Sir Malcolm Sargent

Sir Malcolm Sargent0:00

Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive. For rights' reasons, we've had to shorten the music. We've included all the audio we have of this broadcast, but sadly it doesn't include all eight of Sir Malcolm Sargent's musical choices. However, they are detailed in full on our website, bbc.co.uk slash radio four slash desert island discs. The programme was originally broadcast in 1955.

Presenter0:42

The BBC presents desert island discs.

Presenter1:22

In this program, a well-known person is asked the question, if you were to be cast away alone on a desert island, which eight gramophone records would you choose to have with you?

Presenter1:32

Assuming of course that you also had a gramophone and an inexhaustible supply of needs.

Presenter1:39

The programme's introduced by Roy Plum.

Presenter1:43

How do you do, ladies and gentlemen?

Presenter1:46

On our desert island on this occasion, we welcome Sir Malcolm Sargent.

Presenter1:50

We know this energetic, youthful looking debonair man as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as a worthy upholder of the traditions of the promenade concerts, and a first-class ambassador for British music in the concert halls of five continents.

Presenter2:05

I think that for a man to whom music means so much, this problem I'm setting him is going to be an especially difficult one.

Presenter2:12

Well, here you are on the island, Sir Malcolm, and I'm afraid you have no idea how long you're going to be here. It may be for many years. And you can choose to have with you just eight records from the half million or so the BBC has in its library. Your only entertainment for perhaps the rest of your life. Rather a sobering thought.

Presenter2:29

First of all, apart from the fact that you've made so many records yourself, how much would you say that the gramophone means to you in private life? Do you play it a lot for pleasure?

Presenter2:38

It's a very interesting question. I don't actually have time to play gramophone recordings for my own actual pleasure as a part from the good they can do me in my work. I mean, I put on records always with a purpose. I put them on because I wish to hear somebody's reading of a certain thing to see what I can learn from it. But the chances of really just putting it on for the pleasure of hearing it are very, very few. Well, now you're going to a desert island where you will have plenty of time for that, I'm afraid. What has guided your choice? Being a professional musician, living in music every day for many, many hours, to me, it would be a strange thing to bother to take records to a desert island at all, or even a gramophone, because frankly, I would much rather take the scores of the works than the actual recordings of them. Why do you say that? Well, I must put it to you perhaps in another way. If you were keen on Shakespeare and were given the choice of taking the films of half a dozen Shakespeare plays, done in the best way by Olivia or whoever it was, or take the book which you would prefer, I assure you that if you saw the films half a dozen times, you'd begin to get so used to it, used to the inflection of the voice, that it would dull much sooner than the interest would of reading the play and getting, as years went by, I don't know how long I'm going to be on this island, but for me, I would rather have the scores of the great works than have gramophone recordings. Yes, well you obviously made your point there.

Presenter4:07

Well, you haven't got the scores, I'm afraid you have these records, and what is your first one? Well, the first one I would certainly choose would be uh a good recording of the complete Handel's Messiah.

Presenter4:17

Well, not the complete, I'm afraid, just one side. Oh! Ah.

Presenter4:22

Oh no, but one moment. We're allowed long playing records, aren't we? No, because you have no source of power on the island. You only have a a hand-cranked gramophone. This is appalling. What a terrible thing to be fixed with eight short-playing records, which you've got to hear as often as possible. However, I would certainly know that I would get a great deal of pleasure occasionally putting on a recording of Shawley

Presenter4:46

He has borne our our griefs, the the uh from from the um from the Messiah. Yes, and I hope you would choose your own recording of that, would you?

Presenter4:54

Well, modesty forbids me mentioning the name of the recording, which I think the best so far. Well, perhaps in this case, I'll be allowed to choose myself. Here it is.

Speaker 25:39

Go to the house.

Presenter6:12

So Halcombe, you've been conducting Troilus and Cressida at Carvent Garden. Do you find that conducting in the Opera House as exciting and satisfying as working in the concert hall?

Presenter6:22

It's certainly usually more exciting, and particularly with a work such as this, which I look upon as one of the great works of the last fifty years for the operatic stage of the world, it is of great excitement and satisfaction. A satisfying is rather another point, because you have so many more people under your control, the sta at working at a disadvantage, running about on the stage and so on, and perhaps one can get a more satisfying form of a symphony than of an opera. But I shall always hope to be in touch with operatic work because it is a great field for one's best technical experience and of great importance musically, and it's one that I shall always love doing. I believe you were an amateur actor at one time.

Presenter7:08

I think very badly. I've been an amateur most things at one time. Well, let's have another record.

Presenter7:14

Oh, well now the next thing I would choose would be something from Elgar's Dream of Gurantius. Elgar was a friend whom I love very dearly. I have the great admiration for his work. I look upon the Dream of Gourantius as one of the great choral works of the world's musical history. And I would like to have the Sanctus Fortis, which is sung by the tenor Gorantius himself, professing his complete faith, his creed, his belief in everlasting values at the point of his death. Yes. May I once again choose the recording, which in this case is by the Huddersfield Choral Society with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the conductor anonymous? Thank you. That pleases me.

Speaker 38:25

I believe and truly God is three and God is one.

Speaker 38:38

And thy thanks to Charlie's Julie and who the taken by the song

Presenter8:55

How old were you when you decided that music was to be your life?

Presenter9:00

Well, actually, no, I believe that on arrival I burst into song. But it was not recorded, and so I can't let you know anything how good it was. But by the age of four, I am told that when a cousin of mine, who was older than much older than me, played her piece on the piano, I then went to the piano and sat down with the utmost conviction, banged about on the piano, at least to my satisfaction, for no one's else. By eight years of age, I was singing in a choir and was able to sing the alto part. My father's an amateur organist, and he was delighted to find a boy who obviously could sing the alto, which is very difficult to get in country places. And from that moment, I

Presenter9:41

became uh fascinated in music and really wanted to take it up as a profession, um not really from any any larger ambition than really to take part in church services and to become an organist.

Presenter9:54

Oh, what's the next record we're going to hear?

Presenter9:57

Oh, now the next record. Well again, of course, I'm I'm looking for large works and things that will be satisfying for a long time, and I must go for the Bach B minor, and I would like to have on my desert isle an occasional chance of hearing a fine choir singing the Sanctus from that very great work.

Presenter11:16

I notice that so far you've chosen sections from three religious works. Is that advisably so?

Presenter11:22

Oh yes, you see, I think that if one were cast from a desert island, it's an experience I've not yet had, one would be free from most of the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. The world certainly wouldn't tempt one at all. Flesh, I suppose, was there a little bit, but certainly gluttony and drunkenness and other forms of fleshly excesses would be at a disadvantage as temptations. The devil, I suppose, will be there, but I've not experienced what he's like on a desert island. But however, I do feel that perhaps it's important, lest one should suffer from some form of spiritual pride through this lack of temptation, that one should be continually refreshing one's spirituality by listening to seriously religious music. That's why I have chosen these as my standbys. Are you going to continue in that vein? No, I think perhaps it's unfair to the listeners of this session if we did. I would now like to hear as one of my fourth discs.

Presenter12:18

The

Presenter12:19

Perhaps the slow movement, which is is is so beautiful, of the ninth symphony of Beethoven.

Presenter13:26

Not time, I'm afraid, to play the whole of the movement.

Presenter13:29

Now, Sir Malcolm, an important part of this desert island game. What sort of castaway do you think you'd be in a practical sense? How could you look after yourself? Have you any skills or crafts or hobbies or theories that might be useful? None whatever. But I've always found that, I mean, I'm the most incapable of people until I have to do the job and then quite suddenly something turns up and I find I get over the difficulty. But I have never hitherto been cast upon a desert island. I did.

Presenter13:57

I was stuck once in in an island in the in the Pacific by a plane crashing down and I had four incredibly lovely days in in really a blue lagoon which I just adored. It was pretty primitive and pretty rough, but I must say other people did the cooking and uh there was no hut that had to be built. Do you think you could build one if you were put to it?

Presenter14:17

I suppose if you're put to it, you have to decide how to burn. I really wouldn't have the slightest idea how to do it. Of course, you see, you're not telling me whether I'm going to be a Robinson Crusoe and find a convenient ship with a treasure trove of saws and nails and hammers and things to do with it. Not at all. Not even ropes. I've got to set to work. I don't think I should live very long on this island. I think I'd be content to listen to these records and die very contentedly from starvation.

Sir Malcolm Sargent14:31

And hammers and things to do much.

Presenter14:43

Well, I'm afraid to your many honours and decorations we can't award the the first-class castaways badge for the desert islands and not. So let's cover your shame and get back to music. What are we having next?

Presenter14:53

Oh, well, I think that I would like now something a little more personal. And the violin as an instrument is one natural that I love. And I still think that Chrysler, at his best, was the supreme exponent of this incredibly lovely instrument. I would like to take with me one of his early recordings when he played with the fervor of youth and the maturity perhaps of middle age. And the caprice vignoir has always given me very, very great pleasure, and I would like to have it with me.

Presenter16:28

We've heard five of your eight records so far, and time is catching up on us because you've chosen works of which we could hardly play just mere snippets. Now I'm not going to do you out of any of your precious eight records, but I'm going to ask you, Sir Malcolm, to name your remaining three, but we're only going to have time to play one. That's your last one.

Presenter16:47

Oh, well now.

Presenter16:48

I would like to have with me obviously the recording that Heifitz did, the supreme recording of that wonderful work, the Elgar violin concerto, which for me has associations of great value.

Presenter17:01

I also would like to have any of the recordings that Snarble did with me of the Beethoven concertos. All of these are quite magnificent and they would be lovely companions. Uh

Speaker 217:11

Uh

Presenter17:11

But if I've only got one more to play to you, I'm going to play suggest something quite light, the Danyani suite in F sharp minor.

Presenter17:19

Is the best form of light music done in the classical orchestra and done magnificently. A critic once wrote after performance of this that it was café music. I must say he must have gone to some jolly good cafes in his time. And if this is café music, I'm in favour of it. And perhaps on a desert island, the case suggestion of the life of a really supremely good café wouldn't be a bad thing. So I would like to play and have with me the last movement of the Dognani Sweeten F sharp minor.

Presenter18:55

You have one more choice to make, Sir Malcolm. That is your luxury item. As well as your gramophone and eight records, you can take with you one luxury. Nothing useful. Well, of course, if it were a very hot island, I suppose, I would like some form of ice-making machine. And if it were a very cold island, I would like something in the nature of a hot water bottle.

Presenter19:15

Right, well we'll we'll find out the island and let you have whichever one of those you want to very much. Well thank you very much Sir Malcolm Sergeant for letting Sir your choice of desert island discs.

Sir Malcolm Sargent19:19

Back to uh

Speaker 319:20

But

Presenter19:24

And I hope you won't ever land up on a desert island in actual fact, because you'd been missed much too much in the concert halls of the world.

Presenter19:32

Goodbye, everyone.

Presenter20:04

That programme, Desert Island Discs, was devised by Roy Plumley and introduced by him in the London studios of the BBC.

Sir Malcolm Sargent20:13

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive. For more podcasts, please visit bbc.co.uk slash radio four.