Ernest Hutcheson
Encyclopedia
Ernest Hutcheson was an Australia
n pianist
, composer
and teacher.
Hutcheson was born in Melbourne
, and toured there as a child prodigy
. He later travelled to Leipzig
and entered the Leipzig Conservatorium at the age of fourteen to study with Carl Reinecke
and Bernhard Stavenhagen
, a pupil of Franz Liszt
. He was part of the London music circuit in 1896 and 1897. Prior to the outbreak of World War I
he taught at the Stern Conservatory
in Berlin
, but in 1914 he settled in New York
, where he made his U.S. debut. He is believed to have been the first pianist to play three concertos in a single concert: his performances of Beethoven
's third
, fourth
and fifth
with the New York Symphony Orchestra
in the Aeolian Hall
in 1919.
He became a member of the faculty at the Juilliard School, and successively Dean (1926-1937) and President (1937-1945) of the school.
Hutcheson wrote an important book called The Literature of the Piano, and taught many first-rate students. One of these many students was Mary Ann Craft, who later taught the prodigy Edgar Coleman
during his formative years. Two other students who went on to important pianistic careers were the American Abram Chasins
, and the Australian Bruce Hungerford
. Hutcheson was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
music fraternity.
Hutcheson was also associated with the Chautauqua School of Music at the Chautauqua Institution
in western New York State. Hutcheson provided a much needed refuge for George Gershwin
at Chautauqua during the stressful period of composing and refining the Piano Concerto in F
. Since Gershwin was already very famous as a successful writer of popular works and musical shows, he was constantly besieged by admirers. Further, he had never scored a large symphonic work (the earlier Rhapsody in Blue
had been scored for jazz band by Gershwin, but was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé
) and was under great stress from the pressing deadline expectations from Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony, who had commissioned the Concerto in F. Thanks to Ernest Hutcheson's kind offer of seclusion for Gershwin at Chautauqua where his quarters were declared off limits to everyone until 4 p.m. daily, Gershwin was able to successfully complete his piano concerto on time.
Ernest Hutcheson wrote concertos for piano; 2 pianos; and violin, and many solo piano works, such as a transcription
of Wagner
's Ride of the Valkyries
. His music has been little heard in concert or on recordings, but his Australian compatriot Ian Munro
has recorded some of his piano pieces.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and teacher.
Hutcheson was born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and toured there as a child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
. He later travelled to Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and entered the Leipzig Conservatorium at the age of fourteen to study with Carl Reinecke
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...
and Bernhard Stavenhagen
Bernhard Stavenhagen
Bernhard Stavenhagen was a German pianist, composer and conductor. His musical style was influenced by Franz Liszt, and as a conductor he was a strong advocate of new music.-Biography:...
, a pupil of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. He was part of the London music circuit in 1896 and 1897. Prior to the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he taught at the Stern Conservatory
Stern conservatory
The Stern Conservatory was a private music school in Berlin with many notable tutors and alumni.-History:It was originally founded in 1850 as the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. Kullak withdrew from the conservatory in 1855 in order to create a new...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, but in 1914 he settled in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he made his U.S. debut. He is believed to have been the first pianist to play three concertos in a single concert: his performances of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's third
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. During that same performance, the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also debuted. The composition...
, fourth
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
and fifth
Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's patron and pupil...
with the New York Symphony Orchestra
New York Symphony Orchestra
The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a fierce rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie who built Carnegie Hall expressly for the...
in the Aeolian Hall
Aeolian Hall (New York)
Aeolian Hall was a concert hall near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City located on the third floor of 29-33 West 42nd Street across the street from Bryant Park. The Aeolian Building was built in 1912 for the Aeolian Company, which manufactured pianos...
in 1919.
He became a member of the faculty at the Juilliard School, and successively Dean (1926-1937) and President (1937-1945) of the school.
Hutcheson wrote an important book called The Literature of the Piano, and taught many first-rate students. One of these many students was Mary Ann Craft, who later taught the prodigy Edgar Coleman
Edgar Coleman
Edgar Coleman is an American Classical Pianist.The multi-talented virtuoso was a pupil of Ozan Marsh, Aube Tzerko .Mr. Coleman began piano studies at the age of four...
during his formative years. Two other students who went on to important pianistic careers were the American Abram Chasins
Abram Chasins
Abram Chasins was an American composer, pianist, piano teacher, lecturer, musicologist, music broadcaster, radio executive and author....
, and the Australian Bruce Hungerford
Bruce Hungerford
Bruce Hungerford was an Australian pianist.Born in Korumburra, Victoria, Bruce Hungerford was originally named Leonard Hungerford...
. Hutcheson was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
music fraternity.
Hutcheson was also associated with the Chautauqua School of Music at the Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Institution
The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
in western New York State. Hutcheson provided a much needed refuge for George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
at Chautauqua during the stressful period of composing and refining the Piano Concerto in F
Concerto in F (Gershwin)
Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue...
. Since Gershwin was already very famous as a successful writer of popular works and musical shows, he was constantly besieged by admirers. Further, he had never scored a large symphonic work (the earlier Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
had been scored for jazz band by Gershwin, but was orchestrated by Ferde Grofé
Ferde Grofé
Ferde Grofé was a prominent American composer, arranger and pianist. During the 1920s and 1930s, he went by the name Ferdie Grofé.-Early life:...
) and was under great stress from the pressing deadline expectations from Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony, who had commissioned the Concerto in F. Thanks to Ernest Hutcheson's kind offer of seclusion for Gershwin at Chautauqua where his quarters were declared off limits to everyone until 4 p.m. daily, Gershwin was able to successfully complete his piano concerto on time.
Ernest Hutcheson wrote concertos for piano; 2 pianos; and violin, and many solo piano works, such as a transcription
Transcription (music)
In music, transcription can mean notating a piece or a sound which was previously unnotated, as, for example, an improvised jazz solo. Further examples include ethnomusicological notation of oral traditions of folk music, such as Béla Bartók's and Ralph Vaughan Williams' collections of the national...
of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Ride of the Valkyries
Ride of the Valkyries
The Ride of the Valkyries is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851...
. His music has been little heard in concert or on recordings, but his Australian compatriot Ian Munro
Ian Munro (pianist)
Ian Munro is an Australian pianist, composer, writer and music educator. His career has taken him to over 30 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia.-Biography:...
has recorded some of his piano pieces.