Image Source: Wikipedia

Albert Coates

Albert Coates (* 11 jul./23 April 1881greg. [deviant: 1882] – 11 December 1953) was an English conductor and composer. Born in Saint Petersburg, where his English father was a successful businessman, he studied in Russia, England and Germany, before beginning his career as a conductor in a series of German opera houses. He was a success in England conducting Wagner at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1914, and in 1919 was appointed chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

His strengths as a conductor lay in opera and the Russian repertory, but he was not thought as impressive in the core Austro-German symphonic repertory. After 1923 he failed to secure a permanent conductorship in the UK, and for much of the rest of his life guest-conducted in continental Europe and the US. In his last years he conducted in South Africa, where he died at 71.

As a composer, Coates is little remembered, but he composed seven operas, one of which, Pickwick, was performed at Covent Garden and was the first opera to be televised on the newly launched BBC, in November 1936. He also wrote some concert works for orchestral forces.

Birth and Death Data: Born Saint Petersburg (federal city and former capital of Russia), Died December 11, 1953 (Cape Town (city in the Western Cape, South Africa) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1919 - 1932

Roles Represented in DAHR: conductor

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 153 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone CR679 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR680 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR681 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR682 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR683 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR684 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR685 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR686 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR687 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR688 12-in. 9/16/1926 Symphony no. 3, in E flat major (Eroica) Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR697 12-in. 10/26/1926 Hänsel and Gretel : Overture Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR698 12-in. 10/26/1926 Hänsel and Gretel : Overture Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR699 12-in. 9/20/1926 Dance of the spirits of the earth Albert Coates Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc709 12-in. 11/25/1921 Mother Goose suite Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc710 12-in. 11/25/1921 Mother Goose suite Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cr894 12-in. 1/4/1927 Fountains of Rome Albert Coates ; London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR895 12-in. 1/4/1927 Fountains of Rome Albert Coates ; London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR896 12-in. 1/4/1927 Fountains of Rome Albert Coates ; London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR897 12-in. 1/4/1927 Fountains of Rome Albert Coates ; London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone CR909 12-in. 1/6/1927 Prometheus : Overture Albert Coates ; London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc1241 12-in. 4/25/1922 Mother Goose suite Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc1242 12-in. 4/25/1922 Mother Goose suite Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc1260 12-in. 4/28/1922 Don Juan Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc1261 12-in. 4/28/1922 Don Juan Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
Gramophone Cc1262 12-in. 5/5/1922 Don Juan Albert Coates ; Symphony Orchestra [Gramophone Co., 1920s] Orchestra conductor  
(Results 26-50 of 153 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Coates, Albert," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104000.

Coates, Albert. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104000.

"Coates, Albert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104000

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.