Gerald Moore
Encyclopedia
Gerald Moore CBE
(30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English
pianist
best known for his career as one of the most in-demand accompanists of his day, accompanying many of the world's most famous musicians. Moore was born in Watford
but received most of his musical education in Toronto
, Canada
, to which country his family emigrated when he was a child, and where he was an organist at St Thomas' Church, Huron Street, in Toronto.
He accompanied notable instrumentalists such as Pablo Casals
and the child prodigy Josef Hassid
, but is perhaps best remembered for his work with singers, with notable partnerships including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
, Victoria de los Ángeles
, Elisabeth Schumann
, Maggie Teyte
and Kathleen Ferrier
. He had a particular affinity for the art song
(lieder) repertoire; the BBC
has recommended a number of his recordings in its building a library selection, including his 1961 recording of Schubert's
Die Schöne Müllerin
with Fischer-Dieskau and the 1958 Salzburg Festival
recording of Wolf
lieder with Schwarzkopf. He also gave lectures on stage and radio and wrote about music, publishing his much-admired memoir Am I Too Loud?: Memoirs of An Accompanist in 1962. He published two other volumes of autobiography: Farewell Recital: Further Memoirs (1978) and Furthermoore (1983).
Moore credited much of his early success as an accompanist to a five-year partnership with the tenor John Coates
, who, Moore says, turned him from an indifferent accompanist into one who was sensitive to the music and the soloist, and an equal partner in performance. Moore, then aged 25, was engaged by Coates almost by chance when his usual accompanist Berkeley Mason was unavailable. Another influence who figures largely in Moore's memoirs is the great pianist Solomon, whose technique Moore admired and studied.
As an accompanist, Gerald Moore is credited with doing much to raise the status of accompanist from a subservient role to that of an equal artistic partner, in part through his influential 1943 book The Unashamed Accompanist. Fischer-Dieskau wrote in his introduction to the German edition of The Unashamed Accompanist that "there is no more of that pale shadow at the keyboard, he is always an equal with his partner" and "it is quite apparent how new and unique the type of accompanist is which he represents," and Moore jealously protected this status of his art, complaining when accompanists he admired were not given billing in concert.
Moore retired from public performances in 1967, with a farewell concert in which he accompanied three of the singers with whom he was long associated: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
, Victoria de los Ángeles
and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
. This famed concert at London's Royal Festival Hall
concluded with Moore playing alone - he chose Schubert
's An die Musik
. He made his last studio recording in 1975.
In his memoirs Moore wrote that his services were not needed at Benjamin Britten
's Aldeburgh Festival
, 'as the presiding genius there is the greatest accompanist in the world.' Moore would therefore have been interested that, when in 2006 Gramophone magazine invited eminent present-day accompanists to name their 'professional's professional', the joint winners were Britten and Moore himself.
Moore was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1954. He died in Penn, Buckinghamshire
in 1987.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
best known for his career as one of the most in-demand accompanists of his day, accompanying many of the world's most famous musicians. Moore was born in Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
but received most of his musical education in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, to which country his family emigrated when he was a child, and where he was an organist at St Thomas' Church, Huron Street, in Toronto.
He accompanied notable instrumentalists such as Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
and the child prodigy Josef Hassid
Josef Hassid
Josef Hassid was a Polish violinist.Born 28 December 1923 in Suwałki, Poland, as Joseph or Józef Chasyd, second youngest of four children, he lost his mother when he was ten and was brought up by his father Owseij who took charge of his career.After lessons with a local violin teacher he studied...
, but is perhaps best remembered for his work with singers, with notable partnerships including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
, Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
, Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
, Maggie Teyte
Maggie Teyte
Dame Maggie Teyte DBE was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song.-Early years:Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings. Her parents...
and Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
. He had a particular affinity for the art song
Art song
An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the genre of such songs....
(lieder) repertoire; the BBC
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
has recommended a number of his recordings in its building a library selection, including his 1961 recording of Schubert's
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
Die Schöne Müllerin
Die schöne Müllerin
Die schöne Müllerin , is a song cycle by Franz Schubert on poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the earliest extended song cycle to be widely performed. The work is considered one of Schubert's most important, and it is widely performed and recorded....
with Fischer-Dieskau and the 1958 Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
recording of Wolf
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but utterly unrelated in...
lieder with Schwarzkopf. He also gave lectures on stage and radio and wrote about music, publishing his much-admired memoir Am I Too Loud?: Memoirs of An Accompanist in 1962. He published two other volumes of autobiography: Farewell Recital: Further Memoirs (1978) and Furthermoore (1983).
Moore credited much of his early success as an accompanist to a five-year partnership with the tenor John Coates
John Coates (tenor)
John Coates was a leading English tenor, who sang in opera and oratorio and on the concert platform. His repertoire ranged from Bach and Purcell to contemporary works, and embraced the major heldentenor roles in Richard Wagner's operas...
, who, Moore says, turned him from an indifferent accompanist into one who was sensitive to the music and the soloist, and an equal partner in performance. Moore, then aged 25, was engaged by Coates almost by chance when his usual accompanist Berkeley Mason was unavailable. Another influence who figures largely in Moore's memoirs is the great pianist Solomon, whose technique Moore admired and studied.
As an accompanist, Gerald Moore is credited with doing much to raise the status of accompanist from a subservient role to that of an equal artistic partner, in part through his influential 1943 book The Unashamed Accompanist. Fischer-Dieskau wrote in his introduction to the German edition of The Unashamed Accompanist that "there is no more of that pale shadow at the keyboard, he is always an equal with his partner" and "it is quite apparent how new and unique the type of accompanist is which he represents," and Moore jealously protected this status of his art, complaining when accompanists he admired were not given billing in concert.
Moore retired from public performances in 1967, with a farewell concert in which he accompanied three of the singers with whom he was long associated: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
, Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
. This famed concert at London's Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
concluded with Moore playing alone - he chose Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's An die Musik
An die Musik
Franz Schubert composed his lied "An die Musik" in March 1817 for solo voice and piano, with text from a poem by his friend Franz von Schober. In the Deutsch catalog of Schubert's works it is number 547, or D547. The original key is D major. It was published in 1827 as Opus 88 No. 4 by Weigl...
. He made his last studio recording in 1975.
In his memoirs Moore wrote that his services were not needed at Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
, 'as the presiding genius there is the greatest accompanist in the world.' Moore would therefore have been interested that, when in 2006 Gramophone magazine invited eminent present-day accompanists to name their 'professional's professional', the joint winners were Britten and Moore himself.
Moore was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) in 1954. He died in Penn, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
in 1987.