Staff Profiles

Dr Aidan Thomson

BA., MMus., DPhil, PGCert

Biography

Aidan Thomson is Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Galway in Ireland. Previously, he taught at Queen¿s University, Belfast, and the University of Leeds. A graduate of the universities of Oxford (M.A., D.Phil.) and London (M.Mus.), his research is concerned with early twentieth-century British and Irish music, particularly Elgar, Bax, Smyth and Vaughan Williams. He co-edited The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams (Cambridge University Press, 2013) with Alain Frogley, and wrote and presented `Bax, Ireland and 1916¿ for RTÉ Lyric fm in 2016 as part of the Irish radio station¿s centenary celebrations of the Easter Rising. He is an elected Council member of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, and a former Reviews Editor of the Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland.

Research Interests

Late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century British and Irish art music; reception history; music historiography; music and literature; analysis; editing.

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2014)	'Elgar and the City: The Cockaigne Overture and Contributions of Modernity' Thomson, Aidan J. (2014) 'Elgar and the City: The Cockaigne Overture and Contributions of Modernity'. Musical Quarterly, 96 (2):219-262 [DOI] [Details]
	(2013)	'Proficiscere, anima Christiana: Gerontius and German mysticism' Thomson, Aidan J. (2013) 'Proficiscere, anima Christiana: Gerontius and German mysticism'. Musical Quarterly, 138 (2):275-312 [DOI] [Details]
	(2013)	'Bax and the 'Celtic North'' Aidan Thomson (2013) 'Bax and the 'Celtic North''. Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, 8 (null):51-87 [Details]
	(2012)	'Music and the Irish Literary Imagination. By Harry White' Aidan Thomson (2012) 'Music and the Irish Literary Imagination. By Harry White'. Music & Letters, 93 (1):86-89 [DOI] [Details]
	(2008)	'Part-Songs. Cambridge University Chamber Choir, Iain Farrington (piano), conducted by Christopher Robinson' Aidan Thomson (2008) 'Part-Songs. Cambridge University Chamber Choir, Iain Farrington (piano), conducted by Christopher Robinson'. The Elgar Society Journal, 15 (6):51-53 [Details]
	(2008)	'Edward Elgar, Modernist. By J.P.E. Harper-Scott' Aidan Thomson (2008) 'Edward Elgar, Modernist. By J.P.E. Harper-Scott'. Music & Letters, 89 (1):134-139 [DOI] [Details]
	(2006)	'Music as a bridge: Musikalische Beziehungen zwischen England und Deutschland 1920-1950, edited by Christa Bruestle and Guido Heldt' Aidan Thomson (2006) 'Music as a bridge: Musikalische Beziehungen zwischen England und Deutschland 1920-1950, edited by Christa Bruestle and Guido Heldt'. The Elgar Society Journal, 14 (6):45-48 [Details]
	(2005)	'Elgar and Chivalry' Aidan Thomson (2005) 'Elgar and Chivalry'. 19th-Century Music, 28 (3) (3):254-275 [DOI] [Details]

Books

	Year	Publication
	(2013)	The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams. Alain Frogley and Thomson, Aidan J. (2013) The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams. : Cambridge University Press. [Details]

Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2017)	'Es klang so alt und war doch so neu: Vaughan Williams, Aesthetics and History' Aidan Thomson (2017) 'Es klang so alt und war doch so neu: Vaughan Williams, Aesthetics and History' In: British Musical Criticism 1850–1950. -: Boydell and Brewer. [Details]
	(2016)	'Elgar's Part-Song Cycle, Op. 53: Idealism and Education' Thomson, Aidan J. (2016) 'Elgar's Part-Song Cycle, Op. 53: Idealism and Education' In: Music, Modern Culture and the Critical Ear: A Festschrift for Peter Franklin. Ashgate. [Details]
	(2013)	'Becoming a national composer: critical reception to c.1925' Thomson, Aidan J. (2013) 'Becoming a national composer: critical reception to c.1925' In: The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams. :56-78 Cambridge University Press. [Details]
	(2010)	'Decadence in the Forest: Smyth's Der Wald in its Critical Context' Thomson, Aidan J. (2010) 'Decadence in the Forest: Smyth's Der Wald in its Critical Context' In: Felsensprengerin, Br\. :218-247 Allitera Verlag. [Details]
	(2007)	'Unmaking The Music Makers' Thomson, Aidan J. (2007) 'Unmaking The Music Makers' In: Elgar Studies. :99-134 Cambridge University Press. [Details]
	(2007)	'Elgar's Critical Critics' Aidan Thomson (2007) 'Elgar's Critical Critics' In: Edward Elgar and His World. :193-222 Princeton University Press. [Details]
	(2007)	'Early reviews of The Apostles in British periodicals' Aidan Thomson (2007) 'Early reviews of The Apostles in British periodicals' In: Elgar and his world. :127-172 Princeton University Press. [Details]
	(2004)	'Elgar in German criticism' Aidan Thomson (2004) 'Elgar in German criticism' In: The Cambridge Companion to Elgar. :204-213 Cambridge University Press. [Details]