Anglo-Austrian Music Society

158 Rosendale Road, London SE21 8LG
Tel : 020-8761 0444 Fax : 020-8766 6151 Email : info@aams.org.uk

The Anglo-Austrian Music Society, (Registered Charity No. 219021) was founded in London in the autumn of 1942 by a small group of Austrian refugee musicians and a few English friends - initially as a means of surviving in exile, but also to promote the appreciation and understanding of Austrian music in Britain. They gave concerts throughout the war, and increasingly involved British musicians and British music. In 1946 the administration was merged with that of the Anglo-Austrian Society, and visits to Britain by Austrian artists began. The Vienna State Opera came to Covent Garden in 1947, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra first played in London for the Society in 1948. The Vienna Boys Choir visited almost every year from 1950 to 2000, and the Society commissioned Benjamin Britten to write the opera The Golden Vanity for the Choir.

Over the years, the Anglo-Austrian Music Society has sponsored appearances by many famous artists including Elisabeth Schumann, Kathleen Ferrier, Richard Tauber, Bruno Walter, Clemens Kraus, Myra Hess, Josef Krips, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. There have been many concerts and debut recitals by young Austrian musicians - starting in 1949 with the young Friedrich Gulda and continuing through the years with Paul Badura-Skoda, Joerg Demus, Ingrid Haebler, Irmgard Seefried, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Heinz Medjimorec, Heinrich Schiff, the Alban Berg Quartet, The Haydn Trio, Edita Gruberova, Ernst Kovacic, Thomas Riebl and Stefan Vladar amongst many others.

The Anglo-Austrian Music Society was dissolved on 24 May 2022. All remaining funds were transferred to The Wigmore Hall Trust.

For a history of the first half-century of the Society, written in 1992 by its longtime General Secretary Walter J Foster OBE

Information about other Anglo-Austrian activities can be found on The Anglo-Austrian Society website

RICHARD TAUBER PRIZE

The Richard Tauber Prize now forms part of the

Wigmore Hall / Independent Opera
International Song Competition

2022
Richard Tauber Prize
for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder
awarded at Wigmore Hall on 7 September 2022 to

John Matthew Myers tenor

2019
Richard Tauber Prize
for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder
awarded at Wigmore Hall on 11 September 2019 to

Benjamin Russell baritone

2017
Richard Tauber Prize
for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder
awarded at Wigmore Hall on 7 September 2017 to

Clara Osowski mezzo soprano

2015
Richard Tauber Prize
for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder
awarded at Wigmore Hall on 10 September 2015 to

James Newby baritone

2013
Richard Tauber Prize
for the best interpretation of Schubert Lieder
awarded at Wigmore Hall on 3 September 2013 to

Timothy Fallon tenor and Ammiel Bushakevitz piano

Full details of the competition available on
www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/competitions/song

The next Competition will be held in September 2024

2010 RICHARD TAUBER PRIZE for SINGERS - FINAL RESULTS

The final public audition for the 30th Richard Tauber Prize was held
at Wigmore Hall on 4 June.

153 young singers had competed in preliminary rounds in both London and Vienna, and, of these, ten were selected to sing before a jury consisting of Dame Anne Evans, Lillian Watson, Steven Naylor (Glyndebourne), David Syrus (Royal Opera House), Nigel Douglas, Franz Lukasovsky and Bernard Keeffe (Anglo-Austrian Music Society).

The Prizewinners are :

First Prize of Ł 5000 and Public London Recital :

JUNG SOO YUN
a 30 year old South Korean tenor, currently at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice and previously at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and Yonsei University Seoul.

Second Prize of Ł 2500

DENISE BECK – a 28 year old Danish soprano, currently studying at the Universität für Musik in Vienna and previously at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

Adčle Leigh Memorial Prize of Ł 2500

LESLIE DAVIS - a 29 year old Canadian mezzo soprano, currently at the Royal Academy of Music Opera School, and previously at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Acadia University Nova Scotia Canada.

Ferdinand Rauter Memorial Prize for Accompanists of Ł 1000

JOSEPH MIDDLETON

2010 RICHARD TAUBER PRIZE for SINGERS - FINALISTS

MONICA BANCOS soprano Romanian

DENISE BECK soprano Danish

MARY BEVAN soprano British

LESLIE DAVIS mezzo Canadian

SUSANA GASPAR soprano Portuguese

CAROLINE MACPHIE soprano British

ROBERTO ORTIZ tenor Mexican

LEVENTE PALL bass Hungarian

THOMAS TATZL bass baritone Austrian

JUNG SOO YUN tenor South Korean

P R E V I O U S R I C H A R D T A U B E R P R I Z E W I N N E R S
2010 Jung Soo Yun 2008 Christopher Ainslie 2005 Anna Leese 2003 Klemens Sander 2000 Jonathan Lemalu 1998 Jeanette Ager 1995 Jane Irwin 1993 Catrin Wyn-Davies 1991 William Dazeley 1988 Lynton Atkinson 1986 Simon Keenlyside 1984 Anna Steiger 1982 John Hancorn 1980 Gabriele Fontana 1978 Claire Powell	1975 Robin Leggate 1972 Cynthia Buchan 1971 Simon Vaughan 1970 Patricia Taylor 1969 Abigail Ryan 1968 Richard Salter 1967 Hugh Sheehan 1966 Alexander Oliver 1965 Richard Angas 1964 Paul Smith 1962 Alan Mayall 1959 Raymond Hayter 1957 George Fourie 1952 Ronald Jackson 1951 Hugh Beresford

For details of the concert given by the 2006 Richard Tauber Prizewinner, Anna Leese (soprano) with Graham Johnson (piano) on 26 June 2008,
please click here.


*To listen to Christopher Ainslie singing an extract of “Furibondo” from Handel’s Partenope, please click*

We regret to announce the death of WALTER J FOSTER OBE FRSA

Former General Secretary of the
Anglo-Austrian Society / Anglo-Austrian Music Society

Born Vienna 25 June 1923

Died London 27 December 2009

For an obituary click here

Voices of Europe CD

Engel Lund's Book of Folk Song with pianoforte accompaniments by Ferdinand Rauter

The Anglo-Austrian Music Society is proud to have helped sponsor this CD in memory of Ferdinand Rauter, founder of the Anglo-Austrian Music Society.

An exceptional group of young international singers have just accomplished the first ever recording of ENGEL LUND'S BOOK OF FOLK SONG, a unique collection of beautiful folk songs in 10 different languages, created in London in 1936 by the Icelandic singer Engel Lund and Austrian composer FERDINAND RAUTER, founder of the Anglo-Austrian Music Society. These were published by Oxford University Press. The recording was produced at the Royal College of Music studio in London by Norbert Meyn, Professor at the RCM, and introduces some of the best young singers in London today, including the Austrian Mezzo-Soprano Daniela Lehner.

In the 1930's and 40's the Icelandic singer ENGEL LUND and FERDINAND RAUTER, represented by London's premiere artists agency, Ibbs & Tillett, travelled the world with a unique recital programme of folk songs from many European countries. At a time of growing separation, violence and destruction these artists brought a message of the universal nature of the human heart to enthusiastic audiences all over Europe and the United States. Engel Lund herself sang in 17 different languages, included Jewish as well as German songs in each programme, and gave lively, much praised introductions to the songs and the stories in them. The Chicago Daily News wrote in 1937: "Her recital gave a glimpse into the human heart of many peoples; that heart is very much alike the world over, but Mme Lund has studied it on a humble level where the native differences of its expression mean everything and are dearest."

In 2006, seventy years after ENGEL LUND'S BOOK OF FOLK SONG was first published, young singers from all these different countries could be found in London, so all songs are sung by a native speaker of each language. With this CD, a new generation of singers pays tribute to two extraordinary artists of the 20th century. It unites young talent from Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, France, the United States, Israel, the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. The project was funded by the Anglo-Austrian Music Society, the Austrian Cultural Forum, The Icelandic, Czech and German Embassies, the Royal College of Music and by Erste Bank London.

To order a copy of the first special edition of the CD, please send cheque for Ł13.99 (including postage & packing) made out to "Lieder Theatre Ltd" to :
Andrea Rauter
Austrian Cultural Forum
28 Rutland Gate
London SW7 1PQ

"Engel Lund's collection of folksongs is a casket of musical gems. Ferdinand Rauter's piano parts are crafted in a way that never destroys the simplicity or the national character of the originals - and they cover a wide range, from Lund's native Iceland to Austria, from Eastern Europe to Kentucky. All are performed with precision and aplomb by Norbert Meyn's team of young singers and pianists".
Roger Vignoles, Prince Consort Professor at the Royal College of Music.

"Exceptional voices from across the world - some outstanding new talents."
Opera Now, Nov. 06, concert review

"These songs were systematically collected and performed at a time of extreme divisions and distress in Europe, in vocal opposition to terror and war and as a sign of unbeatable hope and optimism. In the language of political analysts they constitute "soft power", superior to other manifestations of power in the long run, and more apt to bridge gaps separating human beings and nations. And this seems more necessary then ever."
Gabriele Matzner-Holzer, Austrian Ambassador in London, June 2006

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