Adrian
A. Smith
b. Kingston-upon-Hull,
28 October 1931
d. Huddersfield,
6 December 2005
Contributions from
John Quinn
Paul Serotsky
Sir Malcolm
Arnold, CBE
Arthur
Butterworth MBE
Mathew
Curtis
Keith
Llewellyn
Elaine
Carter
Marilyn
and Dick Myers, Edgewood Symphony
Orchestra
Stuart
Marsden, SPO Trumpeter
From Stuart Marsden,
SPO Trumpeter -
It is common knowledge
that Adrian and the SPO trumpet section
had a mutual love-hate relationship.
When in his good books – and, yes, from
time to time we were - Adrian was all
sweetness and light, and fulsome in
his praise. For example, take the unforgettable
October 1999 concert in which we four
trumpets, distributed to the four corners
of the orchestra, opened Panufnik’s
Sinfonia Sacra bouncing a difficult,
staccato and rapid-fire musical cell
between us across an otherwise silent
orchestra. Standing with the backs of
my knees braced against the conveniently
located stage risers to stop them trembling,
I managed to make my contribution to
our combined success, and Adrian’s praise
was indeed glowing.
Frequently, however,
in rehearsals we experienced the other
side of the relationship, whereby if
one or other of us made an error, then
regardless of who was guilty there would
be an angry bellow of "TRUMPETS!"
accompanied by an if-looks-could-kill
glare. To this day we remain convinced
that other sections of the orchestra
making comparable mistakes received
far less harsh treatment. In order to
survive we developed thick skins – oh
yes, and a vast, ready and ultimately
legendary supply of both genuine and
absurd excuses that sometimes broke
the ice a little. Perhaps some of my
errors were the result of my limited
musical experience and ability, but
I found it more difficult than some
to follow Adrian’s beat, particularly
when he went into what Ian Denton (SPO
President/Flautist, retired) once described
as his "forked lightning"
or "circular" modes.
On any number of issues
Adrian and I did not see eye to eye,
but despite that we could always work
well together and be productive in numerous
tasks. He would frequently seek my help
with computer problems and during hours
of working together we unravelled many
of the intricacies and techniques of
graphics and desk-top-publishing (DTP)
programmes. I think DTP became Adrian’s
second joy after music. Certainly, he
devoted much time to it including, among
other activities, the production and
publication of the SPO’s in-house quarterly
journal, Philharmonic. Needless
to say, with Adrian the finer points
of grammar were always a high priority.
Adrian loved modern
technology, but only as a means to an
end rather than for its own sake. Even
a mere seven weeks before his death,
he asked me to get him onto broadband,
which I duly did, and for an all-too-brief
final few weeks he was absolutely delighted
with it. It was while setting up the
broadband that Adrian treated me to
yet another critical lecture about why
the SPO ought to spend much of its reserves,
despite knowing full well both my own
and the committee’s arguments to the
contrary. As far as Adrian was concerned
money was for spending, and the faster
the better.
During my SPO treasuring
days, on more than one occasion I had
to rein in Adrian’s "spendthrift"
tendencies. The one that springs most
readily to mind was when he nearly purchased
a few thousand pounds’ worth of timpani
drums, for himself rather than the orchestra.
In the run-up to our Centenary Season
we obtained from the Foundation for
Sports and the Arts a substantial award
for new instruments. However, before
we could even place an order there were
several hoops to be jumped through,
such as obtaining written quotations
from several suppliers. As soon as I
received the award, I passed the news
to Adrian but he, never one to bother
with observing committee decisions or
following institutional protocol, took
it upon himself to place an order, there
and then, with his favourite supplier.
I found out what he was up to just in
time to get the "erroneous"
order cancelled, otherwise he would
have been looking for a use for his
own personal set of timpani!
Adrian remained optimistic
and looking to the future right to the
very end. Shortly after initiating his
move to broadband, and characteristically
on a whim, he ordered a brand new Apple
Mac computer and combined printer-scanner
costing well into four figures. By this
time Adrian was visibly a very sick
man, unable to keep food down and moving
about only with great difficulty and
the aid of a walking stick and Zimmer
frame. During my visits I was always
struck by the frequency of other visitors
to his house, including his neighbours,
church and other friends, medics, home-helps,
niece etc. and, by no means least, Chris
and Fiona Woodhead. I happened to be
at his house, in my "PC helpdesk"
capacity, when the Apple Mac was delivered,
so I set it up for him there and then.
Neither of us knew it at the time, of
course, but his demise was a mere eight
days away. I doubt he had more than
an hour or two of use from the machine,
but at least he saw it working.
Having started to learn
to play an instrument far too late in
life (mid 30s) I have, so to speak,
always had to run in order to stand
still, and so I am truly grateful to
Adrian for all the wonderful musical
"back-of-the-neck tingling"
experiences I have had when playing
in SPO concerts. Adrian has opened my
eyes to music that I never even realised
existed, and my life has been greatly
enriched because of it. Sometimes, in
the initial rehearsals of a piece, I
thought I would never like it, but have
subsequently come to love it. Thank
you, Adrian, for that extra, musical
dimension to life that you have helped
me to experience.
