Robert Layton (musicologist)

Robert Layton (b. 2 May 1930) is an English musicologist and music critic. Between 1949 and 1953 he studied at Worcester College, Oxford under Edmund Rubbra and Egon Wellesz. [1] He then went to Sweden, where he learned the language and studied with Carl-Allan Moberg at the universities of Uppsala and Stockholm (1953–1955).[1][2] He was a teacher before joining the BBC in 1959. He worked first on music presentation and from 1961 on music talks. He was the BBC's senior music talks producer (1970) and senior music producer (1982–90).[1] Layton's principal specialism is Scandinavian music; he has written extensively on Franz Berwald and published books on Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius. He has made many broadcasts, has contributed regularly to Gramophone and was a co-author of The Stereo Record Guide and the Penguin Guides to recorded classical music. He was general editor of the BBC Music Guide series (1974–1990).[1]

For the British anthropologist, see Robert Hugh Layton. For the English special effects designer, see R. T. Layton. For the Canadian politician, see Robert Layton (politician).

The entry for Layton in The Oxford Dictionary of Music refers to him as "Sole authority on Danish composer Esrum-Hellerup" – an oblique reference to a celebrated prank in 1980 when among his numerous scholarly articles on Scandinavian music in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians Layton smuggled in one on a wholly fictitious composer, Dag Henrik Esrum-Hellerup.[2][3] Despite the long tradition of including fictitious entries in dictionaries and encyclopedias, the editor of Grove, Stanley Sadie, was not amused and the article was removed for the second edition.[4]

Layton's books include:

  • Sibelius 1965 (second edition, 1978; third edition 1992)
  • Dvořák Symphonies and Concertos 1978
  • A Companion to the Concerto 1988
  • A Guide to the Symphony 1995
  • Grieg 1998
Source: Oxford Music Online.[1]

References and sources

References
  1. Scott, David "Layton, Robert", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2020 (subscription required)
  2. Slonimsky et al, p. 2054
  3. Kennedy, Joyce, Michael Kennedy and Tim Rutherford-Johnson "Layton, Robert", The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 2012 (subscription required)
  4. Santella, Anna-Lise. "A Grove Music Mountweazel", OUPblog, Oxford University Press 25 January 2013

Sources
  • Slonimsky, Nicholas; Kuhn, Laura; McIntire, Dennis (2001). "Layton, Robert". In Laura Kuhn (ed.). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (8th ed.). New York: Schirmer. ISBN 978-0-02-866091-2.
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