Winifred May Copperwheat (10 October 1905 – 23 February 1976) was an English classical viola player and teacher.[2]
Winifred Copperwheat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Winifred May Copperwheat 10 October 1905 |
| Died | 23 February 1976 (aged 70)[1] Hounslow, London, England |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Performer and teacher |
| Instrument | Viola |
| Formerly of | Zorian Quartet |
In 1921 she was awarded the Dove Scholarship to study violin at the Royal Academy of Music with Spencer Dyke. At the RAM she was encouraged by the principal, Sir John Blackwood McEwen to concentrate on the viola, which she then studied with Lionel Tertis. Tertis later said after one of her recitals, that she had "played like an angel".[3]
As soloist, she gave the premiere performance of several works, including:
- Theodore Holland, Ellingham Marshes for viola and orchestra; with the London Symphony Orchestra under Henry Wood at The Proms in 1940[4]
- Theodore Holland, a composition for viola and piano; with Iris Greep, 1941[Note 1][5]
- Priaulx Rainier, Viola Sonata; with Antony Hopkins (piano) at the National Gallery, London in 1946[6]
- Frank Stiles, Four Pieces for Solo Viola (1959), composed for her[7]
- Frank Stiles, Viola Concerto No. 1, composed for and dedicated to her (1955, first performance 1962) [3]
- David Wynne, Sonata for Viola and Piano (1951); 1st Performance: Macnaghten Concerts (1955) with Hans Redlich (piano).[8]
She played in several chamber music combinations; including the Zorian String Quartet, of which she was a founding member.[9] She participated in several premiere performances and recordings by the Zorian Quartet.
She was Professor of Viola at the Royal Academy of Music from 1940 until her death in 1976.[10] In 1971, she pointed out to musicologist and violist Martin Jarvis, one of her students, some problems with the published editions of the Bach cello suites. That observation eventually led to his hypothesis that they had been composed by Anna Magdalena Bach and not, as commonly supposed, by her husband Johann Sebastian Bach.[11]
She wrote a book for beginners viola students, The First-Year Viola Method.[12]
Her name is inscribed in the Book of Remembrance in the Musicians' Chapel at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London.[13]
Notes
edit- ↑ This may have been Holland's Suite in D for viola and piano (1938).
References
edit- ↑ "Miss Winifred Copperwheat". The Times. 26 February 1976. p. 16.
- ↑ "Copperwheat, Winifred, 1905–1976". Reid Concerts. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- 1 2 Fisher, David. "Frank Stiles: 90th Birthday Celebration!". composersalliance.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ "Prom 05". BBC. 15 August 1940. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ↑ Wilson, Elizabeth (7 March 1999). Jacqueline Du Pre: Her Life, Her Music, Her Legend. Arcade Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-1559704908. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ "Sonata for viola and piano". The National Archives. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ Wright, Dr David C. F. "Frank Stiles" (PDF). Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ Jones, Richard Elfyn (1979). David Wynne. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 69.
- ↑ "BBC Home Service". BBC. 27 July 1942. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ White, John (1997). An Anthology of British Viola Players. Colne, Lancashire: Comus Edition. p. 65. ISBN 095310690X.
- ↑ Jarvis, Prof. Martin (March 2013). "Who wrote Bach's music?". Allegro. 113 (3). Associated Musicians of Greater New York. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ Copperwheat, Winifred (1960). The First-Year Viola Method. W. Paxton & Co. ASIN B00KWXQ4SC. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ↑ "Winifred Copperwheat: 1976, Violist". Retrieved 18 March 2016.