Eugene Cruft bass rosin
Black Waxless Symphonic D'bass Rosin
コントラバス専用の固い松やにです。
定価2100円
Eugene John Cruft氏
Eugene John Cruft (born London 1887, died London June 1976) was the premier double bass player in Great Britain for over half a century. He was the principal double bassist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1929-1949, principal bassist with Covent Garden Orchestra between 1949-1952 and principal bassist with the Bath Festival Orchestra between 1959-1965. In addition to these positions he was associated with numerous symphony and chamber orchestras, he was treasurer of the Royal Society of Musicians for 30 years and he was professor of the double bass at the Royal College of Music from 1946-1957.
Cruft was the honorary orchestral organising secretary for the Coronations of George V1's in 1937 and that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. In this capacity he assembled both of the orchestras entirely from leaders and principals, performed himself as the principal bass and acted as the treasurer.
In 1953 he was made an OBE.
Eugene Cruft came from a line of notable musicians. His father was the principal cellist with the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company and an original member of the London Symphony Orchestra when it was founded in 1904. His mother was a ballet dancer.
Cruft was coached by the USA professor Noel Morrell before being awarded, by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) in 1906, an open a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music with Claude Hobday. His first professional engagement was with the theatre of the Old Vic where he received 26shillings a week. In 1909 Cruft became a member of the original Beecham Symphony Orchestra and in 1910 he was elected to become a member of the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 1912 the LSO was engaged to perform 28 concerts in a 3-week tour of the USA and Canada. It was the first such tour of a large British orchestra in North America. In an interview - "The Food of Memories" - given by Christopher Warren and released as a tribute on BBC radio just over a month following his death Cruft recounts, "The tour commenced only 5 days after my marriage. The orchestra of 100 players left Euston for Liverpool where they embarked on the White Star liner - Baltic. The tours departure date had been advanced by a few days for reasons connected with the New York organisation, so the orchestra's passage reservations had been transferred to the Baltic from another White Star ship - The Titanic. We were actually in Chicago when the news of the Titanic disaster became known. Had we have gone on that ship then there would have been an entirely different profession now."
The year 1912 saw another memorable tour for Cruft. It was a six-week engagement with the Beecham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux (1875-1964) at the Kroll Oper. House (extant 1924-31) in Berlin to accompany the Diaghilev Ballet. Cruft was able to experience sell-out productions of Igor Stravinsky's (1882-1971) ballets Petrushka and The Firebird danced by Najinsky, Najinska and Karsavina.
During the 1914-18 war while assigned to motor transport division within the Army Service Corps, Cruft helped recruit musicians to entertain the troops. Posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade he fought with them at Passchendale and on the Somme.
To create work after the war Cruft helped form a new orchestra - The British Symphony Orchestra. Shortly after a command performance at Buckingham Palace the orchestra's conductorship was taken over by Dr Adrian Boult (1889-1983) and it became increasingly busy and successful. Besides playing with numerous radio orchestras, such as The Savoy Havana Band and The 2LO Wireless Orchestra, Cruft regularly broadcast his own arrangements of popular music with his own Cruft Octet. The band was directed by Cruft himself, from the saxophone.
Cruft's varied and colourful career took him through the numerous symphony orchestras already mentioned above plus The London Light Orchestra and The Royal Albert Hall Orchestra before he was honoured in 1929 with the appointment of principal bass of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. On Friday 28th July 1944 Cruft was present in the orchestra at the Promenade concert (transferred because of the war from The Royal Albert Hall to The Corn Exchange, Bedford) when Sir Henry Wood (1869-1944) laid down his baton for the last time after conducting Beethoven's 7th Symphony.
In a musical career that stretched back over 70 years Cruft considered that one of his greatest successes was his ability to entertain and liven up any dull moment. He reminisces in the Warren interview. "I took my bass and walked into the centre of the studio and I just turned it upside down, placed it on my chin and balanced it and walked to the end of the studio. During that time the drummer who was a great friend of mine gave a marvellous roll on the drum and when he saw me bring the bass down to the ground he finished with a terrific symbols crash and everything like that and of course that was wonderful - everyone so enjoyed it".
Cruft died a few days before his 89th birthday. At the thanksgiving service held at the Holy Sepulchre Church, Holborn Viaduct, London, Sir Adrian Boult, one of Cruft's greatest friends and family friend, conducted Elgar's Serenade For Strings.
A musician of many talents. A distinguished instrumentalist, teacher, conductor and impresario, Eugene Cruft will always be remembered by myself (a former pupil of his at the 1974 National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain courses) and all those who knew him as being an absolute gentleman.