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Collage
The Huntingdon Trio

Carl Czerny (1791-1856), born in Vienna to Czech parents, exhibited musical promise from a very young age. When he was ten, he was accepted as a pupil of Beethoven, whose works he later championed in many of his performances. In 1806, Czerny became a teacher himself and eventually eschewed public performance, devoting his time almost exclusively to teaching and composing. He developed a considerable reputation as a piano pedagogue, attracting Franz Liszt, Anna Caroline de Belleville-Oury, Stephen Heller, Leopoldine Blahetka and Sigismund Thalberg as his pupils. It is chiefly as the teacher of these virtuosi and as the composer and author of pedagogical piano works that Czerny is remembered today. His prolific compositional output numbers over l,000 works.

Sir Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) came from an English musical family of Belgian descent. Early in his career he served as a violinist with the Queen's Hall Orchestra and the Philharmonic String Quartet before establishing his reputation as a conductor and composer. In 1923 Goossens was appointed conductor of the Rochester (New York) Philharmonic, and in 1931 he became Reiner's successor as conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Goossens was engaged as director of the New South Wales Conservatorium and as conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1947, positions he retained until his permanent return to England in 1956.

Arthur Foote (1853-1937), a graduate of Harvard University, was one of a group of Boston-area composers active at the turn of the century that included Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, George Chadwick, Horatio Parker, and Arthur Whiting. Foote studied composition with John Knowles Paine at Harvard University beginning in 1870. It was his organ studies with B. J. Lang, however, that persuaded him to abandon law in favor of a career in music, and in 1875 he received the first master's degree in music awarded by an American university. Following his graduation, Foote served as organist at the First Unitarian Church in Boston for several years and performed often as a pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Kneisel String Quartet. He later taught privately and at the New England Conservatory, and was active in the Music Teachers National Association and the American Guild of Organists, of which he was a founding member.

Katherine Hoover (b.1937) lives in New York. She was born in West Virginia and grew up in a Philadelphia suburb. Hoover has received commissions and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Academy of Arts & Letters, Ditson Fund of Columbia University, ASCAP, Meet the Composer, and many other organizations. Her works have been presented throughout the United States and abroad by such soloists and groups as John Cheek; Eddie Daniels; the Harrisburg and Santa Fe Symphonies; Women's Philharmonic; the Dorian, Sylvan, Hudson Valley and Richards Wind Quintets; Atlanta Chamber Players; New Jersey Chamber Music Society; Alard Quartet; and the Huntingdon and Verdehr Trios. As a flutist, Hoover has given concerto performances at Lincoln Center, performed in all of New York's major halls, and made numerous recordings. She holds degrees from the Eastman and Manhattan Schools of Music and has taught at Juilliard; the Manhattan School of Music; and Teachers College, Columbia University.

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) began his musical training at home, studying piano with his father. When he developed neuritis, it became apparent he could not expect a solo career, and in 1893 he enrolled at London's Royal College of Music to study composition with Sir Charles Stanford. Holst also learned trombone then and earned a living with his playing. Touring left him insufficient time for his family or composition, however, and eventually he gave up performing. In 1905 he was engaged as music director at St. Paul's Girls' School, a position he was to hold throughout his life. Holst was influenced in his work by his familiarity with Eastern thought and an interest in England's musical heritage, stimulated in part by his association with Cecil Sharp and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Thea Musgrave (b.1928) is a Scottish composer living in the United States whose works range from large-scale operas to intimate compositions for small ensembles, such as the Impromptu represented in this recording. Musgrave's compositions were first brought to a wider audience by the British Broadcasting Corporation and through performances at the Edinburgh International Festival. Her works have subsequently been widely performed in Europe at the major festivals such as Edinburgh, Warsaw, Autumn, Florence Maggion Musicale, Venice Biennale, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Zagreb; on most of the European broadcasting stations; and on many regular symphony concert series. Rich and powerful musical language and a strong sense of drama have made Musgrave one of the most respected and exciting contemporary composers. She has received many honors, including two Guggenheim Fellowships and the Koussevitzky Award. She recently accepted a position as Distinguished Professor at Queens College in New York.


 

 

 

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