William Cusins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir William George Cusins (14 October 1833 – 31 August 1893) was an English pianist, violinist, organist, conductor and composer.

Biography

Born in London, Cusins entered the Chapel Royal in his tenth year and studied music in Brussels under François-Joseph Fétis and later at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, under Cipriani Potter, William Sterndale Bennett, Charles Lucas and Prosper Sainton. ^[1]

He toured widely, in England, Leipzig, Berlin and other places, as a concert pianist and as a composer. He was appointed organist to Queen Victoria's private chapel. He also played the violin in various orchestras in London. In 1851 he became assistant professor at the RAM, and later full professor. In 1867 he succeeded Sterndale Bennett as conductor of the Philharmonic Society and remained in this post until 1883.^[1]

He was appointed Master of the Queen's Musick by Queen Victoria in 1870, succeeding George Frederick Anderson, who had retired. He was knighted on 5 August 1892 (the only Master to be knighted during his term of office) and received the Cross of Isabella the Catholic in 1893. ^[1]

He died at Remonchamps, Ardennes, France on 31 August 1893, of influenza, and was buried at Kensal Green, London. ^[1]

Works

Sir William Cusins produced editions of the piano music of Robert Schumann. Among his works as a composer are Royal Wedding Serenata (1863), concert overture Les Travailleurs de la mer (1869), the oratorio Gideon (produced Gloucester, 1871), overture to William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost (1875), Piano Concerto in A minor, marches and songs.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Edwards 1901.

Sources

Edwards, Frederick George (1901). "Cusins, William George". In Sidney Lee. Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
George Grove, ed. (1900). "Cusins, William". A Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

External links

The collected compositions of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. edited by Cusins; from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection

Court offices
Preceded by George Frederick Anderson	Master of the Queen's Music 1870–1893	Succeeded by Walter Parratt

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 17982400 LCCN: no99002236 GND: 116774940

Persondata
Name	Cusins, William George
Alternative names
Short description	British musician
Date of birth	14 October 1833
Place of birth
Date of death	31 August 1893
Place of death

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.