Mackenzie, SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL

Mackenzie, SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, composer, knighted in 1895, was born in Edinburgh in 1847. He studied music in Germany and at the Royal Academy, London. From 1865 to 1879 he was engaged in Edinburgh as teacher, violinist, conductor, and composer. Afterwards he resided in Italy, devoting his energy mainly to composition. In 1886 he had the degree of Mus. Doc. from St Andrews University; in February 1887 was appointed Principal of the Royal Academy of Music in London. His works embrace almost every form of music. His celebrity dates from the production of his opera Colomba in April 1883 at Drury Lane by the Carl Rosa Company. His subsequent opera, The Troubadour, had not the same success. His oratorio, The Rose of Sharon, produced at Norwich in 1884, is regarded as hitherto his best work. Another similar one, The Lord of Life, was composed for production in 1891 at Birmingham. Besides these, he has written several important cantatas; two Scotch rhapsodies, and other orchestral works, a concerto and a pibroch for violin; chamber music, songs, pianoforte and organ pieces, &c. His compositions are distinguished by a manly solidity of workmanship, the result of a thorough mastery of all branches of his art, combined in many instances with a happy poetic inspiration. He is also eminent as a conductor.