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Why not take a relaxed walk around the site, or a quiet sit on a bench and listen to some of the music composed or released in the same year as some of Leighton Park's incredible buildings were opened! Apologies for any adverts that pop up on YouTube to disrupt your calm!

Click on the links and enjoy!

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As you walk past, or sit outside Grove (originally designed by the eminent Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse), why not listen to Debussy's beautiful Prélude à l'Aprés midi d'un faune', composed in the same year Grove House opened.

A shimmering orchestral tone poem evoking a faun's hazy, daydream on a summer afternoon, Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894) is considered the birth of musical Impressionism, moving away from traditional structure into a more fluid, chromatic, relaxing mood built around one of the most iconic flute solos in the repertoire.

Based on the 1876 poem of the same name by Stéphane Mallarmé.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCphwVnD_hM&list=RDaCphwVnD_hM&start_radio=1

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Find a bench near Peckover Hall & enjoy Manuel de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1915), which was composed in the same year Peckover Hall was opened.

It is a three-movement work for piano and orchestra that evokes the sensory atmosphere of Andalusian gardens at night through impressionistic textures, modal harmonies, and the rhythms of Spanish folk music. Despite the prominent solo piano part, Falla insisted it was not a concerto but rather a set of "symphonic impressions," with the piano acting as one colour among many rather than a virtuosic soloist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXTCI4qzAZA&list=RDwXTCI4qzAZA&start_radio=1

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Opened in 1919, Townson and Elgar's beautiful Cello Concerto in E minor share a birthday.

Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor (1919) is a work in four movements, widely regarded as his farewell to the Romantic era and a personal elegy shaped by the trauma of World War One, plus his own declining health. It is considered one of the great cello concertos, inseparably associated with Jacqueline du Pré's legendary 1965 recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5ZufViB8j4&list=RDB5ZufViB8j4&start_radio=1

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Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 / Remastered (recording of the Century: Jacqueline Du Pré)

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LEIGHTON PARK MANSION 1860-62 (renamed as Old School in 1994)

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LEIGHTON PARK MANSION 1860-62 (renamed as Old School in 1994)

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Opened in c. 1860-62, Leighton Park Mansion shares a birthday with Claude Debussy (1862) or perhaps with Gustav Mahler (1860). Maybe even the lesser known Anton Arensky (1861), piano teacher of Rachmaninoff & Scriabin. We're not exactly sure, so take your pick!

Why not take your seat on a bench watching the cricket and listen to Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No 2, Op 55. The 2nd movement, Adagio, is from a short four-movement work composed when Saint-Saëns was in his early twenties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXT1U2pccAc&list=RDEXT1U2pccAc&start_radio=1

Or, 'Go Down Moses' was published in 1861. An African American spiritual drawing on the Biblical story of Moses and an expression of hope for freedom during the era of American enslavement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C6xPxroH1c&list=RD5C6xPxroH1c&start_radio=1

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A period of dramatic musical developments, there are so many compositions to choose from in 1923 including groundbreaking works by Sibelius, Varese, Stravinsky, Varèse, Walton and more.

For calmness, have a listen to Gerald Finzi's 'A Servern Rhapsody', Op. 3 - a short, quietly atmospheric orchestral piece evoking the English countryside around the River Severn with the pastoral warmth characteristic of his style. It sits within the English pastoral tradition alongside Vaughan Williams and Butterworth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opZbMapBnzM&list=RDopZbMapBnzM&start_radio=1

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The Main Hall was opened in 1972 (known as 'New Hall') and as part of the celebrations, there was a concert, which included music by eminent Old Leightonian, composer Richard Rodney-Bennett. Try his Concerto for Orchestra (1973) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS8p9YQN9eA&list=RDRS8p9YQN9eA&start_radio=1

Alternatively, Pink Floyd's 'The dark side of the moon' was first performed live as a complete work at the Dome in Brighton in January 1972, over a year before the studio album was released in March 1973. The live premiere was reportedly rough around the edges, with the band still refining the material, but it already contained the essential shape of what would become one of the best-selling albums in history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ynZnEBtvw&list=RDk9ynZnEBtvw&start_radio=1

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Named after a former Head of Leighton Park, the John Ounsted building was opened by the man himself in 2017.

2007 was a transitional year in Popular music, sitting between the CD era and the coming streaming revolution, with iTunes and digital downloads reshaping how music was consumed. It was the year Rihanna released "Umbrella" to become a global superstar, and Amy Winehouse's Back to Black reached its commercial peak with "Rehab" dominating the airwaves. The year also saw the rise of artists like Adele, who released her debut single "Hometown Glory," while Radiohead made headlines by releasing "In Rainbows" on a pay-what-you-want basis — a landmark moment in the music industry's digital reckoning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPtrQpx9VDw&list=RDEPtrQpx9VDw&start_radio=1

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The Peace pole is a specially commissioned monument installed in 2015 to mark the school's 125th anniversary. The carvings reflect the core values of peace and community. It was carved by Simon Pasmore, and features pairs of hands and acorns to represent a commitment to nurturing students and supporting global harmony.

in 2015, Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson released "Uptown Funk" - surely a pick me up tune! A catchy funk and soul homage that became one of the best-selling singles of all time, which draws on the sound of James Brown, Prince, and the Minneapolis funk scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8FUmkw3a4U&list=RDW8FUmkw3a4U&start_radio=1

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The original school photo in 1890 with the first 4 pupils, Headmaster Benjamin Townson and his wife.

Debussy's Rêverie is a gentle, introspective piano piece from 1890, flowing and impressionistic in character, with a dreamy, unhurried quality. It remains one of his most accessible and widely loved pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRjllL-MP0U&list=RDQRjllL-MP0U&start_radio=1

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The Music & Media Centre project, renamed The Michael Malnick Centre opened in 2019 after a building programme of two years. 2019 was a significant year in music, mainly because of the rapid rise of music streaming.

So many hits to choose from in Popular Music. Try Lewis Capaldi's Someone You Loved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGo8LFmbjs&list=RDFGGo8LFmbjs&start_radio=1

If you'd prefer something even more relaxed, try the first movement of Violin Concerto in D: Rhapsody composed by the famous jazz trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis.

The concerto is a fascinating crossover work that blends the classical concerto tradition with jazz idioms, blues inflections, and African American musical heritage, written in 2015 for violinist Nicola Benedetti, although not 2019 (!), it is a fantastic piece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTsAkAHMvf4&list=PLX0ItJp29CTKlnW0wKYvrpaWvj-TvdprZ

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The current cricket pavilion was opened in 1934 and was brilliantly refurbished by our Estates team in 2022.

The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 (1934), is a work written by Sergei Rachmaninoff for piano and orchestra, closely resembling a piano concerto, all in a single movement. Rachmaninoff wrote the work at his summer home, the Villa Senar in Switzerland, from 3 July to 18 August 1934. Rachmaninoff himself, a noted performer of his own works, played the piano part at the piece's premiere on 7 November 1934, at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. It is a set of 24 variations for piano and orchestra based on the famous A minor Caprice No. 24 by Paganini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9GuUYx9d3Y&list=RDr9GuUYx9d3Y&start_radio=1

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Reckitt House opened in 1990, replacing the original Reckitt House, which was much further away!

Following the construction of School House, Reckitt was built to provide U-shaped residential facilities focusing on a south-facing courtyard.

The early 1990s charts were still dominated by the glossy pop and rock of the late 1980s. Madonna was at the height of her powers with "Vogue," MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" brought mainstream hip-hop to large new audiences, and Sinéad O'Connor's cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" became one of the most emotionally striking singles of the decade.

Sinéad O'Connor's cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" became one of the most iconic singles of 1990, making it a defining moment in pop music history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-EF60neguk&list=RD0-EF60neguk&start_radio=1

1990 in classical music was a significant year with the Three Tenors concert in Rome — featuring Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras — becoming a global television phenomenon that brought opera to an unprecedentedly wide audience ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

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Designed by the same architect as Reckitt House, School House also opened in 1990 but before Reckitt.

Music in 1990 was deeply influenced by the release of Nelson Mandela from prison on February 11, 1990, marking a pivotal moment in the fight against apartheid. This year saw a shift from "Free Nelson Mandela" protest anthems to celebratory songs.

"Glorious Years" by Beyond (1990): A Cantonese rock song from Hong Kong, inspired by the news of Mandela’s release, became an instant hit celebrating his struggle for freedom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCHaYHcFO9o&list=RDFCHaYHcFO9o&start_radio=1