The Music Reprieval Trust

Registered Charity no. 1115584

The Music Reprieval Trust was set up in June 2006 with the aim of supporting performances of neglected classical repertoire: or, to quote the Statement of Objects in the Trust Deed, 'music by composers no longer living which in the opinion of the Trustees deserves to be better known'.

It is envisaged that this support will take the form of grants towards the cost of concerts which feature such neglected music. The Trustees usually meet three times a year (normally in January, May, and October) to consider applications for funding; grants are typically £500 to £750, although in exceptional cases we have awarded as much as £1000.

Applications should be made to the Secretary of the Trust, Dr Robin Darwall-Smith (15 Fairacres Road, Oxford OX4 1TH; email rdarwallsmith [at] gmail.com). Applications should include information about the date, venue, and programme of the proposed concert; a full concert budget would also be helpful. The Trustees would expect that in the event of a successful application, the concert programme will include an acknowledgement of assistance from the Trust.

All applications in regard to concerts featuring neglected repertoire will be considered at the next Trustees' meeting. Applicants may like to know that, while the Trustees' tastes are fairly catholic, there are many composers in whom they have a particular interest: these include Lotti, Charles Avison, Caldara, Zelenka, Telemann, J. F. Fasch, Vanhal, Thomas Linley, Josef Martin Kraus, Hummel, Ferdinand Ries, Georges Onslow, Kuhlau, Vorisek, Cipriani Potter, Louise Farrenc, Ignaz Brüll, Parry, Stanford, Ethel Smyth, Amy Beach, Coleridge-Taylor, Vaughan Williams, Suk, Medtner, Bax, Atterberg, Malcolm Arnold, and William Mathias. Furthermore, there is relatively neglected music in the oeuvre even of well-established composers, such as the Mass in E flat of Schubert, Grieg's op. 27 string quartet, or Elgar's King Olaf.

For a list of concerts to which the Trust has given its support, see here.

The Trustees would also be very grateful to anyone willing to make a donation to the Trust.