In 1898, Sullivan, ageing and unwell, resigned as conductor of the Leeds triennial music festival, a post which he had held since 1880.Young, p. 217 He believed that Stanford's motive for accepting the conductorship of the Leeds Philharmonic Society the previous year was to position himself to take over the festival.Ainger, p. 372 Stanford later felt obliged to write to The Times, denying that he had been party to a conspiracy to oust Sullivan.Stanford, C. V. "The Leeds Festival Conductorship", Letters to the Editor, The Times, 26 September 1904, p. 6 Sullivan was by then thought to be a dull conductor of other composers' music,Jacobs (1986), p. 406 and although Stanford's work as a conductor was not without its critics,Shaw, pp. 373 and 513; and Rodmell, p. 266 he was appointed in Sullivan's place. He remained in charge until 1910. His compositions for the festival included Songs of the Sea (1904), Stabat Mater (1907) and Songs of the Fleet (1910). New works by other composers presented at Leeds during Stanford's years in charge included pieces by Parry, Mackenzie, and seven of Stanford's former pupils. The best-known new work from Stanford's time is probably Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony, premiered in 1910.Rodmell, pp. 265–266
