Ella, John
Ella, John
Ella, John, English violinist, conductor, and writer on music; b. Leicester, Dec. 19, 1802; d. London, Oct. 2, 1888. He studied violin in London, and then enrolled as a harmony student at the Royal Academy of Music there. In 1827 he went to Paris to study with Fetis. Returning to London, he played in theater orchs. He was director of Lord Saltoun’s musical society until 1846, and in 1845 he established the Musical Union, presenting morning concerts of chamber music. He was its director until 1880. In 1850 he opened a series of “Music Winter Evenings’7 which continued until 1859. For these organizations he wrote analytical program notes, of excellent quality for the time. He was a contributor of reviews and music articles to the Morning Post, the Musical World, and the Athenaeum.
Writings
Lectures on Dramatic Music Abroad and at Home (1872); Musical Sketches Abroad and at Home (3 eds., 1861, 1869, 1878); Record of the Musical Union (1845–80); Personal Memoir of Meyerbeer (1868).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire