited
Chesterfield Civic Theatre Limited
•tColchester Repertory Company Limited
•t$Coventry : Belgrade Theatre Trust (Coventry) Limited
•$Derby Playhouse Limited
Farnham Repertory Company Limited
't$Guildford Theatre Club Limited
•t$Harrogate (White Rose) Theatre Trust Limited
$Hornchurch Theatre Trust Limited
Ipswich Arts Theatre Trust
tLeatherhead Repertory Company Limited
'tLincoln Theatre Association Limited
London:
English Stage Company Limited
tMermaid Theatre Trust
Old Vic Trust Limited
tPioneer Theatres Limited (Theatre Workshop)
Loughborough and District Theatre Association Limited
•tNorthampton Repertory Players Limited
'tNottingham Theatre Trust Limited :
Revenue
£10,450 0 0
10,000 0 0
Capital
tOldham Repertory Theatre Club
tOxford : Meadow Players Limited
'Richmond Theatre Productions Limited
•t$Salisbury Arts Theatre Limited
t$Sheffield Repertory Company Limited
•tSouthport Repertory Company Limited
$Windsor Repertory Company : Capoco Limited
tYork Citizens' Theatre Trust Limited
Touring :
t$Century Theatre Limited
Mobile Theatre Limited
$Prospect Productions Limited
*Studio Theatre Limited (Theatre in the Round)
The British Centre of the International Theatre Institute
tCouncil of Repertory Theatres
Carried forward
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
100
1,050 0
10,450 0
8,200 0
1,100 0
3,200 0
3,670 0
3,375 0
2,000 0
3,650 0
10,425 0
2,840 12
1,000 0
4,125 0
1,380 0
3,180 0
4,000 0
3,000 0
5,422 19
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8,000
2,500
80 9 000
2,000
1,500
4,250
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
20,450
1,000
13,000
100
4,632
31
100
130
1,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
2,625
3,000
450
2,150
250
350
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
219,586 11
7
£
1,117,433
1,117,433
s. d.
3 8
3
8
£
s. d .
£
s. d.
Brought forward 219,586 11 7 1,117,433 3 8
Drama (continued )
tAwards for New Designers
Bursaries and New Drama Expenses
Travel Grants for Producers
865 0 0
2,034 0 0
150 0 0
222,635 11
7
7,000 0
0
1,347,068 15
3
'Includes Transport Subsidies totalling £6,313 lls . Od .
$Includes New Drama Scheme Guarantees totalling £5,707 Os . 7d .
Art
Birmingham: Mixed Company II Exhibition
tBournemouth Arts Club
Brentwood Art Society
tBromley Art Society
tBruton Art Society
Caterham Art Group
Christchurch : Red House Museum and Art Gallery
Cirencester Arts Club
Colchester Art Society
London :
Institute of Contemporary Arts
tSociety for Education through Art
tThe Finsbury Art Group
The First Group
The London Group
tTrustees of the Whitechapel Art Gallery
United Kingdom National Committee of the International
Association of Plastic Arts
Women's International Art Club
tYoung Contemporaries 1962
tManchester : Red Rose Guild of Craftsmen
tMidland Group of Artists
tNottingham Theatre Trust Limited
The Newlyn Society of Artists
Oxford : Bear Lane Gallery Limited
The Penwith Society of Arts in Cornwall
PetersSeld Arts and Crafts Society
Sussex Aaglo-Russian Circle
Truro and District Art Society
tThe Art Group of Yeovil
20
100
25
40
50
40
60
150
50
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2,800
155
40
20
400
600
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
50
250
200
25
850
300
250
50
350
25
50
25
25
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Festivals
Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts
Bath Festival Society Limited
2,500
1,500
Carried forward
0
0
0
0
4,000 0 0
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
10 1
£
linnn_!~t h,"d
4,000
s. d .
0 0
£
s.
1,347,068 15
d.
3
Festivals (continued)
tCheltenham Arts Festivals Limited :
Cheltenham Festival of British Contemporary Musi c
tDelius Centenary Festiva l
The Dolmetsch Foundation (Haslemere Festival )
The St. George's Guildhall Limited (King's Lynn Festival)
Leeds Triennial Musical Festival
Ludlow Festival Society Limite d
Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Musical Festiva l
Stroud Festival of Religious Drama and the Art s
tThree Choirs Festival Association Limited (Three Choirs Festival ,
Hereford)
1,750 0
1,500 0
450 0
747 17
2,000 0
500 0
900 0
77 7
750
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
4
0
-
12,675
4 11
Poetry
tThe Apollo Society
The British Institute of Recorded Sound (Recorded Literatur e
Grant)
Cley Women's Institute (Little Festival of Poetry ,
Cley-next-the-Sea)
Contemporary Poetry and Music Circle
Hampstead Festival of the Arts
tThe Poetry Book Society Limited :
General
£500 0 0
Festival of Poetry
1,535 9 10
500
0
0
100
0
0
8 8
30 0
5 14
4
0
8
2,035
136
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
9 10
0 3
2,815 13
1
1,362,559 13
3
Arts Centres and Arts Clubs
150
100
50
200
30
15
50
100
35
25
75
300
50
50
400
80
45
300
Alfreton and District Arts Association
Basingstoke Theatre Association Limited
tBillingham Association of the Arts
Coventry Arts Centre: The Umbrella Club
Cowes and District Arts Association
tCrewe and District Music and Arts Society
tCromer Society
Dudley Arts Council
tEston and Ormesby Guild of Arts
Frodsham Music and Arts Club
tHartlepools Arts Association
tHastings : Stables Trust Limited
tHuntingdonshire Music and Arts Society
tKettering and District Three Arts Club
tKing's Lynn : St. George's Guildhall Limited
tLeek and District Arts Club
tLincoln Society of Arts
Manchester Institute of Contemporary Arts
nrried fors mr-l
rMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
102
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2,055 0 0
£
s . d.
Brought forward 2,055 0 0
Arts Centres and Arts Clubs (continued)
tMarple Arts Group
Middlesbrough Little Theatre Limited
tNewmarket and District Arts League
tNewport Arts Association
Rosehill Arts Trust Limited
tSolihull Society of Arts
tSpalding Arts Council
Stafford and District Arts Council
i Tamworth Arts Club
Tring Arts Society
tWednesbury Society of Arts
tWest Wight Arts Association
Wolverhampton Civic Hall Arts Society
tWorcester : S .A.M.A .
tWorsley Art and Music Society
tMidland Arts Association (Administration )
South Western Arts Association :
Administratio n
Arts Centres and Clubs :
tBlandford Arts Club
tBridgwater and District Arts Centre Limited
Chippenham and District Society of Arts
Crewkerne Arts Clu b
tDawlish Arts Festival and Repertory Company
tDevon Guild of Craftsmen
tExeter: The Arts Group
tFalmouth: Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Societ y
Isle of Purbeck Arts Club
tKingsbridge Music Club
tLaunceston Arts Society
tNewton Abbot and District Society of Arts
tPlymouth Arts Centre
tSt. Austell Society of Art s
Shaftesbury and District Arts Clu b
tStreet Society of Arts
tTaunton Deane Arts Society
tTruro Three Arts Society
tWarminster Arts Clu b
tWestou-super-Mare Society of Arts
tWeymouth and South Dorset Arts Centre
20
200
40
50
250
20
30
100
40
40
30
30
25
90
20
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2,000 0
40
450
35
40
50
40
75
875
40
30
30
40
275
275
485
45
50
45
45
75
260
£
e. d .
1,362,559 13 3
3,040 0
250 0
0
0
5,300 0
0
£1,371,149 13
3
0
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
10 3
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
Schedule 4
Loans to Associated and other Organisation s
£
s. d .
3,125 0 0
125 0 0
Loans secured by mortgage
Less : repaid during year
Loan secured by investment
Loans unsecured and only conditionally recoverable
Less : repayment during year of loans previously reserved
Schedule, 5
£
s. d .
3,000 0
0
£3,330 0
0
9,390 0
1,320 0
0
0
£8,070 0
0
Special Funds
£
s. d.
£
s . d.
£
s . d.
Pilgrim Trust Special Fund
As at 31st March, 1961
Add: Income during year
1,551 19
45 10
3
0
1,597
9
3
9,385 10
3
H. A . Thew Fund
Capital Account
9,094 10
9
290 19
6
Income Account
Balance at 31st March, 196 1
Add : Income during year
277 1 8
304 12 1 0
Less : Payments during yea r
581 14
290 15
6
0
Mrs. Thornton Fund
Capital Account
5,426 14
1
302 13
9
Income Account
Balance at 31st March, 196 1
Add : Income during year
340 11
376 18
9
3
Less : Payments during year
717 10
414 16
0
3
5,729
Arts Council : Theatre Royal Bristol Reserve Fun d
As at 31st March, 1961
Add : Income during year
Less : Payments and commitments during year
Total Special Funds as per Balance Sheet
104
3,208 4
986 18
7 10
3
7
4,195 2 1 0
3,745 14 5
449 8
5
£17,161 15
9
The Arts Council of Great Britain
Special Fund Investments as at 31st March, 1962
Nominal
Value
£
s. d .
Book
Value
£
s. d.
Schedule 6
Market
Valu e
£
s. d.
Pilgrim Trust Special Fund
3j per cent. Defence Bond s
(Conversion Issue)
1,300 0 0
1,297 0 0
1,300 0
0
3 per cent. British Transport Stoc k
1978/88
6,876 16 11
6,326 13 11
4,126 2
1
31 per cent. Conversion Stock
2,809 19 10
2,767 16 10
1,545 9 1 1
665 1 9
488 16 10
269 7
3
H. A . Theta Fund
Mrs . Thornton Fund
2~ per cent. Consolidated Stock
3 per cent. Funding Stock 1959/6 9
2,097 2 1
2,099 15 0
1,740 12
0
3 per cent. Funding Stock 1959/69
(P.O . Issue)
250 0 0
249 7 6
207 10
0
51 per cent . Conversion Stock 197 4
(P.O . Issue)
200 0 0
203 7 6
186 0
0
5 per cent. Defence Bonds (Conversio n
Issue )
30 0 0
30 0 9
30 0
0
31 per cent . City of Birmingham Stock
100 0 0
102 0 0
100 0
0
3 per cent. British Transport Stock
1978/8 8
355 5 10
337 10 6
213 3
7
31 per cent . Defence Bonds
(Conversion Issue)
740 0 0
739 5 6
740 0
0
1,000 0 0
1,000 0 0
1,000 0
0
110 2 4
100 0 0
101 6
2
Total Special Fund Investments as per
Balance Sheet
916,534 8 9 £15,741 14 4 £11,559 11
0
3j per cent . Defence Bonds
5~ per cent. Funding Stock 1982184
105
_ lppendiX
B The Council ' s Committee in Scotlan d
Igo') " I
£93,933
16,156
1,663
-
-
£
s, d .
s. d .
103,042
General Expenditure on the Arts (See Schedule 1)
5
5
16,244 13 1 0
General Operating Costs (See Schedule 2)
2,006
Capital Expenditure Transferred to Capital Account
Reserve for Capital Purchase
Loans Cancelled During Year :Edinburgh Festival Society Limited
Edinburgh Gateway Company Limited
£
5,000
1,000
3
9
177 18
7
0 0
0 0
6,000 0
0
1,000
Reserve for Loans
- -
-
1 . 1S ;
Balance carried down
2,972 19
0
030,444 0
7
6,973 6
6
£6,973 6
6
011,297
4,000
Balance carried forward
£4,000
106
Revenue and Expenditure Account
for the year ended 31st March, 196 2
£
1960/61
£110,394
366
74
Grant from the Arts Council
of
s. d.
Great Britain
Cancellation of Grants, Guarantees and provision for expenses
in previous year not required
s. d .
3
4
724
1
7
Cancellation of Reserve for Loans
6,000
0
0
Specific Reserve-Robert Burns Bicentenary
- -
Sundry Receipts : Interest on Deposit Accounts
Dundee Repertory Theatre Limited Rent of Electrical Equipment
Proceeds of Sale of Assets
Miscellaneous
244
6
3
1
205
2
0
0
9
0
0
5
353
110
£
123,267
-
452 15
Reserve
for Office Equipment
8
- - -
9111,297
£130,444 0
7
5,455
Balance as at 1st April, 1961
4,000
7
6
1,455
Balance brought down
2,972 19
0
£6,973 6
6
£4,000
107
The Council's Committee in Scotland
Liabilities
1961) 61
£
s. d.
Capital Accoun t
Balance as at 31st March, 1961
Add Capital Expenditure during year transferre d
from Revenue and Expenditure Account
Less Book Value of Assets sold : Office Equipment
Motor Car
125
737
£
s. d.
26,451 19
0
8
3
9
28,458
3
4
862
8
3
-
0
3
Grants and Guarantees Outstanding
Credit Balances
Sundry Creditors and Accrued Liabilities
Due to Headquarters
2,478
-
35,637
Reserve for Capital Purchase
Carried fon,and
108
s. d.
7
2,006
£26,452
6,707
£
27,595 15
7,779
2,953 16
30 0
1
0
0
2,983 16
3
177 18
7
3
0
38,536 9 1 1
Balance Sheet as at 31st March, 196 2
Asset s
1960161
£
s . d.
£
s. d.
Property
£8,307
11 Rothesay Terrace, Edinburgh
Office Equipment
At valuation as at 31st March, 1955, and additions a t
cost to 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
Less items sold during year
3,089
Motor Cars
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
Less items sold during year
2,285
200
4,106
3,089
363
7
0
3,452
125
7 10
0 0
2,284 18
836 11
3,121
737
4
2
3,327
7 10
2,384
1
7
200
0
0
4,105 19
9
8,175 . 8
9
2
8
9
1
9 10
8 3
Piano Account
At valuation as at 31st March, 1955
Theatre and Concert Hall Equipmen t
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Pictures, Sculptures and Tapestry
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
8,307
7,368 16
806 12
7,369
9
0
672
Reproduction s
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
671 10
0
424
Lithographs
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
424
3
0
27,595 15
1
26,452
Carried forward
10 9
The Council's Committee in Scotland
Liabilities
1')bv r,1
£35,637
£
s. d.
38,536 9 1 1
1 ;rmighl fon%ar,1
Revenue and Expenditure Account
4,000
6,973 6
6
£45,50916
5
Balance as at 31st March, 1962
Note : No provision has been made for depreciation of Assets :
renewals are charged to Revenue .
Chairman of the Scottish Committee : T. GRAINGER-STEWAR T
Secretary-General : W . E . WILLIAM S
£39,637
I have examined the foregoing Account and Balance Sheet . I have obtaine d
all the information and explanations that I have required and I certify, as the
result of my audit, that in my opinion this Account and Balance Sheet are
110
Balance Sheet as at 31 st March, 19 6 2
Asset s
1960161
£26,452
£
s. d.
£
s. d,
27,595 15
1
3,331 11
3
11,334
14 9 582 10
1
09,637
£45,509 16
5
Brought forward
Loans to Associated and other Organisations
1,851
Unsecured and only conditionally recoverable
Less items cancelled during year
18,000
6,000
0
0
0
0
Less Reserve
12,000 0
12,000 0
0
0
Debit Balances
Sundry Debtors
Cash
On Current Account
In hand
14,497 10
85 0
1
0
properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and fair view of the transactions o f
the Arts Council's Committee in Scotland and of the state of their affairs .
Signed : E. G. COMPTON, Comptroller and Auditor General .
Exchequer and Audit Department,
13th August, 1962 .
11 1
The Council 's Committee in Scotland
Schedule I
General Expenditure on the Arts for the year ende d
31st March, 1962
£
s. d.
Musi c
Oper a
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Balle t
Tours
Less : Receipts
£
s. d .
£
s. d .
1,325 0
0
1,627 8
1
38,500 0
0
10,385 8
6
30,116 12
8
5,162 16
2
15,000 0
0
Poetry
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3)
225 0
0
Arts Centres and Arts Club s
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3)
700 0
0
£103,042 5
5
Symphony Orchestra
Grants (See Schedule 3)
Other Activities
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Directly Provided Concert s
Less : Receipts
Drama
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Tour s
Less : Receipts
3,904 6 8
2,276 18 7
4,406 9
5
9,685 14 7
3,706 15 6
5,978 19 1
26,255 2
6
6,682 2 7
2,820 12 5
3,861 10 2
Art
555
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Exhibition Expenses
Less : Receipts
4,427 8
746 14
2
6
Art Film s
Less : Art Film Fees and Catalogue Sale s
278 17
53 2
3
0
Guide Lecturers' Fees and Expenses
Less : Fees received
905 10
204 3
3
0
Festivals
Edinburgh Festival Society Limited
Net Expenditure transferred to Revenue and Expenditure Account
112
0
0
3,680 13
8
225 15
3
701
3
7
The Council's Committee in Scotlan d
General Operating Costs for the year ended 31st March, 1962
Schedule 2
£
Salaries and Wages
1
Superannuation
816
3
4
Travelling and Subsistence
968 14
5
Rates and House Expenses
1,635 15
5
260 14
9
Publicity and Entertainment
Office and Sundry Expenses
1,487
Transferred to Revenue and Expenditure Account
s
s. d.
11,075 19
6 10
£16,244 13 1 0
11 3
The Council' s Committee in Scotland
Scll edul e 3
Grants and Guarantees for the year ended 31st March, 196 2
£
s. d .
Music
Opera
tAmateur Operatic Societies
Symphony Orchestra
Scottish National Orchestral Society Limited
Other Activitie s
tCollege of Piping
tConnoisseur Concerts Society
tEdinburgh Lunch Hour Concerts
Edinburgh Organ Recitals Committee
tEdinburgh University Singers
tNational Federation of Music Societies
Saltire Society
tDirect Grants and Guarantees to Music Clubs (£50 and under)
MMusic Competition-Short Orchestral Work open to Scottish Composers
175
150
324
80
75
3,000
111
191
300
0
0
2
0
0
0
4
2
0
£
s . d.
1,325
0
0
38,500
0
0
4,406
9
5
26,255
2
6
555
0
0
15,000
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
8
3
0
Dram a
5,300 0
4,514 2
6,720 5
7,580 2
1,800 0
150 0
150 0
40 13
+§Dundee Repertory Theatre Limited
*+§Edinburgh Gateway Company Limited
*+§Glasgow : Citizens' Theatre Limited
* §Perth Repertory Theatre Limited
+§Pitlochry Festival Society Limited
St. Andrews Play Club-Byre Theatre
Travel Grants
Direct Grants and Guarantees
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
3
*Includes Transport Subsidies totalling £174 9s . 3d .
+Includes New Drama Scheme Guarantees totalling £1,220 .
§Includes Approved Plays Scheme Subsidies totalling £1,900 .
Art
125
75
50
75
50
80
100
Edinburgh : '57 Gallery
tGalashiels Arts Club
tGlasgow : Citizens' Theatre Limited
Helensburgh and District Arts Club
Scottish Society of Women Artists
Society of Scottish Artists
Stirling : Smith Art Institute and Museum
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Festivals
Edinburgh Festival Society Limited
4
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
114
,i ,ri-1 lor
.inl
86,041 11 1 1
E
Poetry
`New Saltire' Magazine
Scottish Association for the Speaking of Verse
Brought forward
Arts Centres and Arts Clubs
tGreenock Arts Guild
tInverness Arts Centre
tOban Arts Guild
tTroon Arts Guild
s.
d.
275
100
100
225
s . d.
86,041 11 1 1
'
200
25
£
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
225
0
0
700
0
0
0
0
0
0
£86,966 11 1 1
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid.
11 5
Appen d tx C The Council' s Committee in Wales
1960'61
£52,188
12,026
891
-
li l l
£
56,211 14
4
General Operating Costs (See Schedule 2)
13,159 13
1
Capital Expenditure Transferred to Capital Account
3,462
9
Reserve for Capital Purchases
4,054
7 11
Balance carried down
2,698 14
6
09,586 19
6
962,064
262
s . d.
General Expenditure on the Arts (See Schedule 1)
Balance carried forward
8
2,960 18 1 0
£2,960 18 10
£262
116
Revenue and Expenditure Accoun t
for the year ended 31st March, 196 2
1960/61
£60,823
649
£
s. d.
Grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain
78,345
Cancellation of Guarantees and provisions for fees an d
expenses in previous year not required
Sundry Receipt s
Interest on Deposit Account
Proceeds of Sales of Assets
Miscellaneous
595 5
252 12
38 3
592
962,064
3,303
Balance as at 1st April, 1961
3,041
Balance brought down
£
£262
s . d.
0
0
355 18
9
886
0
9
979,586 19
6
262
4
4
2,698 14
6
6
0
3
£2,960 18 1 0
11 7
The Council's Committee in Wales
Liabilities
£ s. d.
£ s. d .
Balance as at 31st March, 1961
Add Capital Expenditure during the yea r
transferred from Revenue and Expenditure Account
8,744 13 1 1
196061
£ s. d .
Capital Account
3,462 9
8
12,207 3
7
1,623 0
3
Less Book Value of Assets sold :
Cars
Sculpture
1,580 8 3
42 12 0
£8,745
4,160
Grants and Guarantees Outstanding
10,584 3
4
7,395 4
8
4,375 19
5
Credit Balances
Sundry Creditors and Accrued Liabilities
Due to Headquarters
3,353 15 1 1
1,022 3 6
10,593
4,054 7 1 1
Reserve for Capital Purchases
-
Revenue and Expenditure Account
262
2,960 18 10
Balance as at 31st March, 1962
Note : No provision has been made for Depreciation of Assets :
renewals are charged to Revenue.
Chairman of the Welsh Committee : GWYN JONE S
Secretary-General : W. E . WILLIAM S
£29,370 14
£23,760
I have examined the foregoing Account and Balance Sheet . I have obtained
all the information and explanations that I have required and I certify, as th e
result of my audit, that in my opinion this Account and Balance Sheet ar e
118
2
Balance Sheet as at 31st March, 196 2
Assets
£
1960/61
s. d.
£
s. d.
Office Equipment
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
1,275 8
700 17
0
2
£1,275
1,976
5
2
966 14
9
873
0
8
6,607
2
0
161
0
9
50
0
0
1,050 14
3
10,529
17,685 16
7
£23,760
£29,370 14
2
Motor Vans and Cars
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
Less items sold during year
1,580 8
966 14
3
9
2,547
1,580
0
3
3
8
1,581
Theatre Properties and Equipment
-
At cost during year
Pictures and Sculpture s
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
Less items sold during year
5,798
851
7
7
0
0
6,649 14
42 12
0
0
5,798
Reproductions
At cost as at 31st March, 1961
Additions at cost during year
90 10
70 10
8
1
91
-
Loans to Associated and other Organisations
Debit Balances
4,486
Sundry Debtors and payments in advance
Cas h
On Deposit Account
On Current Account
In hand
17,057 0
578 16
50 0
5
2
0
properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and fair view of the transaction s
of the Arts Council's Committee in Wales and of the state of their affairs .
Signed : E . G. COMPTON, Comptroller and Auditor General .
Exchequer and Audit Department,
13th August, 1962 .
11 9
The Council ' s Committee in Wales
General Expenditure on the Arts for the year ende d
31st March, 1962
£
Music
Opera
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
D irectly Managed Performances :
Opera for All
Less : Revenue
Other Activitie s
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3)
Directly Provided Concerts :
Gross Expenditure
Less : Revenue
s . d.
£
s. d.
! s. d.
29,917 13 1 0
5,587 19 4
3,737 19 2
1,850 0 2
31,767 14
0
1,923 11 8
-- 7,240 19
5
5,317 7
9
3,218 17 4
1,295 5 8
Drama
1,242 6 0
2,011 8 4
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Pre-production costs . Drama Tour
3,253 14
4
8,038 2
1
Art
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3)
Exhibition Expenses
Less: Exhibition Fees and Catalogue Sale s
Art Film s
Less : Art Film Fees and Catalogue Sales
811 12
4
7,141 10
3
8,145 11 2
1,004 0 11
294 13
.11
Guide Lecturers' Fees and Expenses
4
n c
47 12 1 0
37 6 8
Festivals
4,710 16 1 0
Grants and Guarantees (See Schedule 3 )
Poetry and Literature
Grants and Awards (See Schedule 3)
Recitals and Competition Awards
Net Expenditure transferred to Revenue and Expenditure Account
120
250 0 0
950 7 8
1,200 7
8
£56,211 14
4
The Council 's Committee in Wales
General Operating Costs for the year ended 31 st March, 1962
Sch edul e 2
£
Salaries
Superannuation
Travelling and Subsistence
Rent, Rates and House Expenses
7,738
7
5
454
0
0
1,889 10
7
989
Publicity and Entertainment
Office and Sundry Expenses
Transferred to Revenue and Expenditure Account
121
s. d.
7
5
781 16
7
1,306 11
1
£13,159 13
1
The Council' s Committee in Wales
Schedule 3
Grants and Guarantees for the year ended 31st March, 196 2
F.
Music
Opera
Welsh National Opera Company Limited
Other Activitie s
tDirect Grants to Music and Arts Clubs for Concerts
tNational Federation of Music Societies
tPromotion of New Music : Commission Fees
tBarry and District Concerts Committee
tPembrokeshire Joint Orchestral Committee
Llandaff Cathedral : Promotion of New Music
Travel Bursary
s . d.
£
s. d.
29,917 13 1 0
2,375 8
1,015 0
275 0
776 19
350 0
500 0
25 0
2
0
0
7
0
0
0
5,317
7
9
1,242
6
0
811 12
4
Drama
Arena Theatre Company
Llangefni Drama Society
Guild of Welsh Playwrights
967
250
25
6
0
0
0
0
0
Art
Society for Education through Art
Contemporary Art Society for Wales
North Wales Group
Powys Fine Arts Association
Merioneth Artists Society
Anglesey Art Societies
South Wales Group
tAmman Valley Art Group
tGlynn Vivian Art Gallery
t'56 Group'
160
276
50
100
30
50
50
25
20
50
Festivals
South Wales Combined Choirs Festival
Llangollen International Music Festival
Dee and Clwyd Festival of Music
Brecknock County Music Festival
Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts
Montgomery County Music Festival
Llandaff Festival
Welsh Folk Song and Dance Festival
Drama Council for Wales :
One Act Playwriting Competition
tSwansea Welsh Drama Festival
197 5
200 0
200 0
158 11
1,000 0
500 0
1,750 0
50 0
30
200
Carried f, n, and
tMaximum commitments are given, not necessarily the amounts paid .
122
4
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
4,285 16 10
37,288 19 11
£
Brought forward
Festivals (continued)
Anglesey Welsh Drama Festival
Denbighshire and Flintshire Drama Festival
s . d.
£
s. d.
4,285 16 10 37,288 19 1 1
400 0 0
25 0 0
4,710 16 1 0
Poetry and Literature
Anglo-Welsh Review
Prize Awards :
`The Fox in the Attic' by Richard Hughes
`Tabyrddau'r Babongo' by Islwyn Ffowe Ellis
50 0
0
100 0 0
100 0 0
123
250 0
0
£42,249 16
9
Arts Council Exhibitions
Appendix 1)
England
held in Great Britain during the period
April, 1961-March, 1962
Paintings . Omit ings and .~rulptur e
S
WS
Arts Council Collection, Part I-The Impressionist Traditio n
Arts Council Collection, Part II-After Impressionism
Arts Council Collection, Part III-Romantic and Abstrac t
Arts Council Collection, Part IV-Since the Wa r
S
Modem Argentine Painting and Sculptur e
Recent Australian Painting
Barlach : Sculpture and Drawing s
British Self Portraits. Sickert to the Present Da y
Masterpieces of French Painting from the Biihrle Collectio n
W Drawings of the Camden Town Group
S Pmnella Clough
Francis Danby
Daumier : Paintings and Drawings
S
Drawing Towards Paintin g
Epstein Memorial Exhibition
Max Ernst : Retrospective, 1917-196 1
Gainsborough Drawing s
Gouaches by Carmichael, McNeish, Park and Redmond
Italian Bronze Statuettes
National Art Treasures from Kore a
R
Contemporary British Landscap e
Larionov and Goncharova, a Retrospective Exhibition
S
Contemporary Paintings and Sculpture for Leicestershire Schools
Modem Paintings from the Margulies Collectio n
Henry Moore : Sculpture and Drawing s
Modem British Portraits
New Painting 58-61
Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr . C. R . Rudol f
\t
Royal Academy Diploma Picture s
S
Contemporary British Sculpture, 196 1
Sculpture and Sculptors' Drawings
Six Young Painters, 196 1
Sonja Henie-Niels Onstad Collection : 115 Paintings from Bonnard to Dubuffe t
Modem Spanish Paintin g
Wilson Steer
Three Masters of Modem British Painting
Rex Whistler, a Memorial Exhibitio n
Contemporary Yugoslav Painting and Sculpture
Zadkine
124
Graphic Art, Books, Design, etc .
W Contemporary British Graphic Ar t
Contemporary British Lithograph s
Contemporary Foreign Lithographs
W Contemporary Print s
Designs for Opera and Ballet at Covent Garde n
British Etchings 1860-1960
Foreign Etchings 1890-196 0
Modem French Bookbindings by members of the Societe de la Reliure Original e
Hanoverian in Caricature
William Morris and Company : Centenary Exhibitio n
Senefelder Jubilee Exhibition
Stage Design in Great Britain since 194 5
Modem Stained Glas s
Reproductions and Photograph s
W Architecture Toda y
W Georges Braque
W Paul Cezanne
Art of Drawing, Part 1 . Italian School
Art of Drawing, Part 2 . French School
Art of Drawing, Part 3 . English, Dutch, Flemish and German Schools
Ecole de Paris
W Paul Gauguin
Modem Gouaches and Watercolour s
Modem German Painting 1900-196 0
W Wassily Kandinsky
Paul Kle e
W Landscape for Living : An Exhibition of Landscape Architecture
W Art of Landscape
W Landscape in Art . Part 1 : Up to Impressionism
W Henri Matisse
Joan Miro
W Pablo Picasso. Part 1 : 1900-192 5
W Pablo Picasso . Part 2 : 1925-1960
W Reproductions of Portrait s
Portrait s
W Rembrandt and his Contemporarie s
Art of the Sculpto r
Henri de Toulouse-Lautre c
Vincent van Gogh
NOTE : W .Also exhibited in Wales
S Also exhibited in Scotland
April 1st, 1961 to March 31st, 196 2
77 exhibitions were held in 139 separate buildings in 160 different centres (295 showings ,
including 20 exhibitions held in the Arts Council, National, Tate and the Victoria an d
Albert Museum galleries).
Included in the above are 12 showings held in Scotland, in 6 separate buildings in 5
different centres, and 33 showings held in 18 separate buildings in 14 different centre s
in Wales .
125
Scotland
Pictorial Embroidery
Contemporary Scottish Paintings
The Visit of George IV to Edinburgh 182 2
Gothic Tapestries from the Burrell Collectio n
Contemporary Danish Desig n
Paintings and Drawings by Sidney Nola n
Figures in Costume-Fact and Fantas y
J . D . Fergusson Memorial Exhibition (shown also in 2 English towns)
Watercolours and Drawings by Contemporary Scottish Artist s
19 exhibitions (including 10 from England) were held in 24 buildings at 15 centres (3 7
showings in all)
Wales
Contemporary Welsh Painting, Drawing and Sculpture (8th exhibition )
Impressionism
Kyffin Williams, Jonah Jones, John Pett s
Sculpture 196 1
Arts Council Welsh Collectio n
27 exhibitions (including 22 from England) were held in 33 different buildings at 2 7
centres (65 showings in all )
126
Arts Council Publication s
Partners in Patronage, 1960/61
The Priorities of Patronage, 1959/60
The Struggle for Survival, 1958/59
A New Pattern of Patronage, 1957/58
Art in the Red, 1956/57
The First Ten Years, 1955/56
Housing the Arts, 1954/55
Public Responsibility for the Arts ,
1953/54
The Public and the Arts, 1952/53
(16th Annual Report)
(15th Annual Report)
(14th Annual Report )
(13th Annual Report )
(12th Annual Report )
(11th Annual Report )
(10th Annual Report )
2s. 6d. each
postage 6d.
(9th Annual Report)
(8th Annual Report)
Services for the Arts, 196 1
A summary of the various services available through the Arts Is.
Council of Great Britain and other organisations in the postage 3d .
Diffusion of the Fine Arts in England and Vales.
The First Ten Years, 1946/56
Is.
postage 3d.
The Arts Council of Great Britai n
What It Is and What It Does
Free
Housing the Arts in Great Britai n
Report by the Arts Council of Great Britai n
Part One : London, Scotland, Wales . 134 pp . 3 ill.
Part Two : The Needs of the English Provinces . 102 pp .
Copies of the above and of the catalogues on the following page may b e
obtained from the Publications Officer, the Arts Council of Great Britain ,
4 St . James ' s Square, London, S. W.1 .
12 7
5s.
postage 9d.
5s.
postage 7d.
Art Catalogues
Kokoschka
7s .6d .
postage 9d .
6S .
postage 9d .
7s . 6d .
postage 9d.
4S.
postage 3d .
2s. 6d .
postage 4d .
3s .
postage 4d .
6s .
postage 6d .
7s . 6d .
postage 6d .
5s.
postage 6d .
5s.
postage 7d.
5s.
postage 6d .
Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Stage Designs and Books . Introduction by E . H. Gombrich.
Kokoschka as a Graphic Artist by Fritz Novotny. The Poetry of Kokoschka by Hans Maria
Wingler . Chronology . Short Bibliography . 120 pp . 75 ill . including 3 in colour and 3 i n
the text.
Daumier
Paintings and Drawings, 1961 . Daumier the Painter by Alan Bowness.
Paintings and Drawings by K. E . Maison . Bibliography . 70 pp . 38 ill .
Daumier' s
Picasso
1960 . Introduction and Notes by Roland Penrose . Short Bibliography . Supplement o n
the Paintings from Moscow and Leningrad . 62 pp. 60 ill . including 2 in colour .
Ernst Barlach, 1870-193 8
1961 . Sculpture and Drawings.
Bibliography . 20 pp . 13 ill.
Introduction by Wolf Stubbe .
Biographical Notes.
Alexander Calder
1962 . Alexander Calder by James Johnson Sweeney. Chronology. 30 pp . 19 ill.
Epstein
Arts Council Memorial Exhibition. 1961 . Introduction by John Rothenstein . Short
Bibliography. Biographical Notes . 18 pp . 33 ill . including photograph of Epstein.
Old Masters Drawings from the Collection o f
Mr. C. R . Rudolf
1962 . Introduction by C . Robert Rudolf. 42 pp. 29 ill .
Larionov and Goncharov a
1961 . Introductions by Camilla Gray and Mary Chamont. Select Bibliography . 96 pp .
82 ill.
5,000 Years of Egyptian Ar t
1962 . Introductions by I . E. S . Edwards, A . F . Shore, R . H . Pinder-Wilson. Chronology.
46 pp . 46 ill. Map of Egypt and Nubia .
Italian Bronze Statuette s
1961 . Introduction and Notes by John Pope-Hennessy . 41 pp . 32 ill .
Architecture Today
1961 . Catalogues of an exhibition arranged by the Arts Council and the Royal Institut e
of British Architects. 134 pp. 24 ill .
128
Council
The Lord Cottesloe, GBE, Chairman *
Professor Sir William Coldstream, CBE, DLitt, Vice-Chairman *
Dame Peggy Ashcroft
T . E . Bean, CBE *
Alan L. C . Bullock
C. Day Lewis, CBE *
Sir Emrya Evans, LL D
The Lady Hesket h
Professor Gwyn Jones n
Councillor J . D . Kelly, CBE, DL, JP, CA
Professor Anthony Lewis *
The Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax, DL, LLD
Hugh Marshall
Hugh Willatt *
John Witt*
(*Member of Executive Committee )
Scottish Committee T. Grainger Stewart, CB, MC, TD, DL
Ernest Boden
Charles Carter, FMA, FSA
G . E . Gedde s
Esme Gordon, ARSA, FRIBA, FRIAS
Charles Grave s
Councillor J . D . Kelly, CBE, DL, JP, C A
Mrs Eric Linklate r
The Hon . Mrs Michael Lyle
Colin H . Mackenzie, CM G
J . McNaught
Sir William MacTaggart, PRSA, HOUR A
Hugh Marshall
Professor D. Talbot Rice, MBE, TD, DLitt, FSA
George Singleto n
Welsh Committee Professor Gwyn Jones, Chairman
S . Kenneth Davies, CBE
Sir Emrys Evans, LL D
Alex J . Gordon, DipArch, ARIBA
Iorwerth Howell s
David Dilwyn John, CBE, TD, DSC, FMA
Dr. Daniel Jone s
Mrs Eileen Llewellyn Jones
Alun Llywelyn-William s
Professor W. Moelwyn Merchant, DLitt
Principal Thomas Parry, DLitt, FB A
Lady Amy Parry-William s
Robert E . Presswood
Miss Frances Rees, OBE
Ceri Richards, CB E
- Professor Brinley Thomas, OBE, PhD
Professor D. E . Parry Williams, DMUS
Staff-Headquarters 4 St . James's Square, London, S. W.1 (Whitehall 9737)
Secretary-General : Sir William Emrys Williams, CB E
Deputy Secretary and Finance Officer : M . J . McRobert
Art Director : Gabriel White
Music Director : John Denison, CBE
Drama Director : J . L. Hodgkinson, OBE
Assistant Secretary : Eric W . Whit e
Accountant : D . P . Lund, FCA
Scotland 11 Rothesay Terrace, Edinburgh, 3 (Caledonian 2769 )
Director : Dr . George Firth, OB E
Deputy Director : Donald Mathe r
Wales Holst House, Museum Place, Cardiff (Cardiff 32722 )
Director : Dr . J . R. Webster