Welcome
to the personal website of music historian, lecturer, broadcaster and early music critic Brian Robins. On the site you
will find a range of articles, interviews and a selection of reviews.
Also included
are viewpoints on topics relating to the world of early music, in addition to details and extracts from reviews concerning
two published books, The John Marsh Journals: The Life and Times of a Gentleman Composer
(1752-1828) (1998), and Catch and Glee Culture in Eighteenth-Century England (2006). A second volume of the Marsh Journals is currently being prepared for publication in 2010.
Brian Robins
was born in Cheltenham, England, but spent his early life in Bournemouth, where he pursued an academic life notable
for its singular lack of distinction. This he subsequently rectified by obtaining an Honours pass in the History
of Music Diploma (University of London). After more than thirty years in the retail record business, increasing interest in
research and adult education led him to become a free-lance writer and lecturer. From 1994 until mid-2007 Brian Robins was a
regular contributor of reviews and interviews to the US publication Fanfare.
In 1997 he was
involved with the launch of Goldberg Early Music Magazine (Spain), remaining a frequent contributor, consultant and a member of the Advisory Board. In addition Brian Robins has
broadcast for BBC Radio 3 and contributed to such scholarly publications as Early Music, the RMA Research Chronicle and the
Huntington Library Quarterly. He has also contributed essays to Concert Life in Eighteenth-Century Britain (ed. S. Wollenberg & S. McVeigh) (2004), Marsh of Chichester: Gentleman, Composer, Musician, Writer 1752-1828 (2004), the revised New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians (2001), and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(2004). In 2007 he was invited to become a member of the panel for the Stanley Sadie International Handel Recording
Prize. A second volume of The John Marsh Journals is currently in preparation.
While most
of the contents of the site will consist of previously published material, there is also a Jottings page that will contain random notes. These might be concerned with musical topics... or might not.
Finally, although much of my time
is taken up by regular commitments, I'm always prepared to consider one-off commissions. Please go to Commissions for further details.
I hope you enjoy your
visit to this site and find it informative. Your feedback is welcome, so please do let me know what you like (or dislike)
about it. You can contact me at: brianrobins@earlymusicworld.com
