ALFRED LENGNICK & CO.

History

In 1893 in London Alfred Lengnick founded the music publishing house which bears his name.  Having worked his apprenticeship in the music houses of Leipzig and Vienna he decided to set up his own company in England.  The musical scene was predominantly one of European (German) musicians and composers.  Lengnick established himself in Great Portland St. with, most importantly, the sole agency in this country for N. Simrock of Berlin.  With the copyrights of Brahms and Dvorak in particular it was not surprising that his business thrived and within three years this growth necessitated a move to much larger premises in nearby Berners Street.  Lengnick often travelled to the continent to secure more copyrights but during a visit to Germany in 1904 he contracted a chill which proved fatal, dying on Christmas day.  His wife carried on for a few months, but then retired and the good will was handed on to the prestigious publishers, Schott & Co.  Even during his short tenure Lengnick had built up a reputable catalogue of educational music, in particular the piano works of Chopin (Mukuli’s edition) and the then famous Eugen d’Albert edition of the Beethoven piano sonatas.  Together with numerous easier compositions and the publication of the examination books for the Incorporated Society of Musicians the firm was in a strong position.  No less than two hundred thousand copies of Dvorak’s Humoresque were sold in these early years.  This was probably the hey-day of the printed copy, apart from the more recent large print-runs of the major examination boards.

Sometime during the 1930s the company passed into the hands of Bernard de Nevers.  He it was who gave sanctuary to members of the Simrock family in the war years and assured the safety of the valuable stock of printers’ plates from Germany.  With the war over and the royalties from the copyright composers Brahms and Dvorak still supporting him, de Nevers took the opportunity to support the burgeoning number of British composers with an enlightened publishing programme.  The names he contracted read like a roll-call of the great and gifted of British Music during the past sixty years.

HOUSE COMPOSERS
(refer also to ‘Artists’ on this site for more detailed biographies)

WILLIAM ALWYN explored virtually every area of music – two operas, five symphonies, concertos for piano, violin, cor anglais, flute, oboe and harp, song cycles (sometimes to his own workds), much piano music, and a considerable amount of Chamber music.   Also his great post-romantic gift gave birth to over one hundred film music scores.

Beginning life as a virtuoso trumpeter with the LPO, MALCOLM ARNOLD had his first big break with Beckus the Dandipratt in 1946.  De Nevers acquired this work and was quick to realise the enormous talent of this 25-year-old composer, a man whose music is not easily categorised, and who is ready to admit the influence of Rock and Jazz as much as his beloved Berlioz and Sibelius, amongst others.  De Nevers asked Arnold to write the world-renowned English Dances.  No modern piece has been played more often by more orchestras worldwide.  In our catalogue are concertos for clarinet, horn, piano duet; overtures; the whimsical Serenade for Small Orchestra; first symphony and Symphony for Strings; violin and viola sonatas; recorder suite; the popular Sonatinas for clarinet, flute, and oboe; a string quartet and a Choral piece.  Arnold also produced over 80 stunning film scores, including The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Composers made tracks for the enlightened policy being followed at Lengnick.  Here follows reference to only a few:  MADELEINE DRING; head of music at the BBC, MAURICE JOHNSTONE, with his ever popular Orchestral rhapsody Tarn Hows and the improvisation on the north-country song The Oak and the Ash; ERNST VON DOHNANYI, who assigned his Sextet , piano pieces, second symphony and second piano concerto to Lengnick; ELIZABETH LUYTENS; KENNETH LEIGHTON, CHARLES SPINKS, HUMPHREY SEARLE, STANLEY BATE, FRANCIS CHAGRIN, CHARLES PROCTOR, PHILIP SAINTON, ROBERT STILL, JULIUS HARRISON, IAN PARROTT.

The sheer integrity that illuminates the work of Edmund Rubbra is the outstanding feature of his music, 95% of which is in copyright to Lengnick.  Included are twelve symphonies, concertos, Chamber music, much Vocal and Choral music, Chamber works.  The centenary in 2001 proved his worth, with many performances and new recordings being arranged.

Elizabeth Maconchy, Bernard Stevens, Franz Reizenstein, and Robert Simpson were more of the significant composers to entrust their compositions to Lengnick.

With the purchase of the University of Cardiff Press copyrights, there was yet a further injection of musical luminaries and some rare scholarly editions by Haydn and Handel became incorporated into the catalogue.  Most notable of the new in-house composers is Alun Hoddinott.

In 1991 Complete Music Ltd. Purchased Lengnick as its classical division.  Composers joining the company in recent years are Richard Dubugnon, David Ellis, Adam Gorb, George Newson, Ronald Senator, Edward Watson, Stephen Watson, and John Veale.

As most composers need the services of a thoroughly professional publisher to disseminate material to all the multifarious sources worldwide, protect the copyright, collect performance and mechanical fees, and encourage performances and recordings, Lengnick’s role in its second century would seem secure.