From the late 1850s Ella’s position in London life looked unassailable. The Musical Union went from strength to strength, Ella’s profits increased and he was able to take fresh initiatives and develop his high-minded agendas in new arenas. In turn, his sphere of influence, social advancement and overt cosmopolitanism continued to grow, and soon he would boast an address in Piccadilly, friends in high places, a stake in national debates on music, and connections and a reputation across much of central Europe. Even the trenchant Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick wrote admiringly of Ella’s achievements, describing Musical Union concerts (which he witnessed in 1862) as belonging to ‘the best and most fashionable’ and having ‘something of the Hellmesbergers’ efforts about them’ – a reference to the high-minded quartet concerts in Vienna led by Joseph Hellmesberger. For although slightly mocking of the (English) audience’s need for guidance on music and of Ella’s sometimes overblown language and pompous manner, he appreciated the innovative merits of the programme notes and was impressed by such audiences’ ‘exemplary’ attention and quiet. Eventually, though, Ella encountered setbacks – personal and professional – as his life and promotions in the 1860s took a series of turns, some of which he could never have envisaged, and most of which have escaped historical narratives. Ella dealt with these new situations pragmatically, without losing sight of what mattered to him. In fact, from the outside, it probably looked like ‘business as usual’.

❧ St James’s Hall