Home
Site Map
Autographs A - G
Autographs H - Q
Autographs R - Z
Make a purchase
Ballet autographs
Composers/Conductors
Opera autographs A
Opera autographs B
Opera autographs C
Opera autographs D-F
Opera autographs G-I
Opera autographs J-L
Opera autographs M
Opera a'graphs N-Pe
Opera a'graphs Pi-R
Opera autographs S-T
Opera autographs U-Z
Entertainers A-C
Entertainers D-G
Entertainers H-L
Entertainers M-Q
Entertainers R-S
Entertainers T-Z
Actors A-Ba
Actors Be-By
Actors C
Actors D
Actors E-F
Actors Ga-Gre
Actors Gri-He
Actors Hi-I
Actors J
Actors K-La
Actors Le-Ly
Actors M-Ma
Actors Mc-Mu
Actors N-O
Actors P
Actors Q-R
Actors S
Actors T-V
Actors W-Wh
Actors Wi-Z
Politics Media Books
G&S autographs

Autographs: composers, conductors, classical instrumentalists and impressarios etc.

 

 

N.B. All prices are in GB pounds

Items are not shown to scale with each other, and measurements are approximate.

 

Go to Make a Purchase to buy any of these items, and for terms and conditions.

 

Go to Autographs A-G, Autographs H-Q, Autographs R-Z for full list of items

 

 

 

    

above: detail of Charles Ancliffe autograph

 

Charles Ancliffe - 1880-1952, Irish-born British composer of light music. He trained as a military bandsman, and was a military bandmaster of a battalion of the South Wales Borderders until the end of the First World War. He composed a large number of light music pieces, and is best remembered for his walzes which were hugely popular at the time, especially Nights of Gladness, written in 1912, which became world famous - autograph and musical sketch on 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10 cm) green page from an autograph book, signed: "Nights of Gladness waltz, Charles Ancliffe". £30

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right: detail of Richard Armstrong autograph

                                              

Sir Richard Armstrong - born 1943, British conductor. He was Music Director of Welsh National Opera in the 1970s, and later the Music Director of Scottish Opera; he has frequently conducted the Royal Opera, and concerts at the BBC Proms. He was knighted in 2004 - 7 x 5 inches (18 x 13 cm) autographed photo, with a short message and a further autograph on reverse. £20

 

 

 

 

   

Lionel Bart - 1930-1999, British writer and composer of musicals and pop music, best known for writing the book, the lyrics and the music of the musical Oliver!. Other musicals include Blitz!, Maggie May, Fings Aint Wot They Used T'Be and Twang!. Among many other compositions he wrote the pop song Living Doll, and the theme tune for the Bond film From Russia with Love - autograph on 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10 cm) white card. £25    RESERVED     

 

 

 

   

  

  

   

 

above: detail of Thomas Beecham autograph

Sir Thomas Beecham - 1879-1961; British conductor and impressario whose larger-than-life character and wit gave rise to a huge number of anecdotes. With a vast career spanning the first half of the twentieth century, he is best remembered for his performances and recordings of opera - autograph on 5 x 3.5 inches (12.5 x 9 cm) page from autograph book, with a picture snipped from a magazine stck below it. £40

 

 

 

 

      

Adrian Boult - 1889-1983, British conductor who established the BBC Symphony Orchestra and later conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the LSO and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and was a great champion of British composers, conducting the world-premier of Holst's The Planets - autograph snipped from letter or autograph book pasted to 4.25 x 3.5 inches (11 x 9 cm) slightly worn page from autograph book. £25    

   

  

  

  

            

 

 

    

 

above: detail of John Copley autograph

John Copley - born 1933, British opera director. He was initially an actor and then became stage manager at Sadlers Wells. In 1972 he became Resident Producer for the Royal Opera at Covent Garden, and created 15 new productions for them, most famously La Boheme (his favourite opera) in 1974 - 6.5 x 4.75 inches (16.5 x 12 cm) autographed photo, signed: "Best wishes, John Copley". £20

 

 

 

 

 

    

above: detail of Michael Costa autograph

Sir Michael Costa - 1808-1884, Italian-born British conductor and composer. He was very famous in his day, and his compositions, including operas, symphonies and catatas, were widely performed to huge acclaim, although his music is very little performed now. He frequently conducted important concerts, particularly in Birmingham, Bradford and at the Leeds Festival; he was an eminent musical figure in Victorian  Britain - autograph on 5.5 x 2.5 inches (13.5 x 6 cm) snipped fragment of a letter, dated "October 11th 1866". £25

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

above: detail of Carl Davis autograph

Carl Davis - born 1936, American born conductor and composer, living in the UK since 1971. Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and a prolific composer of film and TV music - 4.5 x 6.25 inches (11.5 x 16 cm) autographed photo, signed in firm blue biro. £20

 

 

 

 

    

 

      

 

above: detail of Christoph von Dohnanyi

Christoph von Dohnanyi - born 1929, German conductor. In 1957 he became General Director of Lubeck, and later of Frankfurt Opera. His great fame came as Conductor and then Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra, which some considered the finest American orchestra at that time. Amongst other appointments, in 1994 he became principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia - 4 x 6 inches (10.5 x 15 cm) autographed publicity photo from Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra. £30

  

 

 

 

 

    

 

above: detail of Peter Racine Fricker autograph

Peter Racine Fricker - 1920-1990, British composer. He was a decendant of the French writer Racine, and lived in the USA for the last 30 years of his life. He taught composition at the Royal College of Music and Morley College, and composed a large number of works including concertos, symphonies and choral works, which were regarded as avant -guard. In later years he taught at the University of California - autograph on 5.5 x 3.5 white card (9 x 14 cm), dated June 1984. £40

 

 

 

 

  

Lionel Friend - born 1945, British conductor, especially of opera, conducting regularly at Glyndebourne and English National Opera - 5 x 7 inches (13 x 18 cm) autographed photo. £16  

   

 

above: detail of Lionel Friend autograph

     

   

  

 

    

   

Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos - born 1933, Spanish conductor; conducted the Bilbao Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Philadelphia Orchestra, currently music director of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra - autograph in blue biro on 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9 cm) white postcard. £10    

   

 

  

  

  

        

 

        

 

above: detail of Edward German autograph

Sir Edward German - 1862-1936, British composer. After the death of Sir Arthur Sullivan, he finished Sir Arthur's Opera The Emerald Isle, and composed many of his own operettas and musical comedies, including Merrie England, A Princess of Kensington and Tom Jones - autograph on 4.5 x 3.5 inches (11 x 9 cm) round-cornered card, signed: "With kind wishes: Edward German, Oct 6th 1925". £40   [ref: EG1] 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

above: detail of Edward German autograph

Sir Edward German - 1862-1936, British composer. After the death of Sir Arthur Sullivan, he finished Sir Arthur's Opera The Emerald Isle, and composed many of his own operettas and musical comedies, including Merrie England, A Princess of Kensington and Tom Jones - autograph on 4.5 x 3.5 inches (11 x 9 cm) part of a sheet of Addressed notepaper, signed: "With kind wishes: Edward German". £35   [ref: EG2]

 

 

 

 

    

Isidore Godfrey - 1900-1977, British conductor; he joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1925 as chorus-master, and in 1929 became its musical director, a post he held until he retired in 1968, returning occassionally between bouts of ill-health as a guest conductor, until 1975. - autograph on 4.5 x 3.75 (11.5 x 9.5 cm) pink page from autograph book, signed in blue biro. £15      

 

 

 

 

  

 

                

 

above: detail of Edwin Greene autograph

Edwin Greene - Edwardian composer, especially of songs: Sing Me to Sleep, I Remember I Remember, The Beautiful Land of Nod, and The Fleeting Years - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo, signed: "With very kind wishes, yours sincerely, Edwin Greene", and with 24-word message from Edwin Greene to a fan on reverse. £12

 

 

 

 

 

                

 

above: detail of Charles Grove autograph

Sir Charles Groves - 1915-1992, British coductor. He was musical dirextor of Bournmouth Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo, signed: "Good wishes, Charles Groves" in blue ink. £30

 

 

 

 

 


  

 

above: detail of Bernard Haitink autograph

Bernard Haitink - born 1929, Dutch conductor. He began his professional career conducting the Netherlands Union Radio Orchestra in 1955, and was soon conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra, substituting for Giulini. From 1959 he was principal conductor of the Concertgebouw, and made many recordings with them. He became especially known as a superb conductor of a wide repertoire, especially of opera; from 1978 to 1988 he was the music director of Glyndebourne Opera, and from 1987 to 2002 he was music director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. More recently he has conducted and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London SYmphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic - 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10.5 cm) postcard, signed: "To Roy Goodwin, with many best wishes, Bernard Haitink" in dark sepia ink, dating from the 1970s. £20

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

above: detail of Marie Hall autograph

Marie Hall - 1884-1956, British violinist. She studied in Prague, practising ten hours a day for five months, and where she made her professional debut aged 17. She helped Ralph Vaughan Williams to finish composing The Lark Ascending, and he dedicated the work to her. In 1916 she was the soloist on the first ever recording of Elgar's violin concerto, conducted by the composer, and she made a large number of other early recordings, which are still highly-regarded. The violin that she played throughout her career, a 1709 Stadivarius, is a famous instrument known as the Marie Hall Stradivasius. - autograph in black ink on 4.5 x 1 inches (9.5 x 2 cm) paper, mounted on 6 x 4.75 (16 x 12 cm) page from autograph book. £30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

above: detail of Jeremy Isaacs autograph

Jeremy Isaacs - born 1932, TV director and opera administrator, former General Director of the Royal Opera House - 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25.5 cm) large autographed photo. £20  

  

   

  

  

  

 

      

above: detail of Alan Jay Lerner autograph

Alan Jay Lerner - 1918-1986, American lyricist and librettist: with Austrian composer he wrote Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camalot and Paint Your Wagon - autograph in brown felt-tip pen on 4.75 x 3.25 inches (12 x 8 cm) white card.   SOLD

 

 

 

 

   

   

 

 

above: detail of Henry Mancini autograph

Henry Mancini - 1924-1994, prolific American composer, especially of film scores. He composed music to the Pink Panther films (A Shot in the Dark, The Pink Panther, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, and Son of the Pink Panther), Breakfast at Tiffany's (including the song Moon River) , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race and Victor Victoria - 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25.5 cm) large autographed photo, signed: "To Aldo - Henry Mancini". £45

 

 

 

 

  

Mantovani - 1905-1980, Italian (later British) conductor, specialising in light music: a huge star in the 1950s, he recorded over 50 albums, and starred in his own TV series - autograph in red biro on 4.5 x 4 inches (11 x 10 cm) cream card. £10      

   

  

 

 

  

 

Eric Maschwitz - 1901-1969, British lyricist and broadcaster, wrote the books and lyrics for dozens of musicals including Zip Goes a Million, and is best remembered for the words to the song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - autograph on 4.5 x 3.25 inches (11 x 8 cm) page from autograph book, inscribed "For Joseph Cornell, Eric Maschwitz, Oct 7, 1942", (plus seperate 4 x 6 inches unsigned photo). £25   

  

 

   

   

 

  

 

      

 

above: detail of Carl Melles autograph

Carl Melles - 1926-2004, Austrian conductor. He conducted many of the world's greatest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He conducted numerous operas, most notably at Salzburg and Bayreuth - 4.25 x 6 inches (10.5 x 15 cm) autographed photo, signed: Carl Melles 1973". £30

 

 

 

 

    

Yehudi Menuhin - 1916–1999, American violinist and conductor, who spent most of his life in the UK and became a UK citizen in 1985. He was considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, and turned to conducting in the 1970s - autograph on 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10 cm) white card, with dedication, signed: "For B. Sadler, Yehudi Menuhin". £25    

 

 

 

 

 

  

       

Michel Plasson - born 1933, French conductor - autograph on 5.75 x 3.5 inches (14.5 x 9 cm) white page from autograph book, signed after a performance of Faust at ROH Covent Garden, 1/2/86. £15

     

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

     

 

above: detail of Malcolm Sargent autograph

Sir Malcolm Sargent - 1895-1967, British conductor, particularly of choral music. He regularly conducted the Hallé Orchestra, the Huddersfield Choral Society, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Comany, the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra; he was the chief conductor of the Proms from 1948 to 1967. He made numerous recordings, and was one of the most famous conductors of his day - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo. £55

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

above: detail of Gerard Schwarz autograph

Gerard Schwarz - born 1947, American conductor. He was musical director of Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Chamber Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - 4 x 6 inches (10.5 x 15 cm) autographed Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra photo. £15

 

 

 

 

   

Charles Shadwell - 1898-1979, British conductor; best remembered as Conductor of the BBC Variety Orchestra - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo, signed: "Best wishes, Charles Shadwell". Condition: crease to top-right corner, and fragment of paper stuck to reverse where item has been in album. £12   [ref: CS1]     

  

 

  

   

  

   

Charles Shadwell - 1898-1979, British conductor; best remembered as Conductor of the BBC Variety Orchestra - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed postcard, signed "Sincerely yours, Charles Shadwell". Condition: fragments of paper stuck to to reverse where item has been in album. £12   [ref: CS2]

  

  

 

above: detail of Charles Shadwell autograph

   

 

 

  

    

 

         

above: detail of Maxim Shostakovich autograph

Maxim Shostakovich - born 1938, Russian conductor and pianist, the son of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich. While Principal Conductor of the Moscow Radio and Symphony Orchestra, he conducted the premiere of his father's 15th Symphony. In 1979 he defected to the west, conducting the New Orleans Orchestra, and more recently he has recorded all of his father's symphonies. He still continues to popularise his father's lesser-known works - autograph in red felt-tip pen on 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10 cm) white card, with small portrait snipped from newspaper or concert programme, stuck to left of autograph. £25

 

 

 

  

 

          

 

above: detail of Elsie Southgate autograph

Elsie Southgate - 1880-1946, British violinist. At the age of ten she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, and five years later in 1905 made her debut performing with the Queen's Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood. She went on to have a very successful concert career, and also appeared in variety, billed as The Royal Violinist, also touring Canada and the USA - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed postcard, signed: "Yours sincerely, Elsie Southgate". Condition: large mark on the reverse where item has been glued into album. £40

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

detail of John Stainer autograph

Sir John Stainer - 1840-1901, British composer. A very popular composer in his day, he wrote a large quantity of church music, although today little of it is heard apart from his Crucifixion, which is widely performed every easter. He was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral as a boy, and later organist at St Michael's College, Tenbury until his eyesight began to fail, and he became a music professor at Oxford. - autograph on 4.5 x 2.5 inches (11 x 6 cm) paper, on larger 6 x 3.5 inches (15 x 9.5 cm) page from autograph book. This is a lovely autograph, and the modest asking price is due to its indifferent condition. Condition: item has a slightly uneven surface, and does not quite lie flat. £40

 

 

 

 

 

   

above: detail of Sir William Sterndale Bennett autograph

 

 

above: detail of John Hullah autograph

 

Sir William Sterndale Bennett - 1816-1875 and John Hullah - 1912-1884, British composers and musicians. William Sterndale Bennnett was a pupil of Felix Mendelssohn, and a friend of Robert Schumann. His early compositions met with huge success, and he toured as a concert pianist before developing a career as a conductor. In later years he taught at the Royal Academy of Music, where his pupils included Arthur Sullivan and Hubert Parry.

John Pyke Hullah composed a number of operas including The Village Coquettes, which had a libretto written by Charles Dickens, The Barbers of Bassora and The Outpost, the last two of which were performed at Covent Garden. He was a friend of Sir William Sterndale Bennett, and the two collaborated in promoting performances of Bach oratorios. He composed a large number of art songs, but is best known for his opposition to the Tonic sol-fa system, and his promotion of proper music sight-reading.

Autographs of both on 4.75 x 3 inches (12 x 7.5 cm) page from autograph book. £100

 

  

  

 

                    

Felix von Weingartner - 1863-1942, Austrian conductor, composer, pianist and musicologist, succeeding Mahler as principal conductor of Vienna Hofoper - black ink autograph on 4 x 2 inches (10 x 4.5 cm) pink paper fragment snipped from autograph book, dated 1940. £35        

 

 

      
  

  

 

 

 

above: detail of Walter Weller autograph

Walter Weller - 1939-2015, Austrian conductor and violinist. He was leader of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and played for the Vienna Staatsoper orchestra, deputising as conductor on several occasions for Karl Böhm. He became a conductor, and was principal guest conductor for the Spanish National Orchestra. In Britain he was principal conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Scottish National Opera - autograph on 6 x 4 inches (14.5 x 10.5 cm) white paper, signed in blue biro: "Best wishes! Walter Weller". £20 

 

 

 

 

    

   

 

above: detail of Johannes Wolff autograph

Johannes Wolff - 1863-1931, Dutch violinist. He toured Europe, especially the UK, and the USA. He was a great friend of Edvard Grieg who frequently performed with him in a concerts; a number of composers wrote violin works for him, including Gabriel Fauré, Camille Saint-Saëns and Benjamin Godard - autograph in pen on 3.75 x 2 inches (9 x 4 cm) paper, stuck to 6.5 x 9 inches (16 x 22.5 cm) page from a hymn book. A scarce autograph. £40 

 

 

 

    

  

Next page  -  Autographs:  opera singers  A
 
Previous page  -  Autographs:  ballet and dance

 

      
Song Stage and Screen Autographs