Cardus, Sir (John Frederick) Neville
Cardus, Sir (John Frederick) Neville
Cardus, Sir (John Frederick) Neville, English writer on music and cricket; b. Manchester, April 3, 1888; d. London, Feb. 28, 1975. He studied singing, then turned to journalism; wrote essays on numerous subjects, but primarily on cricket and music. In 1917 he joined the staff of the Manchester Guardian; then was its chief music critic (1927–39); from 1939 to 1947 he was in Australia, writing on cricket and music for the Sydney Morning Herald. Returning to London, he became music critic for the Manchester Guardian in 1951. He received the Wagner Medal of the City of Bayreuth in 1963, and in 1967 he was knighted. His literary style is quasi-Shavian in its colloquial manner and stubborn persuasion.
Writings
Music for Pleasure (1942); Ten Composers (1945; 2nd ed., Aug., 1958 as A Composers’ Eleven); Autobiography (1947); Second Innings: More Autobiography (1950); Talking of Music (1957); Sir Thomas Beecham: A Memoir (1961); Gustav Mahler: His Mind and His Music (1965); The Delights of Music: A Critic’s Choice (1966); Full Score (1970).
Bibliography
R. Daniels, ed., Conversations with C. (London, 1976); C. Brookes, His Own Man: The Life of N. C. (London, 1985).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire