(Section E)
Led by MARIE WILSON
Conducted by LESLIE HEWARD
Solo pianoforte,
JOHANNE STOCKMARR
King George I had formed the habit of attending certain masquerades on the Thames which, as a feature of those days, were organised usually on a subscription basis. On one occasion he expressed a wish that an aquatic concert might be planned on the same lines. There were initial difficulties with impresarios, who saw no profit in it for themselves, but, finally, Baron
Kilmanseck, Master of the King's '
Horse, put up the money. The concert was a great success; the river was crowded with barges, and afterwards there was a grand supper at Lord Ranelagh's house at Chelsea.
The King had already expressed high approval of the music composed specially for the occasion by the famous
Handel, first composer of the King's music, and commanded it to be repeated once before and once after supper.
Each performance took an hour, so that the King did not get back to St. James's till half-past four the next morning
This is an arrangement by Sir Hamilton Harty of some of the numbers from the complete Water Music. fohanne Stockmarr comes from Copenhagen, where she studied at the Conservatoire. Then she went to Paris and finally finished her studies under Franz Neruda , the brother of Lady Halle. Madame Stockmarr made her début in England with Lady Halle while on a European tour that included Sweden, Finland, and Germany.