William Mann (critic)
William Somervell Mann was born on the 14th of February 1924, in Madras, India, to parents Gerald and Joyce Mann. He would go on to become one of the most distinctive voices in British music criticism. The questions that shaped his life were always about what counted as serious art. Why would a critic trained on Bach and Mozart end up defending the Beatles on national television? What does it mean to be "markedly progressive, even iconoclastic, in outlook" while working for one of the world's most conservative newspapers? Mann spent 34 years at The Times answering those questions, one review at a time.
Mann's education traced a path from colonial India to the heart of England's academic establishment. He attended the Dragon School before moving on to Winchester, one of England's oldest public schools. In London he studied piano with Ilona Kabos and composition with Mátyás Seiber, two teachers who brought him into contact with serious contemporary musical practice. From 1946 to 1948 he was at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he worked with composers Patrick Hadley and Robin Orr, as well as the organist Hubert Middleton. That combination of piano technique, compositional study, and contact with working composers gave him a critical ear grounded in the actual craft of making music.
Mann joined The Times in 1948, the same year he married Erika Charlotte Emilie Sohler, with whom he had four daughters. He entered the paper as assistant music critic and held that post until 1960, when he became chief music critic, a role he kept until 1982. The paper's editorial culture in the post-war decades leaned conservative and traditional, but Mann was, as a colleague put it, "markedly progressive, even iconoclastic, in outlook." That tension between the institution and the individual ran quietly through his entire tenure. He also contributed reviews to The Gramophone across many of those same years, extending his reach well beyond the pages of The Times.
Mann was among the first music critics to argue that rock music had genuine artistic value. His most quoted claim was that the Beatles were "the greatest songwriters since Schubert." Coming from a critic steeped in the classical tradition, this was an unusual stance, and it attracted real notoriety. Mann also appeared as a panellist on the television pop music programme Juke Box Jury, a decision that would have struck many of his peers as eccentric. At the same time, he was a regular contributor to the BBC Third Programme, which later became BBC Radio 3, a channel associated with art music and serious broadcasting. He occupied both worlds without apparent contradiction.
In 1958 Mann contributed the libretto to Franz Reizenstein's Let's Fake an Opera, a piece produced for the Hoffnung Music Festival that same year. It drew on "ridiculously juxtaposed excerpts from more than forty operas," a conceit that delighted both Reizenstein and the audience. That comic exercise sat alongside serious scholarly work: Mann published a critical study of Richard Strauss's operas in 1964, along with an introduction and translation of Wagner's The Ring that same year. He returned to Wagner in 1968 with an introduction and translation of Tristan. By 1977 he had published The Operas of Mozart, adding to a body of work that covered three of the canonical pillars of the operatic repertoire.
Mann's bibliography began in 1950 with a translation of Hermann Scherchen's The Nature of Music and a separate Introduction to the Music of J. S. Bach, both published that year. Over the following decades he edited, contributed to, and authored volumes ranging from Chamber Music in 1957 to Music in Time in 1982. He contributed to the multi-volume Opera on Record series, with entries appearing in 1979, 1983, and 1984. After leaving The Times in 1982, he became director of the Bath Festival in 1985, succeeding William Glock in that role. He held the post for a year. Mann died in Bath at the age of 65, on the 5th of September 1989, in the city where his final professional chapter had begun.
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Who was William Mann the music critic?
William Somervell Mann (the 14th of February 1924 - the 5th of September 1989) was an English music critic who spent 34 years at The Times in London, serving as chief music critic from 1960 to 1982. Born in Madras, India, he was educated at Winchester and Cambridge and became known for his progressive views on both classical and popular music.
What did William Mann say about the Beatles?
William Mann claimed the Beatles were "the greatest songwriters since Schubert." He was one of the first serious music critics to assert that rock music had genuine artistic value, a position that attracted considerable notoriety.
How long did William Mann work at The Times?
William Mann worked at The Times for 34 years, from 1948 to 1982. He began as assistant music critic (1948-1960) and then served as chief music critic (1960-1982).
What books did William Mann write about opera?
William Mann published Richard Strauss: A Critical Study of the Operas in 1964, an introduction and translation of Wagner's The Ring the same year, an introduction and translation of Wagner's Tristan in 1968, and The Operas of Mozart in 1977. He also contributed to the multi-volume Opera on Record series.
What was William Mann's role at the Bath Festival?
William Mann was director of the Bath Festival in 1985, succeeding William Glock. He held the position for one year, after leaving The Times in 1982.
Where was William Mann educated?
William Mann was educated at the Dragon School and Winchester, then studied piano with Ilona Kabos and composition with Mátyás Seiber in London. He attended Magdalene College, Cambridge from 1946 to 1948, studying with composers Patrick Hadley and Robin Orr and organist Hubert Middleton.
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