Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon

Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon (16 January 1740 – 26 September 1799), styled Lord Norreys from 1745 to 1760, was an English peer and music patron.[1]

Bertie was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the second eldest son of Willoughby Bertie, 3rd Earl of Abingdon and Anna Maria Collins. On 29 January 1759, he matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford and received his MA on 29 May 1761.[2]

Bertie was a music patron and composer, as well as a political writer. His brother-in-law Giovanni Gallini brought him into contact with J.C. Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel, and he was subsequently very involved in their careers. During his time in England (1791–1792, 1794–1795), Abingdon was a patron of Haydn's, who may have encouraged him to compose.[3] Abingdon is credited with the composition of one hundred and twenty musical works.[4]

  1. ^ "Bertie, Willoughby" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  2. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Bertie, Willoughby, Baron Norreys" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ Simon Towneley (with Derek McCulloch). "4th Earl of Abingdon", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 20 May 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
  4. ^ The Musical "Oeuvre" of Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon (1740–99)'. Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle. 2000. pp. 1–27.