Record

LevelFonds
Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure)MS33
TitlePapers of Herman Sutherland Bantock
Extent2 boxes
Date1885-1974
DescriptionPapers of Herman Bantock, a violin and viola player, comprising notebooks, account books, concert programmes, leaflets and brochures, engagement contracts, photographs, news cuttings and correspondence relating to his career as a provincial musician.

Bantock lived and largely worked in the north-west of England. His career is well documented in four receipt books which not only give amounts earned but also say for which orchestra he was playing, where and when. An idea of the repertoire he was expected to perform can be gleaned from nearly 200 programmes, brochures and flyers of concerts at which he performed. A significant item is a bound volume of programmes from the 1899 and 1900 series of Sunday concerts given at the New Brighton Tower. These concerts became nationally known for their innovative programming and many were conducted by Granville Bantock. Herman Bantock came into contact with many famous performers, conductors and composers, some of whom are represented in the collection either in photographs or in letters. They include Hamilton Harty, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Hans Richter. The collection also includes some programmes and press clippings relating to the career of Bantock's second wife, Mabel, a cellist. The collection as a whole gives a remarkable picture of a life in music.
ArrangementThe collection is arranged in the following series: Bantock's notebooks; concert programmes, leaflets and brochures; engagement contracts; letters and postcards; newspaper and magazine clippings; photographs and reproductions; the Rimmer Quartet; souvenir brochures and syllabi; menus; artefacts; and miscellaneous items.
LanguageEnglish
Finding AidsA catalogue of this collection is available on the online archive catalogue. Click on the Finding Number to display the summary contents list of the catalogue and to view the full catalogue. A paper copy of this catalogue is also available for consultation at Special Collections.
Access StatusOpen
Administrative HistoryHerman Bantock (1874-1965), cousin of Sir Granville Bantock, the composer, and the father of Geoffrey Bantock, Professor of Education at the University of Leicester. Bantock made his living as a professional violin and viola player, initially in sea-side orchestras such as on Blackpool's North Pier and in the Rimmer String Quartet, and later in the Hallé and Liverpool Philharmonic orchestras. His long performing career spanned sixty years. His second wife, Mabel (née Whymark) was also a performer, a cellist in the Hallé. Bantock was a keen sportsman, with some skill in cricket and lacrosse.

Reference: University of Birmingham Research Libraries Bulletin ( Number 7, Spring 2000 ).
AcquisitionThis collection was presented by a relative of Bantock in 1997; with a small addition made in 1999
Archival NoteThis collection-level description is based on the record created for the Archives Hub, processed by Caroline Hughes in November 2001 and amended in November 2002.
Related MaterialThe Special Collections Department holds collections of other papers of musicians including the music manuscripts of Sir Granville Bantock, Herman Bantock's cousin (GB 0150 GB); the diaries and selected letters of Sir Edward Elgar (GB 0150 EE); letters from Josef Holbrooke to Raymond Bantock, Sir Granville Bantock's son (GB 0150 MS63); correspondence from Josef Holbrooke to Sir Granville Bantock (GB 0150 MS79); and a collection of letters from Granville Bantock to his son Raymond Bantock (GB 1050 MS140).

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