Reginald
Leopold and the Palm
Court Orchestra
rehearsing for 'Grand
Hotel'
With
the country at War during
the early 1940s it was
inevitable that with so
many musicians
unavailable due to
military service, the BBC
's commitment to provide
quality musical
entertainment was
becoming more difficult
to attain, as only
orchestras and ensembles
comprising musicians
ineligible for service
were available. So, in
order to maintain
standards and to
discourage top players
from free-lancing, the
BBC formed the London
Studio Players in 1941,
comprising the finest
players available, many
of them, like Reginald
Leopold
and Albert Sandler
(pictured left), big
stars of their day.
Combinations already
established such as the
Fred Hartley Sextet and
the Albert Sandler Trio
automatically became part
of this pool. According
to BBC files, Fred
Hartley (pictured below
right) was appointed
Artistic Director of the
players on 14th July 1941
- Actually, it might be
more accurate to say that
he appointed himself - as
he was already Head of
Light Music!
Although
the new orchestra
regularly performed as
the London Studio Players
(often under the
direction of Albert
Sandler) it's main raison
d'etre was to
provide a nucleus for
larger combinations such
as the London Theatre
Orchestra or the London
Light Concert Orchestra
or to provide musicians
for the many smaller
ensembles such as the
Novelairs, The Harlequins
or The Palm Court
Orchestra (for Grand
Hotel).
When
originally established,
the orchestra's
broadcasts were intended
to be predominently for
overseas consumption with
a ratio of 8:3 (overseas
to home) but after the
war, the balance changed
in favour of Home
broadcasts. Initially, 18
players were retained on
part-time contracts,
although by 1954 this had
grown to 23 (five of whom
were employed on a
full-time basis.) In 1955
the 'Unit', as the London
Studio Players came to be
known, was increased to
29 part-time players.
With the increase of pop
music broadcasts in the
early sixties came the
first signs that light
music was not immortal.
With less broadcasts
allocated to this type of
music the BBC came to the
conclusion that they
had more staff orchestras
than they needed and
sought to disband the
Studio Players. However,
recommendations to this
effect were turned down
following vigorous
complaints from the
Musicians' Union.
Nevertheless, the
orchestra's complement
was reduced to 26 in 1962
and 18 in 1965, by which
time the orchestra was
basically of strings.
Some readers will recall
a delightful series in
which the London Studio
Strings were featured -
Strings by Starlight -
which was conducted by
cellist Reginald Kilbey
(pictured left). The
number of personnel
remained static at 18 or
19 until the early
eighties when the BBC
decided to discard most
of its light orchestras
plus the Scottish
Symphony Orchestra. The
prolongued industrial
action which followed,
saved the Scottish
Symphony but the light
orchestras were not so
lucky. The Scottish Radio
Orchestra, Midland Radio
Orchestra and Northern
Radio Orchestra were all
disbanded and the
Northern Ireland
Orchestra was absorbed
into the Ulster
Orchestra. The axe also
fell upon the London
Studio Players; the only
consolation was that the
musicians displaced were
given a contract which
guaranteed a stipulated
number of engagements for
five years. With all of
the 'outside' light
orchestras long removed
from the airwaves, the
BBC had effectively
declared light music a
dead art form, with
complete disregard for
those for whom it had
given so much pleasure.
There
were dozens of ensembles,
groups and orchestras
drawing on the London
Studio Players. In some
cases, they formed the
nucleus of a larger
combination, but the
majority of ensembles
were comprised entirely
of 'Unit' musicians.
The
following list of 'Unit'
based combinations is
probably far from
complete but does at
least give the reader
some idea of the London
Studio Players'
importance in
broadcasting for over
forty years:
Reginald
Leopold
Billy Mayerl
Henry Krein
Sidney Sax
|
London
Studio Players (conducted
initially by Albert
Sandler)
London Studio Orchestra
(augmented version)
London Studio Strings
(usually Reg Kilbey)
London Tango Orchestra
(Reg Leopold - later
becoming the Eugene Pini
Tango Orchestra)
Fred Hartley and his
Music
Reg Leopold and his
Players / Orchestra
The Albert Sandler Trio
Strings of the Overseas
Music Unit
Monia Liter's
Sophisticated Serenaders
Monia Liter's Twentieth
Century Serenaders
Monia Liter Quartet
Monia Liter Woodwind
Players
London Variety Players
(Jack Collings)
London Gypsy Orchestra
(Albert Sandler)
The Casino Orchestra
The Casino Players
Langham String Quartet
The Palm Court Orchestra
Orchestre Montmartre
Michael Krein Saxophone
Quartet
BBC Empire String
Orchestra
The Winter Garden
Orchestra (Sidney Sax)
The Majestic Orchestra
(Reg Leopold - later Lou
Whiteson)
Southern Serenade
Orchestra (Reg Leopold -
later Lou Whiteson)
The Rendezvous Players
Billy Mayerl Rhythm
Ensemble
Billy Mayerl and his
Players
The Stradivari Orchestra
The Spa Orchestra (Tom
Jenkins)
Tom Jenkins Trio
Jack Byfield and his
Players
Tom Jones Trio
London Light Concert
Orchestra (Michael Krein)
Melody on Strings
(directed by Max Jaffa)
The Pavilion Orchestra
The Pavilion Players
(David Wolfsthal)
The New Casino Orchestra
(Reginald Kilbey)
The London Theatre
Orchestra
Sidney Bright and his
Music
The Tunesmiths (Sidney
Bright)
Henry
Krein and the Montmartre
Players
The Strolling Players
(David McCallam or David
Wolfsthal)
Edward Rubach and the
Novelairs
Sidney Sax and the
Harlequins
The Arcadian Players
(David Wolfsthal)
The Metropolitan
Orchestra
The Tom Jenkins Orchestra
The Boulevard Players
The Chameleons directed
by Ron Peters
Orchestre Elegant
The Elgin Players (John
Sharpe)
Max Jaffa Orchestra
Edward Rubach Quintet
William Davies Trio/
Quartet
The London Salon
Orchestra
The Langham Orchestra |
Jack
Byfield
Max Jaffa
Michael Krein
Lou Whiteson
|
The
following are examples of
programmes by
combinations based on the
London Studio Players or
utilising them as a
nucleus for a larger
orchestra:
Edward Rubach |
Listen
to selections of music
from 'Music
on the Move'
played by The Novelairs
directed by Edward Rubach
as broadcast on the BBC
Home Service at 6.35 p.m.
on 22nd November 1963 and
29th November 1963. |
8.18am
Home Service, Sunday
21st. June 1959
LIGHT MUSIC
played by
The London Theatre
Orchestra
Conducted by Reginald
Kilbey
Continental
Galop
Canadian in Mayfair
Polka Dot
Heart of a Man
Merry Down Green
Selection:Glamorous Night
Dot and Carry One
Fly Away Fiddles
Amore Mio
Blackberry Pie
Georgian Rumba
Derby Day |
Clive
Richardson
Wally Stott
Eric Cook
Peggy Cochrane/Paddy
Roberts
Frank Russell
Ivor Novello
Ronald Hanmer
Peter Yorke
Sidney Torch
Jeanne Harker
Ivor Slaney
Robert Farnon |
8.00am
Light Programme, Monday
19th. November 1962
MELODY ON THE MOVE
London Light Concert
Orchestra
Conducted by Michael
Krein
(Sig)
Melody on the Move
Overture: Susannah's
Secret
Tarragona Melody
Jota and Rumba
Hansom Cab
Ballet Egyptien (2nd.Mvt)
Fairy Dance Reel
Belle of the Ball
Molly on the Shore
Dolores Waltz Emile
Fantasy on French Nursery
Rhymes
Millers' Dance from the
Three Cornered Hat
Nautical Interlude
Bolero (Spanish Dances)
Nutcracker Suite
(excerpts)
(Sig)
Melody on the Move |
Clive
Richardson
Wolf-Ferrari
Earl Fisher
Monia Liter
Sidney Torch
Luigini
Robert Docker
Leroy Anderson
Percy Grainger
Waldteufel
George Melachrino
Manuel de Falla
Ernest Tomlinson
Moszkovski
Tchaikovsky
Clive Richardson |
5.30pm
Light Programme,
Wednesday 14th. October
1953
SOUTHERN SERENADE
Southern Serenade
Orchestra
directed by Lou Whiteson
Mexican
Magic
L'ultimo Fiore
Cielito Lindo
Alma Espanola
A Garden in Granada
Adormentarmi Cosi
The Baion
Cancien de Amor
Alegris |
Revel
Vallini
Santos
Barditess
Vasilescu
Mascheroni
Roman
Varaldi
Baracha |
11.15am
Light Programme, Friday
24th December 1954
REGINALD LEOPOLD AND HIS
PLAYERS
Belle
of the Ball
The Lazy Gondolier
Selection: Peter Pan
Pale Moon (Violin solo)
Twentieth Century Express
In the Shade of the Palms
Ourselves When Young |
Leroy
Anderson
Manilla and Forli
Fain and Wallace
Knight Logan arr.
Kreisler
Trevor Duncan
Reginald King
Robert Docker |
6.33am.
Home Service, Tuesday 1st
January 1957
BRIGHT AND EARLY
The Chameleons
Directed by Ron Peters
Port-au-Prince
Toy Shop Ballet
Scotch and Chaser
Dizzy Duckling
Bolivian Pagan Dance
Lazy Pete
Exactly Like You
Bella Biason
Baffi
Poste Haste
Between the Devil and the
Deep Blue Sea |
Bernie
Wayne
Mantovani
Henry Croudson
Harold Geller
Ivor Slaney
Werner-Kersten
Jimmy McHugh
Louis Voss
Nino Ravasini
Derek New
Harold Arlen |
|