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{{Short description|English conductor (1889–1983)}}
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[[File:Sir-adrian-boult.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|<br />[[File:Adrian Boult signature.svg|250px|center]]]]
'''Sir Adrian Cedric Boult''', [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]] ({{IPAc-en|b|oʊ|l|t}}; 8 April 1889&nbsp;– 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at [[Leipzig]], Germany, with early conducting work in London for the [[Royal Opera House]] and [[Sergei Diaghilev]]'s ballet company. His first prominent post was conductor of the [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra|City of Birmingham Orchestra]] in 1924. When the [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] appointed him director of music in 1930, he established the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] and became its chief conductor. The orchestra set standards of excellence that were rivalled in Britain only by the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] (LPO), founded two years later.

Forced to leave the BBC in 1950 on reaching retirement age, Boult became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra had declined from its peak of the 1930s, but under his guidance its fortunes were revived. He retired as its chief conductor in 1957, and later accepted the post of president. Although in the latter part of his career he worked with several other orchestras, including the [[London Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]], the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]], and his former orchestra, the BBC Symphony, it was the LPO with which he was primarily associated, conducting it in concerts and recordings until 1978, in what was widely called his "[[Indian summer]]".

Boult was known for his championing of British music. He gave the first performance of his friend [[Gustav Holst]]'s ''[[The Planets]]'', and introduced new works by, among others, [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]], [[Arthur Bliss|Bliss]], [[Benjamin Britten|Britten]], [[Frederick Delius|Delius]], [[Cyril Rootham|Rootham]], [[Michael Tippett|Tippett]], [[Ralph Vaughan Williams|Vaughan Williams]] and [[William Walton|Walton]]. In his BBC years, he introduced works by foreign composers, including [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]], [[Alban Berg|Berg]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]] and [[Anton Webern|Webern]]. A modest man who disliked the limelight, Boult felt as comfortable in the recording studio as on the concert platform, making recordings throughout his career. From the mid-1960s until his retirement after his last sessions in 1978 he recorded extensively for [[EMI]]. In addition to several recordings that have remained in the active catalogue, Boult's legacy includes his influence on prominent conductors of later generations, including [[Sir Colin Davis]] and [[Vernon Handley]].

==Biography==
===Early life===
[[File:Christ Church Oxford Hall 2007.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|alt=interior of large mediaeval building with tables and benches|[[Christ Church, Oxford]], where Boult was an undergraduate 1908–12]] 
Boult was born in [[Chester]], [[Cheshire]], the second child and only son of Cedric Randal Boult (1853–1950), and his wife, Katharine Florence ({{nee}} Barman; d. 1927).<ref name=dnb>Kennedy, Michael.  [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30835, "Boult, Sir Adrian Cedric (1889–1983)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 1 March 2010. (subscription required)</ref> 

Cedric Boult was a [[Justice of the Peace]] and a successful businessman connected with [[Liverpool]] shipping and the oil trade; Cedric and his family had "a Liberal Unitarian outlook on public affairs" with a history of philanthropy.<ref name=times>''[[The Times]]'' obituary of Adrian Boult, 24 February 1983, p. 12</ref> 

When Boult was two years old the family moved to [[Blundellsands]], where he was given a musical upbringing. From an early age he attended concerts in Liverpool, conducted mostly by [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]].<ref name=mt69/> He was educated at [[Westminster School]] in London, where in his free time he attended concerts conducted by, among others, [[Henry Wood|Sir Henry Wood]], [[Claude Debussy]], [[Arthur Nikisch]], [[Fritz Steinbach]], and [[Richard Strauss]].<ref>Kennedy, pp. 12–16 and 32</ref> His biographer, [[Michael Kennedy (music critic)|Michael Kennedy]], writes, "Few schoolboys can have attended as many performances by great artists as Boult heard between 1901 and October 1908, when he went up to Christ Church, Oxford."<ref name=dnb/> While still a schoolboy, Boult met the composer [[Edward Elgar]] through [[Leo Frank Schuster|Frank Schuster]], a family friend.<ref name=mt69/>

At [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]] college at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], where he was an undergraduate from 1908 to 1912, Boult studied history but later switched to music, in which his mentor was the musical academic and conductor [[Hugh Allen (conductor)|Hugh Allen]].<ref name=mt69>Sadie, Stanley. "Sir Adrian Boult at 80", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', Vol. 110, No. 1514 (April 1969), pp. 367–68</ref><ref name=grove>Crichton, Ronald and José A. Bowen. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/03709 "Boult, Sir Adrian (Cedric)"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, accessed 1 March 2010 (subscription required)</ref> Among the musical friends he made at Oxford was [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], who became a lifelong friend.<ref name=mt69/> 

In 1909, Boult presented a paper to an Oxford musical group, the Oriana Society, entitled ''Some Notes on Performance'', in which he laid down three precepts for an ideal performance: observance of the composer's wishes, clarity through emphasis on balance and structure, and the effect of music made without apparent effort. These guiding principles lasted throughout his career.<ref>Northrop Moore, Jerrold. "Sir Adrian Boult at 90". ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|The Gramophone]]'', April 1979, p. 1682. The full text of Boult's paper is reproduced in Moore, pp. 1–14</ref> He was president of the University Musical Club for the year 1910, but his interests were not wholly confined to music: he was a keen rower, stroking his college boat at [[Henley Royal Regatta|Henley]], and all his life he remained a member of the [[Leander Club]].<ref name=dnb/><ref name=who>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U162200 "Boult, Sir Adrian (Cedric)'"]. ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 1 March 2010 (subscription required)</ref>

Boult graduated in 1912, with a basic "pass" degree.<ref name=osborne>Osborne, Charles. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/30835 "Boult, Sir Adrian (Cedric)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815094445/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/30835 |date=15 August 2016 }}. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' archive material, accessed 1 March 2010 (subscription required) (Article predating the Kennedy ODNB entry, available in the ODNB's online archive)</ref>{{refn|Boult later took an honours degree in music in 1914|group=n}} He continued his musical education at the [[University of Music and Theatre Leipzig|Leipzig Conservatory]] in 1912–13. Musician [[Hans Sitt]] was in charge of the conducting class, but Boult's main influence was Nikisch. He later recalled, "I went to all his [Nikisch's] rehearsals and concerts in the Gewandhaus.&nbsp;... He had an astonishing baton technique and great command of the orchestra: everything was indicated with absolute precision. But there were others who were greater interpreters."<ref name=mt69/> 

Boult admired Nikisch "not so much for his musicianship but his amazing power of saying what he wanted with a bit of wood. He spoke very little". This style was in accord with Boult's opinion that "all conductors should be clad in an invisible [[Tarnhelm]] which makes it possible to enjoy the music without seeing any of the antics that go on".<ref>Chesterman, p. 29</ref> He sang in choral festivals and at the [[Leeds Festival (classical music)|Leeds Festival]] of 1913, where he watched Nikisch conduct. There he made the acquaintance of [[George Butterworth]], and other British composers.<ref>Kennedy, p. 56</ref> Later that year Boult joined the musical staff of the [[Royal Opera House|Royal Opera House, Covent Garden]], where his most important work was to assist with the first British production of [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s ''[[Parsifal]]'', and do "odd jobs with lighting cues" while Nikisch conducted the ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring]]'' cycle.<ref>Boult, p. 46</ref>

===First conducting work===
[[File:Gustav-Holst-1921.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=head of a man, wearing glasses, and resting his head on his right hand|[[Gustav Holst]], whose suite ''[[The Planets]]'' Boult premiered in 1918]]Boult made his début as a professional conductor on 27 February 1914 at [[West Kirby]] Public Hall, with members of the [[Royal Liverpool Philharmonic|Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra]]. His programme comprised orchestral works by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], Butterworth, [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Robert Schumann|Schumann]], Wagner and [[Hugo Wolf]], interspersed with arias by Mozart and [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]] sung by [[Agnes Nicholls]].<ref>Moore, p. 19</ref> 

Boult was declared medically unfit for active service during the [[First World War]], and until 1916 he served as an orderly officer in a reserve unit.  He was recruited by the [[War Office]] as a translator (he spoke good French, German and Italian).<ref>Kennedy, pp. 61–62</ref> In his spare time he organised and conducted concerts, some of which were subsidised by his father, with the aims of giving work to orchestral players and bringing music to a wider audience.<ref>Kennedy, p. 60</ref>
{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center | quote =Just before the Armistice, Gustav Holst burst into my office: "Adrian, the YMCA are sending me to [[Thessaloniki|Salonika]] quite soon and [[H. Balfour Gardiner|Balfour Gardiner]], bless his heart, has given me a parting present consisting of the Queen's Hall, full of the Queen's Hall Orchestra for the whole of a Sunday morning. So we're going to do ''The Planets'', and you've got to conduct." | source =  Adrian Boult<ref name=boult35/>| align=left| width=33%}}

In 1918, Boult conducted the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] in a series of concerts that included important recent British works. Among them was the première of a revised version of Vaughan Williams's ''[[A London Symphony]]'', a performance which was "rather spoilt by a Zeppelin raid".<ref name=boult35>Boult, p. 35</ref> His best-known première of this period was Holst's ''[[The Planets]]''. Boult conducted the first performance on 29 September 1918 to an invited audience of about 250. Holst later wrote on his copy of the score, "This copy is the property of Adrian Boult who first caused ''The Planets'' to shine in public and thereby earned the gratitude of Gustav Holst."<ref name=boult35/>

Elgar was another composer who had cause to be grateful to Boult. His [[Symphony No. 2 (Elgar)|Second Symphony]] had, since its premiere nine years earlier, received few performances. When Boult conducted it at the [[Queen's Hall]] in March 1920 to "great applause" and "frantic enthusiasm",<ref>Lady Elgar's diary, ''quoted'' in Moore, p. 42</ref> the composer wrote to him: "With the sounds ringing in my ears I send a word of thanks for your splendid conducting of the Sym.&nbsp;... I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands."<ref>''Quoted'' in Moore, pp. 42–43</ref> Elgar's friend and biographer, the violinist [[William Henry Reed|W. H. Reed]], wrote that Boult's performance of Elgar's neglected work brought "the grandeur and nobility of the work" to wider public attention.<ref>Reed, p. 130</ref>

Boult took a wide variety of conducting jobs in the years following the war. In 1919, he succeeded [[Ernest Ansermet]] as musical director of [[Sergei Diaghilev]]'s ballet company. Although Ansermet gave Boult all the help he could in his preparations, there were fourteen ballets in the company's repertory – none of which Boult knew.  In only a short period, Boult was required to master such scores as ''[[Petrushka]]'', ''[[The Firebird]]'', ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherazade]]'', ''[[La Boutique fantasque]]'' and ''[[The Good-Humoured Ladies]]''.<ref>Boult, p. 79</ref> 

In 1921, Boult conducted the British Symphony Orchestra for [[Vladimir Rosing]]'s Opera Week at Aeolian Hall.<ref>"Opera Intime", ''The Pall Mall and Globe'', June 26, 1921.</ref> He also took on an academic post. When Hugh Allen succeeded [[Hubert Parry|Sir Hubert Parry]] as principal of the [[Royal College of Music]], he invited Boult to start a conducting class along the lines of Leipzig – the first such class in England.<ref name=simeone63>Moore, Jerrold Northrop, in Simeone, p. 63</ref> Boult ran the classes from 1919 to 1930.<ref name=who/> In 1921 he received a Doctorate of Music.<ref name=osborne/>

When [[Raymond Roze]], the founder of the [[British Symphony Orchestra]] died in March 1920, Boult took over. He conducted the orchestra, made up of professional musicians who had served in the Army during the First World War, in a series of concerts at the [[Kingsway Hall]].<ref>Boult, p. 53</ref>{{refn|Boult made a [[British Symphony Orchestra discography#Acoustic Recordings 1919–1923|number of recordings]] with the orchestra from November 1920, including ''The Good-Humoured Ladies'',{{refn|Boult's first recording includes 14 numbers (out of 19) from the full score,<ref>{{cite web |title=Le donne de buon umore (Scarlatti, Domenico) |website=IMSLP |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Le_donne_de_buon_umore_(Scarlatti%2C_Domenico) |access-date=29 June 2019 }}</ref> which Boult conducted for [[Diaghilev]]'s [[Ballets Russes|Ballet Russe]] at the [[Empire, Leicester Square]], October–December 1919. More information with a downloadable .flac file: {{cite web |website= Jolyon |title=Orchestral – Adrian Boult: The British Symphony Orchestra  |url=http://www.jolyon.com/orchestral.htm |access-date=18 May 2019}} }} and the first recording of [[George Butterworth]]'s ''[[A Shropshire Lad]]''. In June 1921, he conducted for [[Theodore Komisarjevsky]] and [[Vladimir Rosing]]'s small-scale ''Opera Intime'' week at London's [[Aeolian Hall (London)|Aeolian Hall]] with the principals of the British Symphony Orchestra.<ref>Boult, p. 48</ref><ref name=Kalisch_Aug_1921 >{{cite journal |journal=The Musical Times |last=Kalisch |first=Alfred |title=Opéra Intime |volume=62 |issue=942|date=1 August 1921 |pages=569–570 |jstor=910014}}</ref> In 1921 and 1922 Boult conducted the orchestra in a series of concerts at the [[Queen Mary College#People's Palace|People's Palace]] (now part of [[Queen Mary College]]) in [[Mile End Road]], London.<ref name=Observer_1921 >[https://www.theguardian.com/music/from-the-archive-blog/2016/feb/16/from-the-classical-archive-adrian-boult-observer-interview-1921 Adrian Boult's orchestral outreach in East London: 'a bit of genuine decentralisation']. ''The Guardian'', 16 February 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.</ref> His final appearance with the orchestra was at the 1923 [[Aberystwyth]] Festival, where Elgar conducted his own arrangement of Parry's "[[Jerusalem (hymn)|Jerusalem]]", including Sir [[Walford Davies]] at the piano.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Musical Times |title=Letters to the Editor: Elgar and Jerusalem|last=Parrott |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Parrott |volume=110 |issue=1522  |date=December 1969 |page=1243 |doi=10.2307/954527|jstor=954527}}</ref>|group=n}}

===Birmingham===
[[file:Adrian-Boult-1921.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=young white man with receding dark hair and large dark moustache|Boult in the early 1920s]]
In 1923 Boult conducted the first season of the [[Robert Mayer (philanthropist)|Robert Mayer]] concerts for children, but his participation in the following season was prevented by his appointment in 1924 as conductor of the Birmingham Festival Choral Society. This led to his becoming musical director of the [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra|City of Birmingham Orchestra]],<ref name=grove/> where he remained in charge for six years, attracting widespread attention with his adventurous programmes.<ref name=dnb/>

The advantage of the Birmingham post was that for the first time in his life Boult not only had his own orchestra, but sole control of programming as well; the only time in his life, he later said, when that was so.<ref>Kennedy, p. 100</ref> The disadvantages were that the orchestra was inadequately funded, the available venues (including the Town Hall) were unsatisfactory, the ''[[Birmingham Post]]'''s music critic, A. J. Symons, was a constant thorn in Boult's side, and the local concert-going public had conservative tastes.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 100–03 and 129</ref> Despite this conservatism, Boult programmed as much innovative music as was practical, including works by [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]], [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]] and [[Anton Bruckner|Bruckner]]. Such departures from the repertoire expected by the regular concert-goers depressed the box-office takings, requiring subsidies from private benefactors, including Boult's family.<ref>Kennedy, p. 113</ref>

While at Birmingham Boult had the opportunity to conduct a number of operas, chiefly with the [[British National Opera Company]], for which he conducted ''[[Die Walküre]]'' and ''[[Otello]]''. He also conducted a diverse range of operas from such composers as [[Henry Purcell|Purcell]], Mozart and Vaughan Williams.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 107–11</ref> In 1928 he succeeded Vaughan Williams as conductor of the [[The Bach Choir|Bach Choir]] in London, a position he held until 1931.<ref name=dnb/>

===BBC Symphony Orchestra===
Visits to London by the [[The Hallé|Hallé Orchestra]] and particularly the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] under [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]] in 1929, had highlighted the relatively poor standards of London orchestras.  [[Thomas Beecham|Sir Thomas Beecham]] and the director general of the [[BBC]] [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|Sir John Reith]] were keen to establish a first-class symphony orchestra,<ref>Kennedy, p. 138</ref> and they agreed in principle to do so jointly. Only a small number of core players were recruited before negotiations foundered. Beecham withdrew, and with [[Malcolm Sargent]] soon established the rival [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]].<ref>Reid, p. 204</ref>

In 1930 Boult returned to London to succeed [[Percy Pitt]] as director of music at the BBC.<ref>Kennedy, p. 139</ref> On taking up the post, Boult and his department recruited enough musicians to bring the complement of the new [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] to&nbsp;114. A substantial number of these players performed at the 1930 [[The Proms|Promenade Concerts]] under Sir Henry Wood,<ref>"The Promenade Concerts" ''[[The Observer]]'', 20 July 1930, p. 12</ref> and the full BBC Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert on 22 October 1930, conducted by Boult at the Queen's Hall. The programme consisted of music by Wagner, [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]].<ref>"Wireless Notes and Programmes", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 22 October 1930, p. 12</ref> Of the 21&nbsp;programmes in the orchestra's first season, Boult conducted nine and Wood five.<ref>''The Musical Times'', October 1930, p. 935. The other concerts were divided between Ansermet, [[Hermann Scherchen]], [[Oskar Fried]], [[Landon Ronald]] and [[Albert Coates (musician)|Albert Coates]].</ref>

[[File:Bbc broadcasting house front.jpg|left|thumb|upright|alt=exterior of large twentieth-century office building|[[Broadcasting House]], London, headquarters of the BBC, where Boult was director of music from 1930 to 1942]]

The reviews of the new orchestra were enthusiastic. ''[[The Times]]'' wrote of its "virtuosity" and of Boult's "superb" conducting.<ref>''The Times'', 23 October 1930, p. 12</ref> ''[[The Musical Times]]'' commented, "The boast of the B.B.C. that it intended to get together a first-class orchestra was not an idle one" and spoke of "exhilaration" at the playing.<ref>''The Musical Times'', 1 December 1930, p. 1124</ref> ''[[The Observer]]'' called the playing "altogether magnificent" and said that Boult "deserves an instrument of this fine calibre to work on, and the orchestra deserves a conductor of his efficiency and insight."<ref>''The Observer'', 26 October 1930, p. 14</ref> After the initial concerts Reith was told by his advisers that the orchestra had played better for Boult than anyone else. Reith asked him if he wished to take on the chief conductorship, and if so whether he would resign as director of music or occupy both posts simultaneously. Boult opted for the latter.<ref>Boult, p. 99</ref> He later said that this was a rash decision, and that he could not have sustained the two roles at once without the efforts of his staff in the music department, which included [[Edward Clark (conductor)|Edward Clark]], [[Julian Herbage]] and [[Kenneth Anthony Wright|Kenneth Wright]].<ref>Boult, p. 99 and Kennedy, p. 141</ref>

During the 1930s the BBC Symphony Orchestra became renowned for its high standard of playing and for Boult's capable performances of new and unfamiliar music. Like Henry Wood before him, Boult regarded it as his duty to give the best possible performances of a wide range of composers, including those whose works were not personally congenial to him. His biographer, Michael Kennedy, writes that there was a very short list of composers whose works Boult refused to conduct, "but it would be difficult to deduce who they were."<ref>Kennedy, p. 155</ref> Boult's pioneering work with the BBC included an early performance of [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]]'s ''Variations,'' Op. 31, British premières, including [[Alban Berg]]'s opera ''[[Wozzeck]]'' and ''[[Lyric Suite (Berg)|Three Movements from the Lyric Suite]]'',<ref name=cummings>Cummings, David. "Boult's premières: Problems of Musical Lexicography", ''The Musical Times'', May 1989, pp. 272–75</ref> and world premières, including Vaughan Williams's [[Symphony No. 4 (Vaughan Williams)|Symphony No. 4 in F minor]]<ref>Boult, pp. 186–87</ref> and [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]]'s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra.<ref name=cummings/> He introduced Mahler's [[Symphony No. 9 (Mahler)|Ninth Symphony]] to London in 1934,<ref name=dnb/> and Bartók's [[Concerto for Orchestra (Bartók)|Concerto for Orchestra]] in 1946.<ref name=cummings/> Boult invited [[Anton Webern]] to conduct eight BBC concerts between 1931 and 1936.<ref>Foreman, Lewis. "Webern, the BBC and the Berg Violin Concerto" ''Tempo'', September 1991, pp. 2–10</ref>

[[File:Boult-guests1.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=panel of eight small photographs of men's portraits dating from the decades around 1900|Guest conducting for Boult in the 1930s: from top left, clockwise, [[Thomas Beecham|Beecham]], [[Serge Koussevitzky|Koussevitzky]], [[Willem Mengelberg|Mengelberg]], [[Richard Strauss]], [[Arturo Toscanini|Toscanini]], [[Bruno Walter|Walter]], [[Anton Webern|Webern]], [[Felix Weingartner|Weingartner]].]]

The excellence of Boult's orchestra attracted leading international conductors. In its second season guest conductors included [[Richard Strauss]], [[Felix Weingartner]] and [[Bruno Walter]],<ref>''The Times'', 27 August 1931, p. 8</ref> followed, in later seasons, by [[Serge Koussevitzky]],<ref>''The Times'', 10 September 1932, p. 8</ref> Beecham and [[Willem Mengelberg]].<ref>11 August 1936, p. 10</ref> [[Arturo Toscanini]], widely regarded at the time as the world's leading conductor, conducted the BBC orchestra in 1935 and said that it was the finest he had ever directed.<ref>Morrison, p. 74</ref> He returned to conduct the orchestra in 1937, 1938 and 1939.<ref>Boult, p. 102</ref>

During this period, Boult accepted some international guest conductorships, appearing with the [[Vienna Philharmonic]], [[Boston Symphony Orchestra|Boston Symphony]], and [[New York Philharmonic]] orchestras.<ref name=dnb/> In 1936 and 1937 he headed European tours with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, giving concerts in Brussels, Paris, Zurich, Budapest and Vienna, where they were especially well received.<ref name=grove/><ref name=osborne/> During his BBC years, Boult did not entirely lose contact with the world of opera and his performances of ''Die Walküre'' at Covent Garden in 1931 and ''[[Fidelio]]'' at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]] in 1930 were considered outstanding.<ref name=osborne/>

For many years, Boult had been a close friend of the tenor [[Steuart Wilson]] and his wife Ann, ''née'' Bowles. When, in the late 1920s, Wilson began to mistreat his wife, Boult took her side.<ref name=Kennedy161>Kennedy, pp. 161–63</ref>{{refn|Richard Aldous, in his biography of Malcolm Sargent, alleges that Boult and Ann Wilson were having an affair before her divorce from Wilson, but the source he cites (Kennedy, pp. 81, 111, 161–63) does not corroborate his statement.<ref>Aldous, p. 156</ref>|group=n}} She divorced Wilson in 1931. In 1933, Boult astonished those who knew his notorious shyness with women by marrying her and becoming a much-loved stepfather to her four children; the marriage lasted for the rest of his life.<ref name=Kennedy161 /> The enmity it provoked in Wilson had repercussions in Boult's later career.<ref>Kennedy, p. 215, ''et seq''.</ref> The stigma attached to divorce in Britain in the 1930s affected Wilson's career but not Boult's: Wilson was barred from performing in English cathedrals at the [[Three Choirs Festival]] but Boult was invited to conduct the orchestra at [[Westminster Abbey]] for the [[coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth|coronation of George VI]] in 1937.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 162 and 181</ref>

During the Second World War the BBC Symphony Orchestra was evacuated first to [[Bristol]], where it suffered from bombing, and later to [[Bedford]]. Boult strove to maintain standards and morale as he lost key players. Between 1939 and the end of the war, forty players left for active service or other activities.<ref name=dnb/> In 1942 Boult resigned as the BBC's director of music, while remaining chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.<ref name=Kennedy195>Kennedy, p. 195</ref> This move, made as a favour to the composer [[Arthur Bliss]] to provide a suitable war-time job for him, later came to be Boult's undoing at the BBC.<ref name=Kennedy195/> Meanwhile, he made recordings of Elgar's Second Symphony, Holst's ''The Planets'' and Vaughan Williams's ''Job, A Masque for Dancing''. At the end of the war Boult "found a changed attitude to the orchestra in the upper echelons of the BBC". Reith was no longer director general, and without his backing Boult had to fight hard to restore the orchestra to its pre-war glory.<ref name=dnb/>

On 29 September 1946 Boult conducted [[Benjamin Britten|Britten]]'s new ''Festival Overture'', to inaugurate the [[BBC Radio 3|BBC Third Programme]].<ref name=cummings/> For this innovative cultural channel, Boult was concerned in pioneering ventures including the British premiere of Mahler's [[Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)|Third Symphony]].<ref>Boult, p. 188</ref> ''The Times'' later said of this period, "The Third Programme could not possibly have had the scope which made it world-famous musically without Boult."<ref name=times/> Nevertheless, Boult's BBC days were numbered. When he was appointed in 1930, Reith had informally promised him that would be exempt from the BBC's rule that staff must retire at age 60.<ref>Kennedy, p. 214</ref> However, Reith had left the BBC in 1938 and his promise carried no weight with his successors.<ref>Kennedy, p. 185</ref> In 1948 Steuart Wilson was appointed head of music at the BBC, the post previously occupied by Boult and Bliss. He made it clear from the start of his appointment that he intended that Boult should be replaced as chief conductor,<ref>Kennedy, p. 215</ref> and he used his authority to insist on Boult's enforced retirement.<ref>ODNB; Kennedy p. 215; and Aldous, pp. 156–57</ref>{{refn|In a biography of Wilson (''English Singer'', London, Duckworth, 1970, {{ISBN|0-7156-0468-6}}), Wilson's third wife, Margaret, disputes this and says that relations between the two were now amicable, and it was others at the BBC who were pressing for Boult's removal.|group=n}} The director general of the BBC at the time, [[William Haley|Sir William Haley]], was unaware of Wilson's animus against Boult and later acknowledged, in a broadcast tribute to Boult, that he "had listened to ill-judged advice in retiring him."<ref>Kennedy, p. 222</ref> By the time of his retirement in 1950, Boult had made 1,536 broadcasts.<ref name=grove/>

===London Philharmonic===
After it became clear that Boult would have to leave the BBC, Thomas Russell, the managing director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), offered him the post of principal conductor of the LPO in succession to [[Eduard van Beinum]].<ref name=Kennedy230>Kennedy, p. 230</ref> In the 1930s the LPO had flourished, but since Beecham's departure in 1940, it had struggled to survive. Boult was well known to the orchestra, having been among the musicians who came to its aid in 1940.<ref name=r77>Russell, p. 77</ref>{{refn|Boult obtained leave from the BBC to conduct fund-raising concerts for the LPO. Others who came to the aid of the orchestra at that time included Wood, Sargent and [[Eileen Joyce]]<ref name =r77/>|group=n}} He took over as chief conductor of the LPO in June 1950, immediately after leaving the BBC, and threw himself into the task of rebuilding it. In the early years of his conductorship, the finances of the LPO were perilous, and Boult subsidised the orchestra from his own funds for some time.<ref name=Kennedy230/> The need to earn money obliged the orchestra to play many more concerts than its rivals. In the 1949–50 season, the LPO gave 248 concerts, compared with 55 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, 103 by the London Symphony Orchestra, and 32 apiece by the [[Philharmonia Orchestra|Philharmonia]] and [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra|Royal Philharmonic]] orchestras.<ref>Hill, p. 50</ref>

[[File:Elgar-mahler-beethoven.jpg|thumb|left|alt=panel of three small portraits of male faces|Boult's first recordings with the LPO were of [[Edward Elgar|Elgar]] (top), [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]] and [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] (bottom).]]
Although he had worked extensively in the studio for the BBC, Boult had, up to this point, recorded only a part of his large repertoire for the gramophone.  With the LPO he began a series of commercial recordings that continued at a varying rate for the rest of his working life. Their first recordings together were Elgar's ''[[Falstaff (Elgar)|Falstaff]]'', Mahler's ''[[Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen]]'' with the [[mezzo-soprano]] [[Blanche Thebom]], and Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)|First Symphony]].<ref>Kennedy, p. 231.</ref> The work of the new team was greeted with approval by the reviewers. Of the Elgar, ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|The Gramophone]]'' wrote, "I have heard no other conductor approach [Boult's] performance.&nbsp;... His newly adopted orchestra responds admirably".<ref>''The Gramophone'', May 1951, p. 17</ref> In ''[[The Guardian|The Manchester Guardian]]'', [[Neville Cardus]] wrote, "Nobody is better able than Sir Adrian Boult to expound the subtly mingled contents of this master work."<ref>Cardus, Neville. ''The Manchester Guardian'', 19 January 1952, p. 3</ref>

In January 1951 Boult and the LPO made a tour of Germany, described by Kennedy as "gruelling", with 12 concerts on 12 successive days.<ref>Boult, p. 202. Kennedy (p. 232) states that there were 11 concerts, but Boult lists 12 dates and venues.</ref> The symphonies they played were Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven)|Seventh]], Haydn's [[Symphony No. 104 (Haydn)|''London'', No 104]], Brahms's [[Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)|First]], Schumann's [[Symphony No. 4 (Schumann)|Fourth]] and Schubert's [[Symphony No. 9 (Schubert)|''Great C major'']]. The other works were Elgar's [[Introduction and Allegro (Elgar)|Introduction and Allegro]], Holst's ''[[The Perfect Fool]]'' ballet music, Richard Strauss's ''[[Don Juan (Strauss)|Don Juan]]'', and Stravinsky's ''Firebird''.

In 1952 the LPO negotiated a five-year contract with [[Decca Records]], which was unusually rewarding for the orchestra, giving it a 10 per cent commission on most sales. On top of this, Boult always contributed his share of the recording fees to the orchestra's funds.<ref>Kennedy, p. 234</ref> In the same year, the LPO survived a crisis when Russell was dismissed as its managing director. He was an avowed member of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain|Communist party]];<ref>Michael Kennedy states that Russell "was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and made no secret of it"; see p.231</ref> when the [[Cold War]] began some influential members of the LPO felt that Russell's private political affiliations compromised the orchestra, and pressed for his dismissal. Boult, as the orchestra's chief conductor, stood up for Russell, but when matters came to a head Boult ceased to protect him. Deprived of that crucial support, Russell was forced out. Kennedy speculates that Boult's change of mind was due to a growing conviction that the orchestra would be "seriously jeopardized financially" if Russell remained in post.<ref>Kennedy, pp. 215–22</ref> A later writer, [[Richard Witts]], suggests that Boult sacrificed Russell because he believed doing so would enhance the LPO's chance of being appointed resident orchestra at the [[Royal Festival Hall]].<ref name=witts>Witts, Richard. [http://www.richardwitts.com/pdf/Boult__Russell.pdf Boult, Russell & The London Philharmonic Orchestra 1952] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425163342/http://www.richardwitts.com/pdf/Boult__Russell.pdf |date=25 April 2012 }}. Music in Society Seminar, Institute of British History, 2002</ref>{{refn|Witts's opinion is that it was not Russell but Boult – regarded by some as past his peak – who cost the LPO the Festival Hall residency.<ref name=witts/>|group=n}}

In 1953 Boult once again took charge of the orchestral music at a coronation, conducting an ensemble drawn from UK orchestras at the coronation of [[Elizabeth II]]. During the proceedings, he conducted the first performances of Bliss's ''Processional'' and Walton's march ''[[Orb and Sceptre]]''.  In the same year he returned to the Proms after a three-year absence, conducting the LPO. The notices were mixed: ''The Times'' found a Brahms symphony "rather colourless, imprecise and uninspiring", but praised Boult and the orchestra's performance of ''The Planets''.<ref>''The Times'', 8 September 1953, p. 2; and 10 September 1953, p. 2</ref> In the same year the orchestra celebrated its 21st birthday, giving a series of concerts at the Festival Hall and the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in which Boult was joined by guest conductors including [[Paul Kletzki]], [[Jean Martinon]], [[Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt]], [[Georg Solti]], [[Walter Susskind]] and Vaughan Williams.<ref>''The Musical Times'', October 1953, p. 472</ref>

In 1956 Boult and the LPO visited Russia. Boult had not wished to go on the tour because flying hurt his ears, and long land journeys hurt his back. The Soviet authorities threatened to cancel the tour if he did not lead it, and he felt obliged to go.<ref>Boult, p. 159</ref> The LPO gave nine concerts in Moscow and four in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]].  Boult's assistant conductors were [[Anatole Fistoulari]] and [[George Hurst (conductor)|George Hurst]]. Boult's four Moscow programmes included Vaughan Williams's [[Symphony No. 4 (Vaughan Williams)|Fourth]] and [[Symphony No. 5 (Vaughan Williams)|Fifth]] Symphonies, Holst's ''The Planets'', Walton's [[Violin Concerto (Walton)|Violin Concerto]] (with [[Alfredo Campoli]] as soloist), and Schubert's ''Great C major'' Symphony. While in Moscow, Boult and his wife visited the [[Bolshoi Theatre|Bolshoi Opera]] and were guests at the composer [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]'s 50th birthday party.<ref>Kennedy, p. 243</ref>

After the Russian tour, Boult told the LPO that he wished to step down from the principal conductorship. He continued to be the orchestra's main conductor until his successor [[William Steinberg]] took up the post in 1959.<ref>Kennedy, p. 244</ref> After the sudden resignation of [[Andrzej Panufnik]] from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Boult returned as principal conductor of the CBSO for the 1959–60 season. That was his last chief conductorship, though he remained closely associated with the LPO as its president and a guest conductor until his retirement.<ref>Kennedy, p. 248</ref>

===Later years===
After stepping down from the chief conductorship of the LPO, Boult was, for a few years, less in demand in the recording studio and the concert hall. Nevertheless, he was invited to conduct in Vienna, Amsterdam and Boston.<ref name=kennedy244>Kennedy, pp. 244–57</ref> In 1964 he made no recordings, but in 1965 he began an association with Lyrita records, an independent label specialising in British music. In the same year he resumed recording for EMI after a six-year break.<ref name=kennedy244/> Celebrations for his eightieth birthday in 1969 also raised his profile in the musical world. After the death of his colleague [[John Barbirolli|Sir John Barbirolli]] in 1970, Boult was seen as "the sole survivor of a great generation" and a living link with Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Holst.<ref>Kennedy, p. 268</ref> In the words of ''The Guardian'',  "it was when he reached his late seventies that the final and most glorious period of his career developed."<ref name=greenfield>Greenfield, Edward. "Boult – true servant of the composers", ''The Guardian'', 24 February 1983, p. 14</ref> He ceased to accept overseas invitations, but conducted in the major British cities, as well as at the Festival and Albert Halls and began what is frequently called his "Indian Summer" in the concert hall and recording studio.<ref name=greenfield/><ref>[http://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/Adrian_Boult/30884.htm "Boult, Adrian"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723015409/http://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/Adrian_Boult/30884.htm |date=23 July 2009 }}, Naxos.com, accessed 2 April 2010.</ref> He was featured in a 1971 film ''The Point of the Stick'', in which he illustrated his conducting technique with musical examples.<ref>British Film Institute database: {{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/7641 |title=The Point of the Stick (1971) |access-date=12 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904190950/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/7641 |archive-date=4 September 2009  }}</ref>

At a spare recording session in August 1970 Boult recorded the [[Symphony No. 3 (Brahms)|Third Symphony]] of Brahms. This was well received and led to a series of recordings of Brahms, Wagner, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven.<ref>Bishop, Christopher in Simeone, p. 73</ref> His repertoire in general was much wider than his discography might suggest.{{refn|Boult conducted seven of the nine Mahler symphonies well before the Mahler revival of the 1960s: the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth,<ref>Kennedy, p. 336</ref> and he programmed [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]]'s complete ballet ''[[Daphnis et Chloé]]'' and [[Ferruccio Busoni]]'s rarely staged opera ''[[Doktor Faust]]'' in the late 1940s. He conducted Berg's ''[[Wozzeck]]'' before and after the war, regarding it as a masterpiece.<ref>Kennedy, p. 169</ref>|group=n}} It was a disappointment to him that he was rarely invited to conduct in the opera house, and he relished the opportunity to record extensive excerpts from the Wagner operas in the 1970s.<ref>Kennedy, p. 270</ref> Having conducted several ballets at Covent Garden during the 1970s,<ref>Bland, pp. 198 and 232</ref> Boult gave his last public performance conducting Elgar's ballet ''[[The Sanguine Fan]]'' for the [[English National Ballet|London Festival Ballet]] at the [[Coliseum Theatre|London Coliseum]] on 24 June 1978. His final record, completed in December 1978, was of music by Hubert Parry. Boult formally retired from conducting in 1981. He died in London in 1983, aged 93,<ref>Kennedy, pp. 287–88 and 294–96</ref> leaving his [[Body donation|body to medical science]].<ref name=abbey>{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/sir-adrian-boult |title=Sir Adrian Boult |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref>

==Musicianship==
A review in ''The Observer'' of Boult's second London concert, in 1918, said, "Having, apparently, a thorough knowledge of the work, he was content to let it speak for itself without having recourse to those aids to success which are a constant temptation to conductors."<ref>"Concerts of the Week", ''The Observer'', 24 February 1918, p. 5</ref> Sixty-five years later, in an obituary tribute, [[Peter Heyworth]] wrote in the same newspaper: "From Nikisch he had early acquired an immaculate stick technique and was quietly scathing about conductors who used their anatomy to indicate their artistic requirements.&nbsp;... In an occupation ridden with inflated egos and circus tricksters Boult brought a rare probity to everything he undertook."<ref>Heyworth, Peter. "Sir Adrian", ''The Observer'', 27 February 1983, p. 30.</ref>

Boult's biographer, Kennedy, gave this summary: "In the music he admired most, Boult was often a great conductor; in the rest, an extremely conscientious one.&nbsp;... If from behind he seemed unexciting and unemotional, the players could see the animation in his face – and he was capable of frightening outbursts of temper at rehearsals. Tall and erect, with something of the military in his appearance&nbsp;... he seemed the personification of the English gentleman. But recipients of his cutting wit and occasional sarcasm knew that this was not the whole picture."<ref name=dnb/>  ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove's Dictionary]]'' similarly said of him:
{{blockquote|Of the leading British conductors of his time, Boult was the least sensational but not the least remarkable. He made no attempt to cultivate a public image. He was neither oracle, orator nor professional wit, but he expressed himself with trenchancy, and his gentlemanly self-control was occasionally ruffled by storms of anger.&nbsp;... [T]here were nights when the physical impact of his conducting was low, and there was little beyond faithfulness to the notes. There were others when precise, sensitive stick technique, loyalty to the composer, selflessness and ability to see the music as a whole, produced results equally satisfying in the classics and the British music he understood so well.<ref name=grove/>}}

Boult, unlike many of his contemporaries, preferred the [[String section#Seating arrangement|traditional orchestral layout]], with first violins on the conductor's left and the seconds on the right. Of the modern layout with all violins on the left, he wrote, "The new seating is, I admit, easier for the conductor and the second violins, but I firmly maintain that the second violins themselves ''sound'' far better on the right.&nbsp;... When the new fashion reached us from America somewhere about 1908 it was adopted by some conductors, but Richter, Weingartner, Walter, Toscanini and many others kept what I feel is the right balance."<ref>Boult, Adrian. "Stereo Strings", ''The Musical Times'', April 1973, p. 378</ref>

This care for balance was an important feature of Boult's music-making. Orchestral players across decades commented on his insistence that every important part should be heard without difficulty. His BBC principal violist wrote in 1938, "If a woodwind player has to complain that he has already been blowing 'fit to burst' there is trouble for somebody."<ref>Shore, p. 52</ref> The trombonist [[Raymond Premru]] wrote forty years later, "One of the old school, like Boult, is so refreshing because he will reduce the dynamic level – 'No, no, pianissimo, strings, let the soloist through, less from everyone else.' That is the old idea of balance."<ref>Previn, p. 181</ref>

As an educator, Boult influenced several generations of musicians, beginning with his conducting class at the Royal College of Music, London, which he ran from 1919 to 1930. As no such classes had been held before in Britain, Boult "created its curriculum from out of his own experience.&nbsp;... From that first small class has come all the later formal training for conductors throughout Britain."<ref>Simeone, p. 63</ref> In the 1930s Boult ran a series of "conferences for conductors" at his country house near [[Guildford]], sometimes helped by Vaughan Williams who lived a few miles away.<ref>Kennedy, p. 182.</ref> From 1962 to 1966 he again taught at the Royal College of Music.<ref>Boult, p. 178</ref> In later life, he made time for young conductors who sought his counsel.  Among those who studied with or were influenced by Boult were [[Colin Davis]],<ref name=kennedy251>Kennedy, p. 251</ref> [[James Loughran]],<ref name=kennedy251/> [[Richard Hickox]]<ref>Simeone, p. 77</ref> and [[Vernon Handley]]. The last was not only a pupil of Boult, but acted as his musical assistant on many occasions.<ref>Kennedy, p. 261</ref>

==Honours and memorials==
[[File:Birmingham Conservatoire.jpg|thumb|right|alt=exterior of a modern concert hall|[[Adrian Boult Hall]], Birmingham]]
Boult was created a [[Knight Bachelor]] in 1937<ref name=who/> and was created a [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]] (CH) in 1969.<ref name=who/> He received the gold medal of the [[Royal Philharmonic Society]] in 1944<ref name=grove/> and the [[Harvard Glee Club]] medal (jointly with Vaughan Williams) in 1956.<ref name=grove/> He received honorary degrees and fellowships from 13 universities and conservatoires.<ref name=who/> In 1951 he was invited to be the first president of the [[Elgar Society]].<ref>''The Guardian'', 19 January 2002, p. 7</ref> In 1959 he was made president of the [[Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama|Royal Scottish Academy of Music]].<ref name=grove/> In the north choir aisle of Westminster Abbey is a small memorial stone to Boult which was unveiled on 8 April 1984.<ref name=abbey/> 

Boult's old school, Westminster, has a music centre named in his honour,<ref>[http://www.oldwestminster.org.uk/document.doc?id=144 "Bursar's Report"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914224347/http://www.oldwestminster.org.uk/document.doc?id=144 |date=14 September 2014 }}, Westminster School Elizabethan Newsletter, 2011/2012, p. 10</ref> and the [[Royal Birmingham Conservatoire]] included in its home building the [[Adrian Boult Hall]]. The hall was used for classical concerts, other musical performances, and conferences.<ref>[http://www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.uk/calendar/adrian-boult-hall-revealed Conservatoire website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322131450/http://www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.uk/calendar/adrian-boult-hall-revealed |date=22 March 2009 }}, accessed 31 March 2010</ref> The hall was demolished in June 2016 as part of a redevelopment project.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bcu.ac.uk/alumni/our-events/farewell-adrian-boult-hall|title=Farewell, Adrian Boult Hall – Alumni – Birmingham City University|website=bcu.ac.uk|access-date=7 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012152136/http://www.bcu.ac.uk/alumni/our-events/farewell-adrian-boult-hall|archive-date=12 October 2017}}</ref>

In the June 2013 issue of ''Gramophone'' Boult was added to the magazine's Hall of Fame which recognises musicians who have made a lasting impact on the world of recorded classical music.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gramophone Hall of Fame|url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/musicians/artist/adrian-boult-45130|website=www.gramophone.co.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429082338/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/musicians/artist/adrian-boult-45130|archive-date=29 April 2015}}</ref>

==Recordings==
{{Main|Adrian Boult discography}}
Boult was a prolific recording artist. Unlike many musicians, he felt at home in the recording studio and actually preferred working without an audience.<ref>Boult, p. 98</ref> His recording career stretched from the days of acoustic recording until the beginning of the digital era.  His last recording of ''The Planets'' made in May 1978 was taped in experimental digital sound, although technical problems led [[EMI Records|EMI]] to release an analogue version.<ref>''The Gramophone''. September 1981, p. 344</ref>

Boult's recordings fall into three main periods. In the first, from 1920 to the end of the 1940s, he recorded almost exclusively for [[EMI Records|HMV/EMI]]. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he was less in demand by the major labels, and although he made a substantial number of discs for [[Decca Records|Decca]], he recorded mostly for smaller labels, chiefly [[Nixa Records|Pye Nixa]]. His last period, from the mid-1960s, sometimes referred to as his Indian Summer, was once again with HMV. With his regular collaborators the producer Christopher Bishop and the engineer Christopher Parker he made more than sixty recordings, re-recording much of his key repertoire in stereo. He also added many works to his discography that he had not recorded before.<ref name=discog>Ashman, Mike. "Boult Discography", ''Records and Recording'', April 1974, pp. 17–20, and Simeone, pp. 80–96.</ref>

Of the British composers, Boult extensively recorded and sometimes re-recorded major works by Elgar and Vaughan Williams. He recorded all eight then-existing symphonies by Vaughan Williams for [[Decca Records]] in the 1950s with the LPO, in the presence of the composer. The recording producer, [[John Culshaw]], wrote that the composer "said very little during the sessions because he was totally in favour of Sir Adrian's approach to his music."<ref>Culshaw, p. 121</ref> Vaughan Williams was to have been present for the first recording of his Ninth symphony, for [[Everest Records]] in 1958, but he died the night before the session took place; Boult recorded a short introduction as a memorial tribute. All these recordings have been reissued on CD. In the 1960s Boult re-recorded the nine symphonies for [[EMI Records|EMI]].<ref name=discog/>

Other British composers who feature significantly in Boult's discography include Holst, [[John Ireland (composer)|Ireland]], Parry, and [[William Walton|Walton]].<ref name=discog/> Despite his reputation as a pioneer in Britain of the works of the [[Second Viennese School]] and other avant-garde composers, the record companies, unlike the BBC, remained cautious about recording him in this repertory, and only a single recording of a Berg piece represents this side of Boult's work.<ref name=discog/> In the core continental orchestral repertoire, Boult's recordings of the four symphonies of Brahms, and the Great C major Symphony of Schubert were celebrated in his lifetime and have remained in the catalogues during the three decades after his death. Late in his recording career he recorded four discs of excerpts from Wagner's operas, which received great critical praise.{{refn|See, for instance, [[Deryck Cooke]], ''The Gramophone'', July 1972, p. 197: "He reveals himself as a 'perfect Wagnerite', and a thrilling one too&nbsp;... a 'must' for Wagner-lovers".|group=n}} The exceptional breadth of Boult's repertoire has left some well-regarded recordings of works not immediately associated with him, among which are versions of [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]]’s ''Ouvertures'' (recorded in 1956), [[César Franck|Franck]]'s Symphony (recorded in 1959), Dvořák's Cello Concerto with [[Mstislav Rostropovich]] (1958), and a pioneering recording of Mahler's Third Symphony taped live in 1947.<ref name=discog/>

==Bibliography==
Boult wrote articles on a wide range of musical matters. They include an obituary of Nikisch (''Music and Letters'', Vol. 3, No. 2 (April 1922), pp.&nbsp;117–121); "Casals as Conductor" (''Music and Letters'', Vol. 4 (1923), pp.&nbsp;149–52); "[[Arnold Rosé|Rosé]] and the Vienna Philharmonic" (''Music and Letters'', Vol. 32, No. 3 (July 1951), pp.&nbsp;256–57); and an obituary of Toscanini for ''The Musical Times'' (March 1957, pp.&nbsp;127–28)

Boult wrote books about music throughout his career. None were in print at April 2010. They are as follows:
*{{cite book | title=Boult on Music: Words from a Lifetime's Communication | location=London | publisher=Toccata Press | year=1983 | isbn=0-907689-03-5 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/boultonmusic0000unse }}
*{{cite book | title=A Handbook on the Technique of Conducting | edition=7th | location=Oxford | publisher=Hall | orig-year=1920 | year=1951| oclc=155756343}}
*{{cite book | title=My Own Trumpet ''[autobiography]''| location=London | publisher=Hamish Hamilton | year=1973 | isbn=0-241-02445-5 }}
*{{cite book |  title=The St. Matthew Passion: its preparation and performance | location=London  | publisher=Novello | year=1949 | oclc=1547942}} (with Walter Emery)
*{{cite book | title=Thoughts on Conducting | location=London | publisher=Phoenix House | year=1963 | oclc=892145}}

==Notes, references and sources==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book | last= Aldous| first=Richard | title=Tunes of Glory: The Life of Malcolm Sargent| location=London | publisher= Pimlico | year=2001| isbn=0-7126-6540-4}}
* {{cite book|last= Bland |first=Alexander |year= 1981|title= The Royal Ballet – the first 50 years |location= London |publisher= Threshold Books |isbn=0-901366-11-0}}
*{{cite book | last=Boult | first=Adrian | title=My Own Trumpet | location=London | publisher=Hamish Hamilton | year=1973 | isbn=0-241-02445-5}}
* {{cite book | last= Chesterman | first= Robert | title= Conversations with Conductors: Bruno Walter, Sir Adrian Boult, Leonard Bernstein, Ernest Ansermet, Otto Klemperer, Leopold Stokowski| year= 1976| location= London | publisher= Robson Books | isbn= 978-0-90-389544-6}}
*{{cite book | last=Culshaw| first=John | title=Putting the Record Straight | location=London | publisher=Secker and Warburg | year=1981 | isbn=0-436-11802-5 }}
*{{cite book | last= Hill| first=Ralph|title=Music 1951| location=Harmondsworth| publisher= Penguin Books | year=1951|oclc=26147349}}
*{{cite book | last=Kennedy | first=Michael | title=Adrian Boult | url=https://archive.org/details/adrianboult00kenn | url-access=registration | location=London | publisher=Hamish Hamilton | year=1987 | isbn=0-333-48752-4}}
*{{cite book | last= Moore | first=Jerrold Northrop | title=Music and Friends: Letters to Adrian Boult | location=London | publisher= Hamish Hamilton | year=1979 | isbn=0-241-10178-6 }}
*{{cite book | last= Morrison| first=Richard | title=Orchestra – The LSO | location=London | publisher= Faber and Faber | year=2004 | isbn=0-571-21584-X }}
*{{cite book | editor-last= Previn| editor-first=André  | title=Orchestra | location=London | publisher=Macdonald and Janes| year=1979 |isbn=0-354-04420-6}}
*{{cite book | last= Reed| first=W H | title=Elgar | location=London | publisher= J M Dent| year=1943| oclc=8858707}}
*{{cite book | last= Russell| first=Thomas | title=Philharmonic Decade | location=London | publisher= Hutchinson| year=1944 | oclc=941577}}
*{{cite book | last= Shore| first=Bernard | title=The Orchestra Speaks| location=London | publisher= Longmans| year=1938 |oclc=499119110}}
*{{cite book | last= Simeone| first=Nigel |author2=Simon Mundy|title=Sir Adrian Boult: Companion of Honour| location=London | publisher= Midas Books | year=1980 | isbn=0-85936-212-4}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=q14377}}
* [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Boult-Adrian.htm Adrian Boult] at Bach Cantatas Website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091228011552/http://www.westminster.org.uk/activities/music.asp Westminster School website]
*{{IMDb name|0099569}}

{{Gramophone Hall of Fame}}
{{Birmingham Symphony conductors}}
{{BBCSO conductors}}
{{BBC directors of music}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boult, Adrian}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century English conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Decca Records artists]]
[[Category:English justices of the peace]]
[[Category:English male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:English Unitarians]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:Musicians from Chester]]
[[Category:People from Crosby, Merseyside]]
[[Category:Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists]]
[[Category:University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni]]
[[Category:Members of Leander Club]]
[[Category:Unitarian Universalists]]
[[Category:20th-century English male musicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Independent Society of Musicians]]
[[Category:BBC music executives]]
[[Category:Chief conductors of the BBC Symphony Orchestra]]
[[Category:Principal conductors of the London Philharmonic Orchestra]]
[[Category:Principal conductors of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]]