About the Programme Archive
George Hurst kept meticulous records of his performing and broadcasting activities, throughout his long career. In addition to illustrating the intensity of his schedule, the diaries provide us with a valuable insight into his programming.
The data we present here will allow present day conductors (and others responsible for determining concert programmes) to see examples of repertoire combinations and programme running orders, as a useful point of reference. We also hope that it may provide a helpful resource for researchers interested in the work of the British regional orchestras, in particular, during the mid-to-late twentieth century.
**Please note that the Programme Archive pages of this site are still under development, and material for only a few seasons is available at the present time**
The archive is presented in two formats:
Programme Database
The database is grouped in season-by-season units, and presents all works performed by George Hurst between 1958 and 2004.
The material can be sorted in ascending/descending order by each column, and the entire database is fully searchable.
There is also a complete version of the database, without division by concert season.
Concert Listings
These present concert programmes as a whole, for an at-a-glance view and for browsing. As with the Programme Database, the listings are searchable, and can either be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs.
Concert Reviews
We are very fortunate to have a comprehensive archive of print media reviews of George Hurst’s public performance and recording activities, due to his subscription to the Press Association throughout his career. These provide not only a means of tracing interpretative trends and development through much of his core performing repertoire, but also a fascinating snapshot of British concert life during his active years, and a window into a style of arts journalism which has all but disappeared.