Celebrating 100th anniversary of Philip Bate
09 Mar 09
A recital is being hosted by Oxford’s Bate Collection on Saturday (14 March) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder and benefactor, Philip Bate.
Bate was born on March 26 1909 and died at the age of 90. He was a radio and TV producer working for the BBC for most of his life. At university he trained to be a geologist and palaeontologist. However, he was also an author of several plays, a scholar of musical instruments - and an amateur clarinettist.
He was convinced there was a purpose in his musical instrument collection concerned with the interpretation of music, and that were the instruments properly maintained, they could be used. In 1970, Philip Bate made a gift of 300 musical instruments to the Faculty of Music of the University of Oxford. This gift was conditional on it being a teaching collection with a specialist curator who could care for it and lecture.
Since that time the collection has expanded and now houses one of the most important music collections in the country. In this anniversary year the Bate Collection has chosen to highlight the unique musical qualities of the least well known instrument of the keyboard family with a concert by one of Europe’s leading performers.
In celebration of his anniversary, pianist and harpsichordist Carole Cerasi is turning to the clavichord. She will focus on Haydn’s keyboard music, joining in Oxford’s celebrations of Haydn’s music in the 200th year since his death. Joseph Haydn visited the University to receive an honorary doctorate in 1791.
Curator Andy Lamb said: ‘We are privileged to have a performer of Carole Cerasi's calibre to mark such an important date for us. We are also celebrating the works of the composer Haydn and this has given us a double anniversay.’
The recital will take place in the Holywell Music Room at 3pm with tickets costing £14 (£12 for concessions, students, Friends of the Bate Collection and members of the British Clavichord Society).