Artists and Agents: 1950—59

In these immediate post-war years, after the deaths of the two founders and the retirement of some of the Directors, Emmie Tillett increasingly assumed sole responsibility for running the agency. Before the war, the dissolution of the partnership with Robert Leigh Ibbs took effect from 31 December 1936, when Ibbs retired and Emmie was appointed as a Director. At the same time, Ibbs's goodwill was purchased by John Tillett and his fellow Directors, W.L. Tilbrook and Monica Nixon and now Emmie. Following Ibbs's death, his share of the lease of 124 Wigmore St was bought from his estate for £725 on 6 September 1944 by John Tillett, followed by W.L. Tilbrook's interest when he retired from the agency on 31 December 1945. John and Hetty Tillett lived at 1 Fellows Road, NW3, where Hetty died on 21 February 1939. On 29 June 1943, while retaining the maisonette for letting purposes (and also the studio flat at 1 Belsize Studios, Glenilla Road, NW3 which was let to a Major Clémençon in May 1941), John moved to 87 Belsize Park Gardens, NW3, which initially he rented, then bought in April 1943, and where he died. In his will, made the year before his death, he left sums to Emmie's mother Florence, his fellow Directors, his staff Sadie Lereculey, Edwin Worman, Frank Turpin, and his secretary Kathleen Cheselden. The rest, including the house, was left to Emmie, although, as it happens, they had decided to move to 11 Elm Tree Road, in St John's Wood and behind Lord's cricket ground. Sadly John, a lover of cricket and a member of MCC, did not live to make the move, but Emmie, together with her mother Florence and two German housekeepers Mona Werner and Erica (in order of seniority), had done so by the beginning of 1949. When Florence Bass died at the end of 1950, Emmie received letters of sympathy not only from close friends such as Hess and Ferrier, but also from Cortot:

Very dear Friend, I learn of your sad loss and the cruel gap it has left. Allow me, at this sad rime, to take part in your grief and to say that all our sincere and affectionate thoughts are with you. I was very struck on the occasion of my visit to your house by the vital intelligence of your Mother. I like to think she retained her astonishing facilities until the end and that she was spared any prolonged suffering. Allow me, dear Emmie, to embrace you very affectionately. Your Alfred Cortot (20 January 1951)

Walter Legge also sent a kind letter of condolence:

Please accept my heartfelt sympathy on the death of your mother. Having been privileged to see in these last months the wonderful relation of friendship and comradeship which existed between you, a richer and deeper bond than the usual one between elderly parents and children in the prime of life, I can appreciate the extent of your loss. On the other hand you have every reason for inner peace. Your mother enjoyed good health and the full force of her keen mind and delight in life to a great age, and watched and shared with you the success of your career. That must be a great consolation for you. (30 November 1950)

Another came (as a postscript) from Benjamin Britten:

My dear Emmie, So sorry to have left your letter so long unanswered but I have been away. Thank you for the nice suggestion that I should do a talk for WQXB in New York, but I am afraid this is not possible at the moment. Perhaps when this great strain of work is over I might be able to undertake such a thing, but I frankly do not see how it is possible until at least early next Spring. 298Perhaps you will let me know how you feel about this. With lots of love and good wishes for 1951, Ben

[Handwritten postscript] My dear Emmie, I have only recently heard the most sad news of the death of your mother. I do send my deepest sympathies to you on this great loss. I have an idea of how much your sweet mother meant to you. Your life at home must seem terribly empty to you, but I know that your resources are numerous, and that you will find a way of filling it. Anyhow, Kath tells me that you are starting painting! Is that so? And how does it go?

Lots of love and deep sympathies. Yours ever, Ben

(11 January 1951)

Emmie was now alone, though she had her cat (Miss Tillett), a love she shared with Ferrier, whose kitten was called Rosie, and after Kathleen's death, she threw herself into her work. Judging by the amount of time and work devoted to running Kathleen Ferrier's career alone, it seems inconceivable that Ibbs and Tillett also had a vast amount of work for many artists, whose careers were in their hands. Myra Hess was kept active with work, which both she and the agency sourced. She wrote while on tour to America in the middle of February 1953, after receiving news of Ferrier's Covent Garden ordeal (that part of her letter is quoted in Chapter 21). For many years, Hess had had an American manager, Annie Friedberg, who by this time had become ill and senile, but fortunately she could turn for help to an old friend, the German musicologist and critic César Searchinger, who had a hand in her first tour there back in 1922. The 'music factories' to which she refers were the large agencies, such as Columbia Artists or one run by the impresario Sol Hurok.