Avril Coleridge-Taylor
| Gwendolyn Avril Coleridge-Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Avril Coleridge-Taylor | |
| Born |
Gwendolyn Avril Coleridge-Taylor 8 March 1903 South Norwood, London |
| Died | December 21, 1998 |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Trinity College of Music |
Gwendolyn Avril Coleridge-Taylor (8 March 1903 – 21 December 1998) was an English pianist, conductor, and composer.
Biography
She was born in South Norwood, London, the daughter of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. She wrote her first composition, Goodbye Butterfly, at the age of twelve. Later, she won a scholarship for composition and piano at Trinity College of Music in 1915, where she was taught by Gordon Jacob and Alec Rowley.[1]
In 1933, she made her debut as a conductor at the Royal Albert Hall. She was then the first female conductor of H.M.S. Royal Marines and a frequent guest conductor of the BBC Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. She was the founder and conductor of both the Coleridge-Taylor Symphony Orchestra and its accompanying musical society in the 1940s as well as the Malcolm Sargent Symphony Orchestra. Her compositions include large-scale orchestral works, as well as songs, keyboard, and chamber music.
In 1957, she wrote the Ceremonial March to celebrate Ghana's independence.[2] Her other well-regarded works include a Piano Concerto in F minor (Sussex Landscape, The Hills, To April, In Memoriam R.A.F.), Wyndore (Windover) for choir and orchestra, and Golden Wedding Ballet Suite for orchestra.
She dropped her first name after a divorce, thereafter going by Avril professionally. She spent her latter life in South Africa, where she lived under apartheid. Originally she was supportive of racial segregation, passing for white.[3] However subsequently she could not work as a composer or conductor because of her one-quarter black African ancestry.[4]
She also wrote under the pseudonym Peter Riley.[5]
Works with opus number
Chamber music
- Idylle for flute and piano, Op. 21
- Impromptu for flute and piano, Op. 33
- A Lament for flute and piano, Op. 31
Keyboard music
- Impromptu, Op. 9
- Rhapsody for piano, Op. 174
Orchestral music
- Sussex Landscape, Op. 27
Songs
- Goodbye Butterfly, Op. 1
- Mister Sun, Op. 2
- Silver Stars, Op. 3
- Who Knows?, Op. 4
- April, Op. 5
- The Dreaming Water Lily, Op. 6
- The Rustling Grass, Op. 7
- The Entranced Hour, Op. 8
- Nightfall, Op. 43
- Apple Blossom, Op. 44
- Sleeping and Waking, Op. 45[6]
Sources
- Cohen, Aaron, International Encyclopedia of Women Composers, New York: Hamish Books & Music, 1981.
- Hixon, Donald, Women in Music: An Encyclopedic Biobibliography, Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow P, 1993.
- Sadie, Julie Ann, & Samuel, Rhian, The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers, New York: Macmillan, 1995.
- Sadie, Stanley, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, New York: Macmillan, 2001.
References
- ↑ Sadie, Julie Anne and Rhian Samuel. Eds. The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. Macmillan: New York, 1995.
- ↑ ODNB retrieved 26th Jan 2015
- ↑ "Daughter of Famous Composer Gives OK to S. African Bias", Jet Magazine, 1 December 1955
- ↑ "Coleridge Taylor", Lost Lives.
- ↑ Avril Coleridge-Taylor, The Heritage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, London: Dobson, 1979 (e.g., p. 154)
- ↑ Avril Coleridge-Taylor, The Heritage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, London: Dobson, 1979, pp. 154-6.
Further reading
- Coleridge-Taylor, Avril. (1979) The Heritage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor . London: Dobson P.
External links
- www.blackmahler.com for Coleridge-Taylor and the most recent book about him. His daughter Avril is also heavily featured in the book: Elford, Charles, Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story, London, England: Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd, 2008. ISBN 978-1-906210-78-6
- "Daughter of Famous Composer Gives OK to S. African Bias", Jet Magazine, 1 December 1955.
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