| Biography | William Thomas Best was an English organist and composer.
In 1847 he was appointed organist at the Church for the Blind in Liverpool, and in 1849 also to the Liverpool Philharmonic Society under whose auspices he made his first appearance as a concert organist. He spent some time in London, acting as organist at the Royal Panopticon, which possessed a four-manual organ, the largest in London. He was dismissed for refusing to play Mendelssohn's Wedding March while the audience was exiting the auditorium. In 1855, on the completion of the great organ in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, he was appointed corporation organist at a salary of £300 yearly, and conducted a grand concert as the climax of the festivities at the opening of the hall. He remained organist of St. George's Hall nearly forty years, and gave three recitals weekly. His performances rapidly became famous throughout England; ill health forced him to retire in 1894.
He was very frequently invited to inaugurate newly built organs all over the country. He inaugurated the huge organ in the Royal Albert Hall on 18 July 1871 |