Music and Vinyl: Cyril Rootham

Cyril Rootham (1875 - 1938) was an influential figure in English musical life until his death. A Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge and Senior Lecturer in Counterpoint and Harmony, he numbered amongst his students Arthur Bliss, who valued Rootham's teaching of orchestration, as well as Arnold Cooke and Patrick Hadley. Rootham ran the Cambridge University Musical Society, and under his leadership CUMS revived Handel and Mozart operas and promoted much modern music - though not his own to any great extent.

Rootham's musical style was largely traditional, with influences from Stanford and Parry, and he was never really involved with the folksong movement. Henry Colles - for over 30 years Music Critic of The Times newspaper, and also editor of the 3rd and 4th editions of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians - considered Rootham's style to be both vigorous and genial. His First Symphony of 1932 (a Second dates from 1936-38) is described in detail on this Musicweb page, and click on the sleevenote scan below for more information.