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Sir Edward German (17 February 1862 – 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera. As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also beginning to compose music. While performing and teaching violin at the Royal Academy of Music, German began to build a career as a composer in the mid-1880s, writing serious music as well as light opera. In 1888, he became music director of Globe Theatre in London. He provided popular incidental music for many productions at the Globe and other London theatres, including ''Richard III'' (1889), ''Henry VIII'' (1892) and ''Nell Gwynn'' (1900). He also wrote symphonies, orchestral suites, symphonic poems and other works.〔(Links to information about German's orchestral works and recordings of them ) at the Edward German Discography, accessed 16 July 2009〕 He also wrote a considerable body of songs,〔(Links to information about German's songs and recordings of them ) at the Edward German Discography, accessed 16 July 2009〕 piano music, and symphonic suites and other concert music, of which his ''Welsh Rhapsody'' (1904) is perhaps best known. German was engaged to finish ''The Emerald Isle'' after the death of Arthur Sullivan in 1900, the success of which led to more comic operas, including German's popular ''Merrie England'' (1902) and ''Tom Jones'' (1907). He also wrote the ''Just So Song Book'' in 1903 to Rudyard Kipling's texts and continued to write orchestral music. German wrote little new music of his own after 1912, but he continued to conduct until 1928, the year in which he was knighted. ==Life and career== German was born German Edward Jones in Whitchurch, Shropshire, England, the second of five children. He was the older of two sons of John David Jones, a liquor merchant, brewer, church organist and lay preacher at the local Congregational chapel, and Elizabeth (Betsy) Cox (d. 1901), a teacher of Bible classes for young women. His first name was an anglicised form of the Welsh name "Garmon."〔(Liner notes for recording of German's Symphony No. 1 and Welsh Rhapsody ), beille Musique AMCD, 2006, accessed 15 June 2012 (French)〕 His parents called him Jim.〔Prince, John. (From liner notes for the 2009 recording of ''Tom Jones'' ), Naxos 2009〕 He began to study piano and organ with his father at the age of five. At the age of six, he formed a boys' concert band to perform locally, teaching himself the violin, composition, and music arrangement in the process. He later sang alto in the church choir and participated in family entertainments above his uncle's grocery shop, often playing piano duets and performing comic sketches with his elder sister, Ruth, who died when he was 15.〔Rees, Brian. ("German, Sir Edward (1862–1936)", ) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 13 October 2008〕 He also wrote comic poems. His younger sisters were named Mabel and Rachel.〔 In his mid-teens, German's parents attempted to apprentice him to a shipbuilding firm, as they believed their son had an aptitude for engineering. His studies at a boarding-school in Chester had been delayed by a serious illness, however, and so he was turned away as too old to begin an apprenticeship. In his teens he formed a second band, a quintette, including himself on the violin, his sister on the pianoforte or the bass, and three friends of the family. He prepared the orchestrations for this band. He also led the town orchestra, did some amateur acting, and sang comic songs in local village halls.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edward German」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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