A donation of concert programmes has put Carlisle Music Society in touch with its early years in the 1950s and 60s, revealing what was a golden age of chamber music in Carlisle. Mr Iain Simpson, nephew of Phyllis Cameron Simpson (1905 – 1966) who was music teacher at the Carlisle and County High School and also a founder member of the then North Cumberland Recital Club, has given this collection to the Society. The programmes, priced at sixpence and autographed, show that artistes of world renown performed in the city. Kathleen Ferrier sang twice and her second recital, in December 1952, was her last outside London. She died the following year. The Amadeus String Quartet came, as did soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten, the Vienna Octet, Pierre Bernac accompanied by Francis Poulenc, pianists Shura Cherkassky, Moura Lympany, and Wilhelm Kempff, to name but a few.
A selection of the items will be displayed at the first two concerts of the 2015/2016 season, on the 8th and 29th of October. The donated collection will then have a permanent home in Carlisle Archives where on application anyone will be able to view it.
A selection of the items will be displayed at the first two concerts of the 2015/2016 season, on the 8th and 29th of October. The donated collection will then have a permanent home in Carlisle Archives where on application anyone will be able to view it.