MUSICIANS
Various posts written about musicians and musical events.
Dave Brubeck 1920 – 2012
I was so sorry to hear of the death yesterday of Dave Brubeck. He died aged 91 just one day short of his 92nd birthday. Brubeck has inspired generations of musicians during his many years in the industry. I had the pleasure of attending his 85th birthday concert at the Barbican with my parents, who…
The Wallcast Interview Series
I discovered this superb series of interviews recently and it brightened my day. These spontaneous question and answer ‘sessions’ are great fun and quite enlightening. The Wallcast Series was recorded at the Verbier Festival in 2011 by Medici.tv and it includes some of the greatest classical musicians. I have picked a few of my favourites:
Marvin Hamlisch 1944 – 2012
Marvin Hamlisch died on Monday August 6th in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 68 following a brief illness. I’ve long been a fan of his work and music. Hamlisch was born in Manhattan and was a child prodigy entering the Juilliard’s pre-school division. The US’s pre-school division is akin to our UK junior…
Great British female pianists and teachers: Emily Daymond
Emily Rosa Daymond was born on 11th July 1866 and was the daughter of the Reverend Albert Cooke Daymond, who was a headmaster. Daymond entered the Royal College of Music as a Foundation Scholar on 7th May 1883, when the College first opened and she primarily studied the piano. She studied with Ernst Pauer (piano),…
Great British female pianists and teachers: Katharine Goodson
British concert pianist Katharine Goodson was born in 1872. At 12, having already made several appearances in the English provinces, she entered the Royal Academy of Music, studying under Oscar Beringer between 1886 and 1892. After an invitation to play for the renowned pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, she was introduced to his former teacher Theodor…
Great British female pianists and teachers: Adela Verne
Adela Verne was born in 1877 and was an important English pianist and composer of German descent. She was considered one of the foremost female pianists of her generation and she frequently toured the world playing in all the major concert halls. Adela was born into a musical family, she had nine siblings altogether, and…
Brigitte Engerer 1952 – 2012
French pianist Brigitte Engerer sadly died a few days ago, on 23rd June, from cancer. She was just 59. I loved Engerer’s playing. She was born in Tunis and was of Maltese descent. Having started playing the piano at the age of five, she entered the Paris Conservatoire in the class of Lucette Descaves. Obtaining first…
Great British female pianists and teachers: Mathilde Verne
Mathilde Verne was born in 1865 and was an English pianist and teacher of German descent. Born Mathilde Wurm in Southampton, England, the fourth of ten children, all of whom were musically gifted. She was initially a student of Franklin Taylor and was then given the opportunity to play to Clara Schumann, who took her to Frankfurt for…
Great British female Pianists and Teachers: Adelina de Lara
Adelina de Lara was a British concert pianist and composer. Lottie Adelina Preston was born in Carlisle, Cumberland in 1872 to George Matthew Tilbury (Preston) and Anna de Lara. Her grandfather was the Spanish Count Laurent de Lara. Her mother was the sister-in-law of Sir Landon Ronald. She was told that her surname ‘Preston’ was…
British female pianists and teachers: Helen Hopekirk
Helen Hopekirk was a concert pianist, teacher, and composer. She was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the daughter of music shop owners Adam and Helen Hopekirk. Helen began to study the piano aged 9 and just two years later she played at a People’s Concert exhibiting unusual musical talent. She studied music with George…
British female pianists and teachers: Fanny Davies
Fanny Davies was born in Guernsey in 1861 moving to Birmingham where she gave her first performance at the age of six. She studied privately in Birmingham, then at the Leipzig Conservatory under Carl Reinecke and Oscar Paul. She also studied with Clara Schumann in Frankfurt. Fanny was a successful concert pianist and was considered…
British female pianists and teachers: Annie Jessy Curwen
I’m continuing my ‘British female pianists and teachers’ series today. The next important female pianist, after Lucy Anderson and Arabella Goddard in previous blog posts, is a woman who became well-known purely for her teaching methods. Annie Jessy Curwen (1845-1932) was an influential piano pedagogue and leading figure of the Tonic Sol-Fa teaching system in…