Graham Whettam Archive

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Introduction

	Biography
	Contents
	Arrangement
	Bibliography

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Catalogue

• Compositions
• Recordings
• Correspondence
• Promotional Information

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Biography

Graham Whettam (7 September 1927 – 17 August 2007) was an English post-romantic composer. He was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and studied at St Luke's College, Exeter. Though he never formally studied at a music school and was largely self-taught, several of his compositions had already been performed by major orchestras and soloists by his twenties. These include the Sinfonietta for Strings in 1951 at Kensington Palace; the Symphony No. 1 in the early 1950s by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Groves; the Concertino for oboe and string orchestra at the 1953 Proms performed by oboist Léon Goossens; and the Viola Concerto in 1954 at the Cheltentham Festival by violist Harry Danks and conductor Sir John Barbirolli. Other of his works had already been performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra by conductors Basil Cameron, Meredith Davies, Sir Eugene Goossens, Willem van Otterloo, and Sir Malcolm Sargent, and by oboist Janet Craxton, clarinettist Jack Brymer, and horn player Dennis Brain. In 1959, the premiere of his first clarinet concerto was performed by Raymond Carpenter and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Groves; this he considered his first mature work.
He was married to Rosemary Atkinson from 1948 until their divorce in 1958, at which time he moved to Coventry. While there, he married Janet Lawrence in 1959, and later founded and directed his own publishing company, "Meriden Music". In 1962 he wrote his first work to be critically considered a "masterpiece", Sinfonia contra timore (Symphony Against Fear), which was premiered three years later by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and conductor Hugo Rignold. Though Sinfonietta Stravagante (1964), performed by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Herbert Sourdant, and Sinfonia Concertante (1966), performed by the Northern Sinfonia and conductor Bryden Thomson, followed in rapid succession, Whettam did not continue to have the success of his youth; several of his works were premiered/published some time after their composition, and some of his later works (such as the Promethean Symphony and the Symphony No. 5) still wait for a world premiere. Regarded as "a natural symphonist" by the Sunday Times, the dozen symphonies he composed between his mid-twenties and death form the core of Whettam's output. However, he also contributed some large-scale concertos, several shorter orchestral (both symphonic and concertante) works, numerous chamber and instrumental works (such as four string quartets and three solo violin sonatas), as well as vocal and choral works. His music, labelled as "invariably dramatic" (a characterization reflected in his titles: Sinfonia Drammatica; Concerto Drammatico; Concerto Ardente; Sinfonia Intrepida), features skillful construction and a deep sense of poignancy and atmosphere. Whettam died on 17 August 2007 in Woolaston, Gloucestershire, aged 79.

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Contents

Papers of the composer Graham Whettam comprising printed editions of his compositions (there are no original manuscripts), a few recordings, and correspondence with conductors, radio stations, publishers etc mainly concerning promoting the publishing and performing of his music.
The papers also include material relating to Meriden Music, a music publishing business set up by Whettam in 1972 with the aims of: encouraging the writing of high quality music and promoting the music of Whettam in particular; providing quality music for young performers; providing first class copies of printed sheet music for sale; sending out copies of scores and demo-tapes to performers particularly for promotional purposes; instigating public performances by both professional and amateur musicians providing publicity and programme notes when needed; supporting students and members of the public wishing to study Whettam's music in greater detail by the provision of study tapes with sheet music where requested.

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Accession details

Transferred from the Royal Northern College of Music 24 July 2016 (Acc No Misc.2015/16:178)

Conditions of access

Open for consultation.

Copyright and copying

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Sub-Librarian, Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material

Arrangement

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Appraisal

Weeded of duplicates.

Accruals

None expected.

Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Whettam

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Catalogue

Compositions
Reference: WHE A
Dates of creation: 1955-2000
Published by Meridien, most full scores, some including parts

Recordings
Correspondence
Promotional Information
Promotional information by Whettam and Meridan Music advertising and explaining his compositions