Bax, Sir Arnold (Edward Trevor)

Bax, Sir Arnold (Edward Trevor), outstanding English composer; b. London, Nov. 8, 1883; d. Cork, Ireland, Oct. 3, 1953. He entered the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1900 and studied piano with Matthay and composition with Corder there. He won the Academy’s Gold Medal as a pianist in 1905, the year in which he completed his studies. After a visit to Dresden in 1905, he went to Ireland. Although not ethnically Irish, he became interested in ancient Irish folklore. He wrote poetry and prose under the name of Dermot O’Byrne, and also found inspiration in Celtic legends for his work as a composer. In 1910 he returned to England. In 1931 he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Phil. Soc. of London. He was awarded honorary degrees from the univs. of Oxford (1934) and Durham (1935). He was knighted at the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, and was made Master of the King’s Musick in 1941. Bax was an excellent pianist, but was reluctant to play in public; he also never appeared as a conductor of his own works. His style was rooted in neo- Romanticism, but impressionistic elements are much in evidence in his instrumental compositions. His harmonies are elaborate and rich in chromatic progressions, and his contrapuntal fabric is free and emphasizes complete independence of component melodies. In his many settings of folk songs, he succeeded in adapting simple melodies to effective accompaniments in modern harmonies; in his adaptations of early English songs, he successfully re-created the archaic style of the epoch. He recorded the story of his life and travels in his candid autobiography, Farewell, My Youth (London, 1943; ed. by L. Foreman, 1992, as Farewell My Youth and Other Writings) .