This is a summary of 1949 in music in the United Kingdom.

Events February – On hearing of the death of Ernest Walker, Albert Schweitzer writes: "Now the dear, gentle, kind, distinguished Dr. Walker has left this life. Seeing him impressed me deeply each time."Margaret Deneke, Ernest Walker, 1951 14 July – Kathleen Ferrier performs in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Spring Symphony in Amsterdam, with Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, a work written specifically for her. 5 September – Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop makes his last appearance at The Proms, singing an aria from Lohengrin, only one day before his sudden death. date unknown – The Tempo Records jazz record label is founded by Colin Pomroy, Jack Clough, and R.E.G. (Ron) Davies.

Popular music "Snowy White Snow and Jingle Bells" by Billy Reid, performed by Dorothy Squires "The Wedding of Lili Marlene" by Tommie Connor

Classical music: new works Malcolm Arnold – Symphony No. 1 Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 8 in B flat Minor Benjamin Britten – Spring SymphonyMitchell, Donald (ed) (2004). Letters From A Life: Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Vol. 3 1946–51. London: Faber and Faber. . p. 408 William Walton – Sonata for violin and piano (written for Yehudi Menuhin and Louis Kentner)

Opera Benjamin Britten – Let's Make an Opera (The Little Sweep) Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Pilgrim's Progress (original version)

Film and Incidental music Richard Addinsell – The Passionate Friends directed by David Lean. Arthur Bliss – Christopher Columbus, starring Fredric March. Ernest Irving – Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring Alec Guinness. A Run for Your Money, starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards. Whisky Galore! directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson.

Musical theatre 22 June – Her Excellency starring Cicely Courtneidge opens at the London Hippodrome 15 September – King's Rhapsody, with music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, opens at the Palace Theatre, London.

Musical films Maytime in Mayfair, starring Anna NeagleVincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p489 Melody in the Dark, starring Eunice Gayson Trottie True, starring Jean Kent and Hugh Sinclair

Births 4 January – Margaret Anne Marshall, Scottish soprano 19 January – Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003) 22 January – Phil Miller, English guitarist 6 February – Mike Batt, singer and composer 7 February – Alan Lancaster, bass player (Status Quo and The Party Boys) 16 February – Lyn Paul, English singer and actress (The New Seekers) 26 February – Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano 24 March – Nick Lowe, singer-songwriter 11 April – Lee Sheriden, singer with Brotherhood of Man 13 May – Jane Glover, conductor 18 May – Rick Wakeman, multi-instrumentalist and composer 21 May – Rosalind Plowright, operatic mezzo-soprano 14 June – Alan White, rock drummer (Yes) (died 2022) 17 June – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Residents and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) (died 1987) 24 June – John Illsley, singer-songwriter, bass player and producer (Dire Straits) 3 July – John Verity, guitarist (Argent) 12 July – John Wetton, bass guitarist (King Crimson, Roxy Music) 15 July John Casken, composer Trevor Horn, record producer, songwriter, musician and singer, sometimes called "The Man Who Invented the Eighties". 17 July Geezer Butler, heavy metal bass player and songwriter (Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler Band, GZR, and Heaven & Hell) Wayne Sleep, actor, dancer and choreographer 28 July – Simon Kirke, rock drummer (Bad Company and Free) 12 August Mark Knopfler, singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer Lou Martin, Irish-English pianist, songwriter and producer (died 2012) 28 August – Hugh Cornwell, rock singer-songwriter (The Stranglers) 30 September – Eleanor Alberga, composer 1 October – Allan Barty, folk musician (died 2008) 19 October – George Fenton, theme music composer (died 2026) 23 October – Würzel (Michael Burston), heavy metal guitarist (Motörhead) (died 2011) 29 October – David Paton, guitarist and singer-songwriter 2 November – Frankie Miller, rock singer-songwriter 23 November – Sandra Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man 26 November – Martin Lee, singer with Brotherhood of Man 3 December – Nicky Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man 5 December – John Altman, film composer, arranger and conductor 8 December – Ray Shulman, violinist, guitarist and producer 17 December – Paul Rodgers, rock vocalist 22 December – Robin Gibb (died 2012) and Maurice Gibb (died 2003), Manx-born pop musicians (Bee Gees)

Deaths 11 January – Edward Goll, Bohemian-born pianist, 64 15 January – Robert Evett, singer, actor, theatre manager and producer, 74 21 February – Ernest Walker, composer, pianist, organist, teacher and writer on music, 78 3 April – Basil Harwood, organist and composer, 89 3 May – David John Tawe Jones, composer, 64 6 September – Walter Widdop, operatic tenor, 51Steane, John. "Widdop, Walter." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, accessed 4 November 2010 30 October – Stanley Kirkby, baritone singer and variety artist, 71 date unknown – Frank Clifford Harris, lyricist, 74

See also 1949 in British television 1949 in the United Kingdom List of British films of 1949

References