The musical tradition at Balliol College, Oxford was established in the period 1870 to 1893 when Benjamin Jowett was Master there, with an organ introduced in the college chapel in 1874. On the arrival of John Farmer as organist in 1885, a series of classical concerts on Sunday evenings began, taking place in the college hall, which became a fixture. Balliol College did not offer music as an undergraduate subject, and the University of Oxford did not establish a Music Department until 1950. Ernest Walker, Balliol's Director of Music 1901–1925, over his time in Oxford "had immense influence on a whole generation of musicians."
Susan L. F. Wollenberg wrote "From their inception in 1885 the Balliol concerts showed special features". Edward Heath wrote in 1986:
The Balliol Concerts not only play a major part in the life of the College, they are also a unique aspect in the musical activities of the whole university [...] It is by this means that so many generations of Oxford men and women have come to know and love the greatest chamber music in the world played by the leading artists of the day.
The 1,950th Balliol concert was given on 7 November 2024 by Raphael Wallfisch and Simon Callaghan (piano). The programme included cello works of Walker, along with works by Schubert, Schumann, and Beethoven.
Sunday evening concerts
The Sunday evening music concerts are organised by the Balliol College Musical Society to bring chamber music to a wider audience. Notable musicians who have performed include:
MusicianInstrumentBornFanny Daviespianist 1861Nikolai Medtner pianist 1879Arthur Rubinstein pianist1887Solomon pianist1902Claudio Arrau pianist1903Vlado Perlemuterpianist1904Yehudi Menuhinviolinist 1916Hephzibah Menuhin pianist 1920Busch Quartetquartet 1919Dame Felicity Lott soprano 1947Pascal Rogé pianist1951András Schiff pianist 1953Raphael Wallfischcellist1953Anne Schwanewilms soprano 1967Vienna Piano Triotrio1988
The programmes from the mid-1950s attended by Michael Scaife https://archives.univ.ox.ac.uk/records/UC%3AP343/X10 show the musical diversity of the performances.
Röntgen String Quartet 25 Oct 1953John Kennedy (cello) and Scylla Kennedy (piano) 8 Nov 1953Robert Masters String Quartet 22 Nov 1953various performers 27 Nov 1953London Harpsichord Ensemble 7 Feb 1954Balliol College Choir conducted by W. Llewellyn 21 Feb 1954Flora Nielson soprano and Thomas Armstrong piano 7 Mar 1954Eileen McLoughlin (soprano) and Julian Bream (guitar and lute) 2 May 1954Element String Quartet 30 May 1954Ralph Kirkpatrick (harpsichord) 24 Oct 1954Jelly d’Aranyi (violin) and Ivor Keys (piano) 31 Oct 1954group of string players led by Ernest Element 28 Nov 1954Alan Loveday and Neville Marriner (violins) and George Malcolm (piano) 22 Jan 1955Alfred Loewenguth, Maurice Fueri, Roger Roche, and Pierre Basseux 6 Feb 1955various performers 20 Feb 1955Elizabeth Vernon Powell (solo piano), David Galliver (tenor) and Thomas Armstrong (accompanist) 6 Mar 1955Adila Fachiri (violin), David Gwylt (cello) and John Gwylt (piano) 1 May 1955David Martin (violin) 29 May 1955Rubbra-Gruenberg-Pleeth Trio 16 Oct 1955Valerie Tryon (piano) 30 Oct 1955Alfred Deller (countertenor), Desmond Dupré (lute and bass viol) and Thurston Dart (harpsichord) 4 Mar 1956Golden Age Singers, directed by Margaret Field-Hyde 29 Apr 1956
The Society was established in 1885 by John Farmer, formerly the music master of Harrow School, who was invited by the then Master, Benjamin Jowett, to become Director of Music. These concerts were the first secular Sunday concerts in England. Attendees included not only students but also guests including Robert Browning, Lord Coleridge and T. H. Huxley. The 1,000th concert of the Society was given in 1937. The series continued without interruption through World War II.History Balliol College Musical Society Society website. Accessed 1 January 2025
The atmosphere at the concerts was described by Edward Heath:
These concerts had one tradition that no other college maintained. At the end of the concert, when the applause for the final item was dying, the Master sitting in the front row, waved his programme aloft. The whole audience rose, faced the organ at the back of the Hall and sang the Chorale printed on the programme sheet. It gave the concerts a tremendous finale.
Ernest Walker, Director of Music 1901–1925
L. E. Jones, who entered Balliol as an undergraduate in 1904, wrote in his autobiography of the "moving spirit" in the Balliol concerts:
Thin, bent, etiolated, with a despondent black beard and a falsetto voice, Dr. Walker looked anything but the 'live wire' that he, in fact, was.
Of the period when Walker was Balliol's Director of Music, it has been said "Many of the most important figures in the English musical world played at Balliol at this time". They included:
Harry Plunket Greene, who sang in 1901, accompanied by Walker. Adolf Busch, who in 1912 played the Brahms G major violin sonata and other pieces at a Balliol concert, accompanied by Walker. Fanny Davies Steuart Wilson
Margaret Deneke of Lady Margaret Hall came under the influence of Walker and Donald Tovey. She and her sister Helena held concerts at their home Gunfield, where Busch and Marie Soldat-Roeger played. Variations on a Theme of Joachim (Op. 40, published 1927) by Walker was given its premiere at Balliol by Jelly d'Arányi.
Walker's successor as Balliol's Director of Music was William Henry Harris. While running the concert series from 1925 to 1933, he was organist for other Oxford colleges.
Musicians associated with Balliol College ImageNameJoin DateField of workCommentsRefsCristoph Denoth2006guitaristartist in residence 2006-9Professor, RCMChristoph Denoth (guitar), Hyperion Records accessed 13 December 2025Miron Fyodorov 2004 hip hop Russian artist OxxxymironOliver Weindling1974jazzOriginal member, Oxcentrics jazz band. Founded jazz Babel Label and the Vortex Jazz Club in East LondonBalliol College Register (Seventh Edition) p572Christopher Page 1971musicologistmedieval musicNicholas Kenyon 1969 BBC Radio 3 Organiser BBC PromsBalliol College Register (Fifth Edition) by John Jones and Sally Viney 1983Vernon Handley 1951 conductorsupported British composersEdward Heath1935organist, conductorPrime MinisterGeorge Malcolm 1934 harpsichordistMaster of Music, Westminster CathedralRichard Buckle 1934 Ballet Founded Ballet magazineSydney Carter 1933 songwriter"Lord of the Dance"Inglis Gundry 1923 composerlecturer on musical appreciationVictor Hely-Hutchinson 1920 composer, conductor, pianistswitched to RCM after one year"Carol Symphony"Balliol College Register (Third Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1953F. S. Kelly 1900 composer Olympic gold medallist in rowingDonald Tovey 1895composerEssays in Musical Analysis Ernest Walker1887composerHonorary FellowJohn Farmer 1885 Director of Musicorganist, composer and keyboardistSir Harold Boulton 1878 songwriter"Skye Boat Song"Julian Sturgis 1868 librettist"the best serious librettist of the day" (W.S.Gilbert) FA Cup Final winnerBalliol College Register (Second Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1934
Organs and organ scholars Jowett gave an organ by Henry Willis & Sons for the college hall, in 1885. In 1938 Harrison & Harrison built a new organ for the college chapel, replacing the original organ.
The college funds an organ scholar. One was the former Prime Minister Edward Heath. Organ scholars noted in other fields include Christopher Longuet-Higgins from 1942, and Ronald Gordon from 1945.
References
External links Balliol College Musical Society accessed 1 January 2025 Balliol College, Middle Common Room, Clubs and Societies accessed 1 January 2025