The English conductor Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was born in Ashford on 29 April 1895. He died on October 3, 1967 in London. October 2017 marks his 50th memorial anniversary.
Malcolm Sargent studied piano, organ and musicology. His conducting career began in 1921 when Sir Henry Wood invited him to conduct the Promenade Concerts of Queen’s Hall in London. Throughout his career, Sargent led the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra of Manchester, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Since 1948 he was principal conductor of the legendary Proms. Sargent always was particularly interested in contemporary English music. So he conducted, among other premieres by Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Great Britain 10.9.1980
The 1945 film “Battle for Music” told the story of the London Philharmonic’s trials and tribulations during World War II. Several classical artists took part, including Sir Malcolm Sargent. This clip from the film is of Sargent conducting Delius’s “La Calinda” for an audience of school children.