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harmonyharmony
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« on: 20:50:07, 05-06-2007 » |
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Not really sure where to put this, but I thought that a few people here might like to know that David Osmond-Smith died last Thursday after a long illness.
I can't really do justice to his writing, but I think that just the fact that he showed such dedication and passion for music that others seem hesitant to tackle, especially for the Italians was a real inspiration.
We exchanged emails last year when I asked him for some information about Clementi and he was incredibly helpful and friendly. I'm sad that I won't have the chance to follow that exchange up.
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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roslynmuse
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« Reply #1 on: 21:09:22, 05-06-2007 » |
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Thank you for drawing attention to this, hh. Four years almost to the day since Berio died too. He (Osmond-Smith) was one of the surprisingly few to write about that great Italian.
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Ian Pace
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« Reply #2 on: 21:15:14, 05-06-2007 » |
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That is very sad news - may he rest in peace.
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'These acts of keeping politics out of music, however, do not prevent musicology from being a political act . . .they assure that every apolitical act assumes a greater political immediacy' - Philip Bohlman, 'Musicology as a Political Act'
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #3 on: 21:44:47, 05-06-2007 » |
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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martle
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« Reply #4 on: 21:52:30, 05-06-2007 » |
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In the midst of this myself, about to write the Times obit. Great guy, fantastic writer, upholder of modernist values, wit, foodie. Whither the critical biog of Berio he was embarking on? No-one else can do it the way he would have. One of the best.  |
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Green. Always green.
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martle
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« Reply #5 on: 22:53:39, 05-06-2007 » |
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...actually, I should have waxed a little more. David was a polymath. Not too many around any more; but you name it, he had a fantastically informed opinion on it. There are one or two on this board, of course - ! But DOS was unique. Very, very sadly missed. His latest work on Clementi, hh, was shaping up to be something really astonishing.
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Green. Always green.
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Ian Pace
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« Reply #6 on: 23:36:59, 05-06-2007 » |
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...actually, I should have waxed a little more. David was a polymath. Not too many around any more; but you name it, he had a fantastically informed opinion on it. There are one or two on this board, of course - ! But DOS was unique. Very, very sadly missed. His latest work on Clementi, hh, was shaping up to be something really astonishing.
Could you say some more about what his take on Clementi was? |
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'These acts of keeping politics out of music, however, do not prevent musicology from being a political act . . .they assure that every apolitical act assumes a greater political immediacy' - Philip Bohlman, 'Musicology as a Political Act'
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #7 on: 23:42:10, 05-06-2007 » |
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His latest work on Clementi, hh, was shaping up to be something really astonishing.
I do hope that it's brought into a publishable state and unleashed. He was going to send me some of his thoughts on Clementi but now I understand why that never happened. |
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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Parsifal1882
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« Reply #8 on: 06:13:24, 06-06-2007 » |
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I received with shock the news of David Osmond-Smith's death, not least because I knew this kind-hearted and courteous man in person for more than two years (1996-98). When I was desperately looking for someone from the Music Department (Sussex University, Brighton) to supervise the musical aspects of my PhD thesis on TS Eliot and Wagner, he volunteered without having met me beforehand. Due to illness, we met at his place to discuss each chapter in detail for improvement: needless to say, he was extremely knowledgeable, not only in music (his remarks on Schopenhauer and Nietzsche were invaluable). I lost my way on the first visit, which he'd predicted and asked a very nice lady (I don't know who she was) to wait outside for me. He always apologized for not opening the door himself. How many professors would do things like that? I regret not seeing him after obtaining my degree in 1999: I thought I'd be intruding or something, so I only sent him a Thank You note. I miss you, Sir.
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« Last Edit: 09:12:32, 06-06-2007 by Parsifal1882 »
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Il duolo della terra nel chiostro ancor ci segue, solo del cor la guerra in ciel si calmera! E la voce di Carlo! E Carlo Quinto! Mio padre! O ciel!
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martle
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« Reply #9 on: 12:42:56, 06-06-2007 » |
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...actually, I should have waxed a little more. David was a polymath. Not too many around any more; but you name it, he had a fantastically informed opinion on it. There are one or two on this board, of course - ! But DOS was unique. Very, very sadly missed. His latest work on Clementi, hh, was shaping up to be something really astonishing.
Could you say some more about what his take on Clementi was? Ian, he gave a research seminar on Clementi just a few weeks ago, and I think it was a pretty much complete paper; so we should see it out in print somewhere with a bit of luck. Essentially, he was trying to establish hermeneutic and 'coded' readings of Clementi's ubiquitous canon techniques. One compelling distinction he was using was between perceptions that consitute 'familiarity' and 'intimacy' - too complex and subtle for me to recall properly or accurately here, but it was fascinating stuff. Clementi's second violin concerto - fantastic, highly recommended. |
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Green. Always green.
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alex_hills
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« Reply #10 on: 17:21:55, 06-06-2007 » |
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I'm very sad to hear of David's death. Although I didn't get to take any of his classes in my one year at Sussex he was both a fascinating and brilliant person to be around and was genuinely excited by helping students discover new music. I'm glad to hear he was working right up until his death and hope we do get to see some of it in print.
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time_is_now
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« Reply #11 on: 21:12:59, 06-06-2007 » |
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David Osmond-Smith was one of the few writers on contemporary music whose style I felt did justice to the subject, and for that reason alone I would have admired him greatly. The fact that he was the only person writing about new Italian music in a way that interested me made his work very important to me, both on Clementi (a composer I would have liked anyway) and on Berio (a composer who DO-S helped to bring alive for me). But over and above both of these things, I felt personally very close to his style, and wish I had had chance to meet him. I never did, though I heard him speak at the Berio festival in London 2 or 3 years ago and got the impression I.d have liked him very much indeed if I.d known him. I knew he had been ill for a long time but he seemed to have improved slightly for a while - I hope the end wasn.t too painful.
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The city is a process which always veers away from the form envisaged and desired, ... whose revenge upon its architects and planners undoes every dream of mastery. It is [also] one of the sites where Dasein is assigned the impossible task of putting right what can never be put right. - Rob Lapsley
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martle
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« Reply #12 on: 21:52:59, 06-06-2007 » |
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t_i_n, and everyone I can assure you all that the end was sudden, but painless. DOS had indeed been ill for many years - quite astonishingly, he had had HIV for something like 25 years. It almost claimed him 11 years ago, but he survived thanks to radical drugs cocktails and sheer discipline. He was very proud of this. And despite severe disability in those last 11 years he functioned brilliantly, looked great, dressed impeccably, retained his customary wit and energy and produced great work. There'll be at least three obits in the nationals within a few days. Anyone here interested in attending the funeral, see here for details: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/music/1-5-6.html |
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Green. Always green.
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richard barrett
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« Reply #13 on: 22:38:04, 06-06-2007 » |
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A brilliant writer on music and very pleasant and enlightening company. I hadn't seen him for a few years, but, not for the first time, one assumes that a person will always be there for the "next time" one might happen to run into them, especially someone as resilient as him.
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Biroc
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« Reply #14 on: 14:02:06, 08-06-2007 » |
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I'm saddened to hear this. I met him at the last twentieth/first century music conference at Sussex 2 years ago and had a chat with him about Clementi (who he had talked about earlier that day) in a lift (!) and it was brief but enlightening. He was extremely pleasant and courteous too. A sad loss.
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"Believe nothing they say, they're not Biroc's kind."
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