Derek Collier Collection
Number of items in collection: 116
Short description:
Recordings in this collection can be played by anyone.
Derek Collier (1927-2008) was a British violinist who had a career that spanned the second half of the twentieth century, and this career is documented in broadcasts he gave for the BBC which he preserved. These recordings were donated to the British Library in 2011 by his daughter. Collier’s first broadcast was given at the age of fourteen and relayed to the United States but his first surviving broadcast dates from 1949 when he was twenty-two.
Long description:
Recordings in this collection can be played by anyone.
Derek Collier (1927-2008) was a British violinist who had a career that spanned the second half of the twentieth century, and this career is documented in broadcasts he gave for the BBC which he preserved. These recordings were donated to the British Library in 2011 by his daughter. Collier’s first broadcast was given at the age of fourteen and relayed to the United States but his first surviving broadcast dates from 1949 when he was twenty-two.
Collier began to play the violin at the age of six. He then became a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London and later studied intensively with Alfredo Campoli. Collier was the leader of many of the great British orchestras including the Bournemouth Symphony, London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia. He performed twice at the Proms, appeared with most of the major orchestras of Britain and toured North America. Collier also gave the first performances in Britain of many works including concertos by Dag Wirren, Rodrigo and Boris Blacher and made recordings for EMI, Decca and Pye.