Sculpture

This is one of three figurines by the British sculptor David Wynne capturing different poses of the British conductor, impresario, musical director and stage producer Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961). Beecham was a self-taught musician who nevertheless became one of the first British conductors of international repute. He persuaded his wealthy father to bring the Diaghilev Ballets Russes to England in 1911, conducting for them himself. He rarely made any concessions to dancers however, and when conducting for the Camargo Society in the 1930s he took the Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake at about four times the normal speed, remarking with satisfaction: 'That made the bastards hop'. He set up the Beecham Opera Company during the First World War, the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1932, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1947.