George Henschel - Revision history

Brett at 07:13, 27 August 2023

2023-08-27T07:13:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:13, 27 August 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{picture\|file=~~George Henschel~~.jpg\|caption='''George Henschel''' (1850-1934), painted in 1879 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema ~~(1836–1912)~~}}		{{picture\|file=Henschel_George.jpg\|caption='''George Henschel''' (1850-1934), painted in 1879 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema}}
	German-born British conductor, composer, pianist and baritone (b. 18 February 1850 {{NS}} in [[Breslau]]; d. 10 September 1934 in Aviemore), born '''''Isador Georg Henschel'''''.		German-born British conductor, composer, pianist and baritone (b. 18 February 1850 {{NS}} in [[Breslau]]; d. 10 September 1934 in Aviemore), born '''''Isador Georg Henschel'''''.

Brett at 13:52, 13 August 2023

2023-08-13T13:52:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:52, 13 August 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{picture\|file=George Henschel.jpg\|caption='''George Henschel''' (1850-1934), painted in 1879 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)}}		{{picture\|file=George Henschel.jpg\|caption='''George Henschel''' (1850-1934), painted in 1879 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)}}
	German-born British conductor, composer, pianist and baritone (b. 18 February 1850 in [[Breslau]]~~, Prussia~~; d. 10 September 1934 in Aviemore~~, Scotland~~), born '''''Isador Georg Henschel'''''.		German-born British conductor, composer, pianist and baritone (b. 18 February 1850 {{NS}} in [[Breslau]]; d. 10 September 1934 in Aviemore), born '''''Isador Georg Henschel'''''.

	==Biography==		==Biography==
Line 36:		Line 36:
	* [[Letter 3597a]] – 18/30 June 1888, from [[Frolovskoye]]		* [[Letter 3597a]] – 18/30 June 1888, from [[Frolovskoye]]
	* '''[[Letter 4951b]]''' – 3/15 June 1893, from [[Paris]]		* '''[[Letter 4951b]]''' – 3/15 June 1893, from [[Paris]]

			5 letters from Henschel to Tchaikovsky, dating from 1893, are preserved in the {{RUS-KLč}} at [[Klin]] (a{{sup\|4}}, Nos. 544–548) <ref name="note10"/>.

	==Bibliography==		==Bibliography==
Line 44:		Line 46:
	==External Links==		==External Links==
	* [[wikipedia:George_Henschel\|Wikipedia]]		* [[wikipedia:George_Henschel\|Wikipedia]]
			* {{viaf\|49311236}}

	==Notes and References==		==Notes and References==
Line 56:		Line 59:
	<ref name="note8">{{bib\|1949/13\|When Soft Voices Die. A Musical Biography}} (1949), p. 72–73. Quoted in {{bib\|1993/33\|Tchaikovsky Remembered}} (1993), p. 97–98.</ref>		<ref name="note8">{{bib\|1949/13\|When Soft Voices Die. A Musical Biography}} (1949), p. 72–73. Quoted in {{bib\|1993/33\|Tchaikovsky Remembered}} (1993), p. 97–98.</ref>
	<ref name="note9">See {{bib\|1980/112\|Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee, and Tchaikovsky}} (1980), p. 366.</ref>		<ref name="note9">See {{bib\|1980/112\|Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee, and Tchaikovsky}} (1980), p. 366.</ref>
			<ref name="note10">Including one letter written jointly with his wife Lilian, and another with his daughter Helen.</ref>
	</references>		</references>
	[[Category:People\|Henschel, George]]		[[Category:People\|Henschel, George]]
	[[Category:Composers\|Henschel, George]]		[[Category:Composers\|Henschel, George]]
	[[Category:Conductors\|Henschel, George]]		[[Category:Conductors\|Henschel, George]]
			__NOTOC__

Tony: /* Tchaikovsky and Henschel */

2022-11-14T20:21:16Z

Tchaikovsky and Henschel

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:21, 14 November 2022
Line 20:		Line 20:
	{{quote\|Tschaikovsky, whom I had the pleasure of seeing nearly every day during his short stay in [[London]], seemed to me, though then on the uppermost rung of the ladder of fame, even more inclined to intervals of melancholy than when I had last met him; indeed, one afternoon, during a talk about the olden days in [[Petrograd]] and [[Moscow]], and the many friends there who were no more, he suddenly got very depressed and, wondering what this world with all its life and strife was made for, expressed his own readiness at any moment to quit it. To my gratification, I succeeded in dispelling the clouds that had gathered over his mental vision, and during the rest of the afternoon as well as the dinner in the evening he appeared in the best of spirits. That was the last time I saw him, and less than five months later a very strange thing happened. What to call it I know not:}}		{{quote\|Tschaikovsky, whom I had the pleasure of seeing nearly every day during his short stay in [[London]], seemed to me, though then on the uppermost rung of the ladder of fame, even more inclined to intervals of melancholy than when I had last met him; indeed, one afternoon, during a talk about the olden days in [[Petrograd]] and [[Moscow]], and the many friends there who were no more, he suddenly got very depressed and, wondering what this world with all its life and strife was made for, expressed his own readiness at any moment to quit it. To my gratification, I succeeded in dispelling the clouds that had gathered over his mental vision, and during the rest of the afternoon as well as the dinner in the evening he appeared in the best of spirits. That was the last time I saw him, and less than five months later a very strange thing happened. What to call it I know not:}}

	{{quote\|The sketch programmes of the series of concerts by the Scottish Orchestra, which, under my directorship, were to commence in November, had as usual been printed and published several months before the first concert, which took place in Edinburgh on November 6th 1893, and on the programme there figured an [[Elegy]] for strings by Tschaikovsky, written in memory of a departed friend <ref name="note5"/>[ I had selected it as a fine example of the composer's art as being deeply emotional and impressive, even on so limited a scale and without the colouristic wealth of the full modern orchestra. The little work stood first in the second part of the programme. After the usual interval between the parts the members of the orchestra had reassembled on the platform, ready for me. As I made my way through them towards the conductor's desk, one of the gentlemen stopped me for a moment and, handing me the ''Evening News'', pointed to the heading of a telegram from [[Petrograd]]: Tschaikovsky had died that morning!..." <ref name="note6"/> }}		{{quote\|The sketch programmes of the series of concerts by the Scottish Orchestra, which, under my directorship, were to commence in November, had as usual been printed and published several months before the first concert, which took place in Edinburgh on November 6th 1893, and on the programme there figured an [[Elegy]] for strings by Tschaikovsky, written in memory of a departed friend <ref name="note5"/>. [I had selected it as a fine example of the composer's art as being deeply emotional and impressive, even on so limited a scale and without the colouristic wealth of the full modern orchestra.] The little work stood first in the second part of the programme. After the usual interval between the parts the members of the orchestra had reassembled on the platform, ready for me. As I made my way through them towards the conductor's desk, one of the gentlemen stopped me for a moment and, handing me the ''Evening News'', pointed to the heading of a telegram from [[Petrograd]]: Tschaikovsky had died that morning!..." <ref name="note6"/> }}

	In the years following Tchaikovsky's death, Henschel conducted the [[Symphony No. 6]] a number of times in [[London]].		In the years following Tchaikovsky's death, Henschel conducted the [[Symphony No. 6]] a number of times in [[London]].
Line 26:		Line 26:
	Helen Henschel (1882–1973), the daughter of George and Lilian Henschel, also became a professional singer. In her biography of her father, she looked back to her meetings with Tchaikovsky as a child when he visited her family's house in [[London]] in June 1893:		Helen Henschel (1882–1973), the daughter of George and Lilian Henschel, also became a professional singer. In her biography of her father, she looked back to her meetings with Tchaikovsky as a child when he visited her family's house in [[London]] in June 1893:

	{{quote\|Another frequent visitor to our house about this time was Tschaikovsky, who had come to England to receive an honorary degree at [[Cambridge]]. My father had met him years earlier in [[Moscow]], and described him then (1875) as 'a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which seems to be a characteristic of the Russian.}}		{{quote\|Another frequent visitor to our house about this time was Tschaikovsky, who had come to England to receive an honorary degree at [[Cambridge]]. My father had met him years earlier in [[Moscow]], and described him then (1875) as 'a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which seems to be a characteristic of the Russian'.}}

	The melancholy was naturally enough not evident to me as a small child, but the gentleness and kindness were. Nobody could have been more charming than he was. One of my life's minor tragedies is that he wrote me a long letter when he left [[London]], that the wind blew it off the table into the waste-paper basket, and that the house-maid lit my fire with it. I have always felt a particular sympathy for Carlyle since! <ref name="note7"/> But I do possess a personal remembrance of Tschaikovsky — the photograph he gave to my mother, inscribed: 'A Madame L. B. Henschel, de la part de son fervent admirateur, P. Tschaikovsky'" <ref name="note8"/>.		The melancholy was naturally enough not evident to me as a small child, but the gentleness and kindness were. Nobody could have been more charming than he was. One of my life's minor tragedies is that he wrote me a long letter when he left [[London]], that the wind blew it off the table into the waste-paper basket, and that the house-maid lit my fire with it. I have always felt a particular sympathy for Carlyle since! <ref name="note7"/> But I do possess a personal remembrance of Tschaikovsky — the photograph he gave to my mother, inscribed: 'A Madame L. B. Henschel, de la part de son fervent admirateur, P. Tschaikovsky'" <ref name="note8"/>.

Tony: /* Tchaikovsky and Henschel */

2022-11-14T20:14:08Z

Tchaikovsky and Henschel

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:14, 14 November 2022
Line 22:		Line 22:
	{{quote\|The sketch programmes of the series of concerts by the Scottish Orchestra, which, under my directorship, were to commence in November, had as usual been printed and published several months before the first concert, which took place in Edinburgh on November 6th 1893, and on the programme there figured an [[Elegy]] for strings by Tschaikovsky, written in memory of a departed friend <ref name="note5"/>[ I had selected it as a fine example of the composer's art as being deeply emotional and impressive, even on so limited a scale and without the colouristic wealth of the full modern orchestra. The little work stood first in the second part of the programme. After the usual interval between the parts the members of the orchestra had reassembled on the platform, ready for me. As I made my way through them towards the conductor's desk, one of the gentlemen stopped me for a moment and, handing me the ''Evening News'', pointed to the heading of a telegram from [[Petrograd]]: Tschaikovsky had died that morning!..." <ref name="note6"/> }}		{{quote\|The sketch programmes of the series of concerts by the Scottish Orchestra, which, under my directorship, were to commence in November, had as usual been printed and published several months before the first concert, which took place in Edinburgh on November 6th 1893, and on the programme there figured an [[Elegy]] for strings by Tschaikovsky, written in memory of a departed friend <ref name="note5"/>[ I had selected it as a fine example of the composer's art as being deeply emotional and impressive, even on so limited a scale and without the colouristic wealth of the full modern orchestra. The little work stood first in the second part of the programme. After the usual interval between the parts the members of the orchestra had reassembled on the platform, ready for me. As I made my way through them towards the conductor's desk, one of the gentlemen stopped me for a moment and, handing me the ''Evening News'', pointed to the heading of a telegram from [[Petrograd]]: Tschaikovsky had died that morning!..." <ref name="note6"/> }}

	In the years following Tchaikovsky's death Henschel conducted the [[Symphony No. 6]] a number of times in [[London]].		In the years following Tchaikovsky's death, Henschel conducted the [[Symphony No. 6]] a number of times in [[London]].

	Helen Henschel (1882–1973), the daughter of George and Lilian Henschel, also became a professional singer. In her biography of her father, she looked back to her meetings with Tchaikovsky as a child when he visited her family's house in [[London]] in June 1893:		Helen Henschel (1882–1973), the daughter of George and Lilian Henschel, also became a professional singer. In her biography of her father, she looked back to her meetings with Tchaikovsky as a child when he visited her family's house in [[London]] in June 1893:
Line 28:		Line 28:
	{{quote\|Another frequent visitor to our house about this time was Tschaikovsky, who had come to England to receive an honorary degree at [[Cambridge]]. My father had met him years earlier in [[Moscow]], and described him then (1875) as 'a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which seems to be a characteristic of the Russian.}}		{{quote\|Another frequent visitor to our house about this time was Tschaikovsky, who had come to England to receive an honorary degree at [[Cambridge]]. My father had met him years earlier in [[Moscow]], and described him then (1875) as 'a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which seems to be a characteristic of the Russian.}}

	The melancholy was naturally enough not evident to me as a small child, but the gentleness and kindness were. Nobody could have been more charming than he was. One of my life's minor tragedies is that he wrote me a long letter when he left [[London]], that the wind blew it off the table into the waste-paper basket, and that the house-maid lit my fire with it. I have always felt a particular sympathy for Carlyle since! <ref name="note7"/> But I do possess a personal remembrance of Tschaikovsky — the photograph he gave to my mother, inscribed: 'A Madame L. B. Henschel, de la part de son fervent admirateur, P. Tschaikovsky'" <ref name="note8"/>		The melancholy was naturally enough not evident to me as a small child, but the gentleness and kindness were. Nobody could have been more charming than he was. One of my life's minor tragedies is that he wrote me a long letter when he left [[London]], that the wind blew it off the table into the waste-paper basket, and that the house-maid lit my fire with it. I have always felt a particular sympathy for Carlyle since! <ref name="note7"/> But I do possess a personal remembrance of Tschaikovsky — the photograph he gave to my mother, inscribed: 'A Madame L. B. Henschel, de la part de son fervent admirateur, P. Tschaikovsky'" <ref name="note8"/>.

	It was also during one of these visits that Tchaikovsky accompanied Henschel at the piano as the latter sang ''None But the Lonely Heart'' (No. 6 of the [[Six Romances, Op. 6]]) <ref name="note9"/>.		It was also during one of these visits that Tchaikovsky accompanied Henschel at the piano as the latter sang ''None But the Lonely Heart'' (No. 6 of the [[Six Romances, Op. 6]]) <ref name="note9"/>.

Tony: Inserted "—" for ease of reading

2022-11-14T20:07:29Z

Inserted "—" for ease of reading

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:07, 14 November 2022
Line 3:		Line 3:

	==Biography==		==Biography==
	Henschel was educated as a pianist, making his first public appearance in [[Berlin]] in 1862. He subsequently, however, took up singing, having developed a fine baritone voice; and in 1868 he sang the part of Hans Sachs in ''Die Meistersinger'' at [[Munich]]. In 1877 he began a successful career in England, singing at the principal concerts; and in 1881 he married the American soprano, Lilian Bailey (1860–1901), who was associated with him in a number of vocal recitals. He was also prominent as a conductor, starting the [[London]] Symphony Concerts in 1886, and both in Britain and America, becoming the first conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881.		Henschel was educated as a pianist, making his first public appearance in [[Berlin]] in 1862. He subsequently, however, took up singing, having developed a fine baritone voice; and in 1868 he sang the part of Hans Sachs in ''Die Meistersinger'' at [[Munich]]. In 1877, he began a successful career in England, singing at the principal concerts; and in 1881 he married the American soprano, Lilian Bailey (1860–1901), who was associated with him in a number of vocal recitals. He was also prominent as a conductor, starting the [[London]] Symphony Concerts in 1886, and both in Britain and America, becoming the first conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881.

	In 1890 he took British citizenship, and was knighted in 1914. He was the founder and principal conductor (1893–95) of the Scottish Orchestra (now the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), and retained close links with Scotland even when teaching in [[New York]]. He died at Aviemore, near Inverness, in 1934, and is buried in the local churchyard.		In 1890 he took British citizenship, and was knighted in 1914. He was the founder and principal conductor (1893–95) of the Scottish Orchestra (now the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), and retained close links with Scotland even when teaching in [[New York]]. He died at Aviemore, near Inverness, in 1934, and is buried in the local churchyard.
Line 12:		Line 12:
	{{quote\|It was in [[Moscow]] that I first met Tschaikovsky, a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which to me seems to be a characteristic of the Russian. I spent a week in [[Moscow]], singing, among other things, in [[Beethoven]]'s Ninth Symphony, in Russian, a language which in my opinion, as regards melodiousness, comes immediately after the Italian. [[Nikolay Rubinstein\|Nicolai Rubinstein]] conducted an excellent performance, and afterwards he, Tschaikovsky and I had supper at the famous restaurant known as the 'Érémitage'. There we sat until the small hours of the morning, talking mostly about music. [[Brahms]]' ''German Requiem'' had only just been published, and, much to my astonishment and distress, both [[Nikolay Rubinstein\|Rubinstein]] and Tschaikovsky expressed in very strong terms their resentment of the title 'German Requiem', maintaining that it implied a certain arrogance on the part of the composer as hinting at the superiority of German over other music. I argued that the word 'Requiem' as applied to a work of music, generally meant a setting of the old accepted Latin words of the Mass for the Dead. [[Brahms]] in calling his work 'A German Requiem' merely wanted to make it clear, already on the title-page, that his work was not a Mass, but set to German words taken from different parts of the Bible; that, if those words were translated into, say, Swedish or French or Russian, it would become a Swedish, French or Russian Requiem; that nothing could have been further from [[Brahms]]' intention than a slight on the music of other nations. But I am afraid when we parted early in the morning the two were still far from convinced <ref name="note1"/> }}		{{quote\|It was in [[Moscow]] that I first met Tschaikovsky, a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which to me seems to be a characteristic of the Russian. I spent a week in [[Moscow]], singing, among other things, in [[Beethoven]]'s Ninth Symphony, in Russian, a language which in my opinion, as regards melodiousness, comes immediately after the Italian. [[Nikolay Rubinstein\|Nicolai Rubinstein]] conducted an excellent performance, and afterwards he, Tschaikovsky and I had supper at the famous restaurant known as the 'Érémitage'. There we sat until the small hours of the morning, talking mostly about music. [[Brahms]]' ''German Requiem'' had only just been published, and, much to my astonishment and distress, both [[Nikolay Rubinstein\|Rubinstein]] and Tschaikovsky expressed in very strong terms their resentment of the title 'German Requiem', maintaining that it implied a certain arrogance on the part of the composer as hinting at the superiority of German over other music. I argued that the word 'Requiem' as applied to a work of music, generally meant a setting of the old accepted Latin words of the Mass for the Dead. [[Brahms]] in calling his work 'A German Requiem' merely wanted to make it clear, already on the title-page, that his work was not a Mass, but set to German words taken from different parts of the Bible; that, if those words were translated into, say, Swedish or French or Russian, it would become a Swedish, French or Russian Requiem; that nothing could have been further from [[Brahms]]' intention than a slight on the music of other nations. But I am afraid when we parted early in the morning the two were still far from convinced <ref name="note1"/> }}

	As part of the [[London]] Symphony Concerts Henschel would go on to conduct the first performances in England of the [[Slavonic March]] (on 13 December 1887) and the festival overture ''[[The Year 1812]]'' (on 15 January 1889). He also conducted the first American performance of the former work <ref name="note2"/>.		As part of the [[London]] Symphony Concerts, Henschel would go on to conduct the first performances in England of the [[Slavonic March]] (on 13 December 1887) and the festival overture ''[[The Year 1812]]'' (on 15 January 1889). He also conducted the first American performance of the former work <ref name="note2"/>.

	When Tchaikovsky came to England in June 1893 to receive an honorary doctorate from [[Cambridge]] University he visited the Henschel family at their house in [[London]] before travelling on to [[Cambridge]]. Henschel also went there at the same time because he had been engaged to sing the title-role in the prologue to Arrigo Boito's opera ''Mefistofele'' which was performed at the concert in the Cambridge Guildhall on 31 May/12 June 1893 ~~whose~~ programme featured works by all the composers due to receive honorary doctorates the following day, including ''[[Francesca da Rimini]]'', conducted by Tchaikovsky himself. It is recorded that Henschel sat in front of Tchaikovsky at table during the Jubilee Dinner held at King's College later that evening <ref name="note3"/>. As Gerald Norris has suggested, it is possible that during this last visit to [[London]] Tchaikovsky also acquainted himself with the score of the incidental music which Henschel had written for Herbert Beerbohm Tree's acclaimed production of ''Hamlet'' in 1892 (the score was published in September of the same year). For two months later, when he received a request from the Polish conductor [[Michał Hertz]] to use his [[Hamlet (incidental music)\|incidental music]] to ''Hamlet'' in a production of [[Shakespeare]]'s tragedy at the [[Warsaw]] Theatre, Tchaikovsky wrote back advising him to use instead "the excellent music for ''Hamlet ''by George Henschel" <ref name="note4"/>.		When Tchaikovsky came to England in June 1893 to receive an honorary doctorate from [[Cambridge]] University, he visited the Henschel family at their house in [[London]] before travelling on to [[Cambridge]]. Henschel also went there at the same time because he had been engaged to sing the title-role in the prologue to Arrigo Boito's opera ''Mefistofele,'' which was performed at the concert in the Cambridge Guildhall on 31 May/12 June 1893 — the programme featured works by all the composers due to receive honorary doctorates the following day, including ''[[Francesca da Rimini]]'', conducted by Tchaikovsky himself. It is recorded that Henschel sat in front of Tchaikovsky at table during the Jubilee Dinner held at King's College later that evening <ref name="note3"/>. As Gerald Norris has suggested, it is possible that during this last visit to [[London]] Tchaikovsky also acquainted himself with the score of the incidental music which Henschel had written for Herbert Beerbohm Tree's acclaimed production of ''Hamlet'' in 1892 (the score was published in September of the same year). For two months later, when he received a request from the Polish conductor [[Michał Hertz]] to use his [[Hamlet (incidental music)\|incidental music]] to ''Hamlet'' in a production of [[Shakespeare]]'s tragedy at the [[Warsaw]] Theatre, Tchaikovsky wrote back advising him to use instead "the excellent music for ''Hamlet ''by George Henschel" <ref name="note4"/>.

	Many years later, Henschel would write in his memoirs:		Many years later, Henschel would write in his memoirs:

Brett: 1 revision imported

2022-07-12T11:20:27Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 13:20, 12 July 2022
(No difference)

Brett: Text replacement - "are available in English translations on this website" to "have been translated into English on this website"

2019-03-08T11:09:45Z

Text replacement - "are available in English translations on this website" to "have been translated into English on this website"

New page

{{picture|file=George Henschel.jpg|caption='''George Henschel''' (1850-1934), painted in 1879 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)}}
German-born British conductor, composer, pianist and baritone (b. 18 February 1850 in [[Breslau]], Prussia; d. 10 September 1934 in Aviemore, Scotland), born '''''Isador Georg Henschel'''''.

==Biography==
Henschel was educated as a pianist, making his first public appearance in [[Berlin]] in 1862. He subsequently, however, took up singing, having developed a fine baritone voice; and in 1868 he sang the part of Hans Sachs in ''Die Meistersinger'' at [[Munich]]. In 1877 he began a successful career in England, singing at the principal concerts; and in 1881 he married the American soprano, Lilian Bailey (1860–1901), who was associated with him in a number of vocal recitals. He was also prominent as a conductor, starting the [[London]] Symphony Concerts in 1886, and both in Britain and America, becoming the first conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881.

In 1890 he took British citizenship, and was knighted in 1914. He was the founder and principal conductor (1893–95) of the Scottish Orchestra (now the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), and retained close links with Scotland even when teaching in [[New York]]. He died at Aviemore, near Inverness, in 1934, and is buried in the local churchyard.

==Tchaikovsky and Henschel==
Henschel's first visit to Russia in 1875 — he had been invited by [[Karl Davydov]] to sing in a performance of [[Handel]]'s ''Messiah'' in [[Saint Petersburg]] — also took him to [[Moscow]], and, as he later recalled in his autobiography:

{{quote|It was in [[Moscow]] that I first met Tschaikovsky, a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which to me seems to be a characteristic of the Russian. I spent a week in [[Moscow]], singing, among other things, in [[Beethoven]]'s Ninth Symphony, in Russian, a language which in my opinion, as regards melodiousness, comes immediately after the Italian. [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Nicolai Rubinstein]] conducted an excellent performance, and afterwards he, Tschaikovsky and I had supper at the famous restaurant known as the 'Érémitage'. There we sat until the small hours of the morning, talking mostly about music. [[Brahms]]' ''German Requiem'' had only just been published, and, much to my astonishment and distress, both [[Nikolay Rubinstein|Rubinstein]] and Tschaikovsky expressed in very strong terms their resentment of the title 'German Requiem', maintaining that it implied a certain arrogance on the part of the composer as hinting at the superiority of German over other music. I argued that the word 'Requiem' as applied to a work of music, generally meant a setting of the old accepted Latin words of the Mass for the Dead. [[Brahms]] in calling his work 'A German Requiem' merely wanted to make it clear, already on the title-page, that his work was not a Mass, but set to German words taken from different parts of the Bible; that, if those words were translated into, say, Swedish or French or Russian, it would become a Swedish, French or Russian Requiem; that nothing could have been further from [[Brahms]]' intention than a slight on the music of other nations. But I am afraid when we parted early in the morning the two were still far from convinced <ref name="note1"/> }}

As part of the [[London]] Symphony Concerts Henschel would go on to conduct the first performances in England of the [[Slavonic March]] (on 13 December 1887) and the festival overture ''[[The Year 1812]]'' (on 15 January 1889). He also conducted the first American performance of the former work <ref name="note2"/>.

When Tchaikovsky came to England in June 1893 to receive an honorary doctorate from [[Cambridge]] University he visited the Henschel family at their house in [[London]] before travelling on to [[Cambridge]]. Henschel also went there at the same time because he had been engaged to sing the title-role in the prologue to Arrigo Boito's opera ''Mefistofele'' which was performed at the concert in the Cambridge Guildhall on 31 May/12 June 1893 whose programme featured works by all the composers due to receive honorary doctorates the following day, including ''[[Francesca da Rimini]]'', conducted by Tchaikovsky himself. It is recorded that Henschel sat in front of Tchaikovsky at table during the Jubilee Dinner held at King's College later that evening <ref name="note3"/>. As Gerald Norris has suggested, it is possible that during this last visit to [[London]] Tchaikovsky also acquainted himself with the score of the incidental music which Henschel had written for Herbert Beerbohm Tree's acclaimed production of ''Hamlet'' in 1892 (the score was published in September of the same year). For two months later, when he received a request from the Polish conductor [[Michał Hertz]] to use his [[Hamlet (incidental music)|incidental music]] to ''Hamlet'' in a production of [[Shakespeare]]'s tragedy at the [[Warsaw]] Theatre, Tchaikovsky wrote back advising him to use instead "the excellent music for ''Hamlet ''by George Henschel" <ref name="note4"/>.

Many years later, Henschel would write in his memoirs:

{{quote|Tschaikovsky, whom I had the pleasure of seeing nearly every day during his short stay in [[London]], seemed to me, though then on the uppermost rung of the ladder of fame, even more inclined to intervals of melancholy than when I had last met him; indeed, one afternoon, during a talk about the olden days in [[Petrograd]] and [[Moscow]], and the many friends there who were no more, he suddenly got very depressed and, wondering what this world with all its life and strife was made for, expressed his own readiness at any moment to quit it. To my gratification, I succeeded in dispelling the clouds that had gathered over his mental vision, and during the rest of the afternoon as well as the dinner in the evening he appeared in the best of spirits. That was the last time I saw him, and less than five months later a very strange thing happened. What to call it I know not:}}

{{quote|The sketch programmes of the series of concerts by the Scottish Orchestra, which, under my directorship, were to commence in November, had as usual been printed and published several months before the first concert, which took place in Edinburgh on November 6th 1893, and on the programme there figured an [[Elegy]] for strings by Tschaikovsky, written in memory of a departed friend <ref name="note5"/>[ I had selected it as a fine example of the composer's art as being deeply emotional and impressive, even on so limited a scale and without the colouristic wealth of the full modern orchestra. The little work stood first in the second part of the programme. After the usual interval between the parts the members of the orchestra had reassembled on the platform, ready for me. As I made my way through them towards the conductor's desk, one of the gentlemen stopped me for a moment and, handing me the ''Evening News'', pointed to the heading of a telegram from [[Petrograd]]: Tschaikovsky had died that morning!..." <ref name="note6"/> }}

In the years following Tchaikovsky's death Henschel conducted the [[Symphony No. 6]] a number of times in [[London]].

Helen Henschel (1882–1973), the daughter of George and Lilian Henschel, also became a professional singer. In her biography of her father, she looked back to her meetings with Tchaikovsky as a child when he visited her family's house in [[London]] in June 1893:

{{quote|Another frequent visitor to our house about this time was Tschaikovsky, who had come to England to receive an honorary degree at [[Cambridge]]. My father had met him years earlier in [[Moscow]], and described him then (1875) as 'a most amiable, kind, gentle, modest man, with just that touch of melancholy in his composition which seems to be a characteristic of the Russian.}}

The melancholy was naturally enough not evident to me as a small child, but the gentleness and kindness were. Nobody could have been more charming than he was. One of my life's minor tragedies is that he wrote me a long letter when he left [[London]], that the wind blew it off the table into the waste-paper basket, and that the house-maid lit my fire with it. I have always felt a particular sympathy for Carlyle since! <ref name="note7"/> But I do possess a personal remembrance of Tschaikovsky — the photograph he gave to my mother, inscribed: 'A Madame L. B. Henschel, de la part de son fervent admirateur, P. Tschaikovsky'" <ref name="note8"/>

It was also during one of these visits that Tchaikovsky accompanied Henschel at the piano as the latter sang ''None But the Lonely Heart'' (No. 6 of the [[Six Romances, Op. 6]]) <ref name="note9"/>.

==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
2 letters from Tchaikovsky to George Henschel have survived, dating from 1888 and 1893, of which those highlighted in bold have been translated into English on this website:
* [[Letter 3597a]] – 18/30 June 1888, from [[Frolovskoye]]
* '''[[Letter 4951b]]''' – 3/15 June 1893, from [[Paris]]

==Bibliography==
* {{bib|1918/7}} (1918)
* {{bib|1980/112}} (1980)
* {{bib|1993/83}} (1993)

==External Links==
* [[wikipedia:George_Henschel|Wikipedia]]

==Notes and References==
<references>
<ref name="note1">{{bib|1918/7|Musings and Memories of a Musician}} (1918), p. 60–61.</ref>
<ref name="note2">See {{bib|1980/112|Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee, and Tchaikovsky}} (1980), p. 365.</ref>
<ref name="note3">See {{bib|1980/112|Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee, and Tchaikovsky}} (1980), p. 401.</ref>
<ref name="note4">[[Letter 5020]] to [[Michał Hertz]], 23 August/4 September 1893. See also {{bib|1980/112|Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee, and Tchaikovsky}} (1980), p. 401–402.</ref>
<ref name="note5">The actor [[Ivan Samarin]].</ref>
<ref name="note6">{{bib|1918/7|Musings and Memories of a Musician}} (1918), p. 365–366. Quoted partly in {{bib|1993/33|Tchaikovsky Remembered}} (1993), p. 187–188.</ref>
<ref name="note7">The manuscript of the first volume of Thomas Carlyle's ''The French Revolution. A History'' was accidentally burnt by John Stuart Mill's house-maid in 1835. It was the only existing copy, and it took Carlyle over a year to write the volume afresh.</ref>
<ref name="note8">{{bib|1949/13|When Soft Voices Die. A Musical Biography}} (1949), p. 72–73. Quoted in {{bib|1993/33|Tchaikovsky Remembered}} (1993), p. 97–98.</ref>
<ref name="note9">See {{bib|1980/112|Stanford, the Cambridge Jubilee, and Tchaikovsky}} (1980), p. 366.</ref>
</references>
[[Category:People|Henschel, George]]
[[Category:Composers|Henschel, George]]
[[Category:Conductors|Henschel, George]]