Music in Nineteenth-Century Reading: A Family History by Gordon Cox

Music in nineteenth-century Reading was dominated by three generations of the Binfield family. This book tells their story for the first time and how they:

• Created the Binfield Music Warehouse on Friar Street which became a highly successful business selling music and musical instruments
• Organised an ambitious series of Berkshire Triennial Musical Festivals
• Established a Singing School which attracted hundreds of adults and children
• Founded The Royal Berkshire Academy of Music

The Binfields harnessed their skills as impresarios, teachers, performers and composers to build and sustain the town's musical life. Music in Nineteenth-Century Reading is intended for general readers with interests in local history, family history and musical history.

Gordon Cox, formerly a senior lecturer in music education at the University of Reading, has published several books on the history of music education, including The Origins and Foundations of Music Education: International Perspectives (Bloomsbury 2017) co-edited with Robin Stevens. He has lived in Reading since 1980 and is organist of Redlands Parish Church - St Luke's, Reading.