Warrack, John (Hamilton)
Warrack, John (Hamilton)
Warrack, John (Hamilton), English writer on music, son of Guy (Douglas Hamilton) Warrack; b. London, Feb. 9, 1928. He studied at Winchester Coll., then took up oboe and composition at the Royal Coll. of Music in London. Subsequently he played oboe in several ensembles. In 1953 he became music ed. of the Oxford Univ. Press. In 1954 he joined the staff of the Daily Telegraph, where he was a music critic; he then was chief music critic of the Sunday Telegraph (1961-72). After serving as director of the Leeds Festival (1977-83), he was a lecturer in music and a fellow at St. Hughes Coll., Oxford (1984-93). He contributed numerous articles and reviews to Opera and Gramophone. His biography of Weber is the standard modern source.
Writings
Six Great Composers (London, 1958); co-ed, with H. Rosenthal, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (London, 1964; 2nd ed., rev., 1979); Carl Maria von Weber (London, 1968; also in Ger., 1972; 2nd ed., rev., London, 1976); Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Concertos (London, 1969; 2nd ed., rev., 1974); Tchaikovsky (London, 1973); Tchaikovsky Ballet Music (London, 1978); ed. Carl Maria von Weber: Writings on Music (Cambridge, 1982); co.-ed. with E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Oxford, 1992).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire