The Grimson family was a family of classical musicians active in London from the early 1870s.[1]
Advertisement from The Musical Times, multiple 1895 issues
Samuel Dean Grimson (1841 – 7 April 1922) was a violinist and viola player active in London orchestral and chamber music. He played with the Holmes Quartet and was the author of A First Book for the Violin, published in 1881 and (with Cecil Forsyth) Modern Violin Playing (1920). He married Maria Mary Anne Bonarius (1848 – 1896) and they lived in Ealing. A portrait of Grimson with his violin, painted in 1914 by Frank Brooks, is owned by the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain.[2]
All seven of his surviving children (an eighth, Dean, died as an infant) were musicians who were trained by their father and then went on to study at the Royal College of Music.[3] On January 21, 1896 at the Queen's (small) Hall, Grimson and his seven children performed Mendelssohn's Octet as a family.[4] The concert became an annual event for several years, with the family performing Gade's Octet in 1897[5] and Svendsen's Octet in 1898.[6]
Annie Maria Grimson (later Wallis) (4 September 1870 – 9 October 1949) studied piano and violin, and later became a pupil of Tobias Matthay. She composed orchestral and chamber music, some of which was performed at the South Place Concerts, Conway Hall.[7] She wrote a symphony (now thought lost) at the age of 17.[8] Other works include the Fidelité Waltz for full orchestra, the Nocturne for violin and piano (1892, published Augener & Co),[9] and the Canzona for violin and piano (1898, published C. Woodhouse). In the Summer of 1912 she married Joseph Wallis, a retired architect, aged 78, who died the following year.
Amy Jane Grimson (11 September 1872 – 23 January 1935) was a cellist and pianist who trained at the Royal College of Music from the age of 14, and later with Tobias Matthay. For a while she played with the Rev. E. H. Moberley's Ladies Orchestra,[10] and as a soloist.[8] She lived in Sunbury.
Jessie Grimson (later Mason) (26 November 1873 – 19 October 1954) won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in 1889, where she studied violin with August Wilhelmj, Henry Holmes and Richard Gompertz. She was one of the first women (along with Rebecca Clarke) to play in Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra. Her debut as a soloist took place at the Crystal Palace Concerts in 1896 where she performed Spohr's Violin Concerto in A Minor Op.47.[11] She formed the Grimson Quartet in which Frank Bridge played second violin after leaving college. (The Quartet put on the first performance of Bridge's Three Idylls in 1907).[12] Her husband Edward Mason, whom she married in 1905, was a cellist and also played with the quartet. (He was killed serving in the War on 9 May 1915).[13][14][15] She retired from performing in 1927 but continued to appear occasionally into the 1930s.[16] Like her older sisters Annie and Amy, she was long associated with music making at Conway Hall.[17] One of her pupils was Nona Liddell.[18][19]
Ellen Elizabeth Grimson (later Woodroffe) (1877 – 8 April 1941) was a concert pianist, sometimes referred to as Nellie Grimson. She was interested in Theosophy, and married the British orientalist John Woodroffe in 1902.[20][21]
Samuel Bonarius Grimson (7 January 1879 – 29 November 1955) was an orchestral (London Symphony Orchestra) and concert violinist who also composed several songs. His performing career was ended by injuries sustained while serving in Italy towards the end of the War. After the war he became a collector of art and musical instruments. Samuel Grimson moved to America, where he married twice: to sculptor and author Malvina Hoffman on 4 June 1924 (divorced 1936); and then to the psychoanalyst Bettina Warburg.[22] He forged a new career as a research scientist in colour cinema and television, and died in New York.[14]
Robert Alfred Grimson (22 February 1881 – 30 January 1953) trained at the Royal College of Music and later in Berlin. His was a cellist, violist and organist. He taught at the Basle Conservatory of Music, later returning to the UK, where he married Dorothy Astley Cottrell in 1927.
Harold Grimson (April-May 1882 – 1 December 1917), was a violinist who studied with Émile Sauret, Wilhelmj and Joachim. He was known professionally as Harold Bonarius, performing as a soloist and as leader of the Torquay Orchestra. He enlisted early in the War and was killed in action during the Battle of Cambrai on 1 December, 1917.[14]
Other 19th century musical familiesedit
Adolf Borsdorf, horn player, was the father of three horn playing sons, Oskar, Francis and Emil, who all became professionals. The younger Borsdorfs changed their surname to Bradley because of anti-German sentiment; Oskar became (as Oscar Bradley) a successful composer and conductor in America, and Francis stayed in London, retiring from the ENO orchestra in 1976.[23]
The Brains. Alfred Edwin Brain Sr. was a horn player. Two of his children, Alfred and Aubrey became great horn players. Aubrey married Marion Beeley, a singer at Covent Garden. His two sons were the world famous horn player Dennis Brain and Leonard Brain, an oboist.
The Carters. The brothers John Carter (1832-1916), George Carter (1835-1890), Henry Carter (1837-1901) and William Carter (1838-1917) were all organist composers, taught by their father who was organist at St Matthew's, Bethnal Green.[24]
The Chaplins. Sisters Eleanor Mary (or Nellie), pianist and harpsichordist; Kate Chaplin, violinist and player of the viola d'amore; and Mabel Chaplin, cellist and player of the viola da gamba formed the The Chaplin Trio, known for contributing to the revival of early music from 1889 until the late 1920s.
The Hambourgs. Pianist Michael Hambourg (1855–1916) was the father of the internationally famous pianist Mark Hambourg and his brothers Boris Hambourg (cello) and Jan Hambourg (violin). Mark Hambourg's uncle Alexander Hambourg was also a conductor[26] and his cousin Charles Hambourg (1895–1979) was a cellist and conductor.[27]
The Harrisons. Four sisters: May (violin), Beatrice (cello), Monica (mezzo-soprano) and Margaret (violin). Inspired by the many performances of Brahms' Double Concerto by May and Beatrice, Delius wrote his Double Concerto for the sisters, which they performed in 1920.[28]
The Lushingtons: Jane Lushington and her three daughters, Kitty, Margaret and Susan, the subject of a painting exhibited by Arthur Hughes in 1883, The Home Quartet: Mrs Vernon Lushington and her Children.[29][30]
The Mukles. May Mukle (1880-1963) was a cellist. Her father was a mechanical musical instrument maker. Her sisters Anne (pianist), Lillian (trumpet), Flora, Louisa, and Clara were also musicians.[31]
The Novellos. Vincent Novello and his wife, Mary Sabilla (née Hehl), had eleven children. His son Joseph Alfred Novello was a singer who established the music publisher Novello & Co and founded The Musical Times in 1844. Five of his daughters survived to adulthood, four of them became gifted singers. Clara Novello was a soprano, one of the best known vocalists in opera and oratorio, and on the concert stage, from 1833 onward.
The Simonsens of St. Kilda. French soprano Fanny Simonsen and her Danish husband, the violinist and conductor Martin Simonsen. In the wider family, active in Australia and New Zealand from 1865, there were 12 professional singers and three violinists, including the world famous lyric soprano Frances Alda.[32]
The Walenns. The scientist William Henry Walenn and his musical wife Skene Charlotte raised a family of 15, including many professional musicians. Herbert Walenn was a cellist and professor at the Royal Academy of Music; Charles Walenn was a singer; another son was an organist, and Gerald Walenn and Dorothea were violinists. Arthur Walenn, Dorothea Walenn, Herbert and Gerald formed the Walenn String Quartet in the 1890s.[33]
^'The Grimsons' Concert', in The Times, 17 February 1898, p.2
^The women musicians of Conway Hall's past, Conwayhall.org
^ abJames Duff Brown and Stephen Stratton. British Musical Biography (1897), pp. 174-5
^Recorded (in a version for cello and piano) by Alexandra Mackenzie and Ingrid Sawers on Beyond Twilight: Music For Cello & Piano By Female Composers, Delphian DCD34306 (2023)
^Percy Scholes. The Mirror of Music, Vol. 2, p. 732
^'Women Violinists of the Victorian Era', The Lady's Realm, February/March 1899
^Fountain, Katrina. 'In a Surrey Garden: The Story of the Harrison Sisters', Delius Society Journal No. 87 (1985): 3-12.
^Paula Gillett. Musical Women in England, 1870-1914 (2000), p. 101-2
^The Home Quartet: Mrs Vernon Lushington and her Children (1883), Meisterdrucke
^Margaret Campbell. The Great Cellists (1988), ch. 25, pp.200-209
^Neill, Roger. The Simonsens of St. Kilda – A Family of Singers (2003)
^By 1903 The Walenn Quartet included Gerald and Herbert alongside Herbert Kinze (violin) and James Lockyer (viola). Lionel Tertis later took over as violist.
External linksedit
The Grimson Family and the First World War, Western Front Association
The women musicians of Conway Hall's past, Conway Hall
January 01, 1970
grimson, musical, family, grimson, family, family, classical, musicians, active, london, from, early, 1870s, advertisement, from, musical, times, multiple, 1895, issues, samuel, dean, grimson, 1841, april, 1922, violinist, viola, player, active, london, orches. The Grimson family was a family of classical musicians active in London from the early 1870s 1 Advertisement from The Musical Times multiple 1895 issues Samuel Dean Grimson 1841 7 April 1922 was a violinist and viola player active in London orchestral and chamber music He played with the Holmes Quartet and was the author of A First Book for the Violin published in 1881 and with Cecil Forsyth Modern Violin Playing 1920 He married Maria Mary Anne Bonarius 1848 1896 and they lived in Ealing A portrait of Grimson with his violin painted in 1914 by Frank Brooks is owned by the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain 2 All seven of his surviving children an eighth Dean died as an infant were musicians who were trained by their father and then went on to study at the Royal College of Music 3 On January 21 1896 at the Queen s small Hall Grimson and his seven children performed Mendelssohn s Octet as a family 4 The concert became an annual event for several years with the family performing Gade s Octet in 1897 5 and Svendsen s Octet in 1898 6 Annie Maria Grimson later Wallis 4 September 1870 9 October 1949 studied piano and violin and later became a pupil of Tobias Matthay She composed orchestral and chamber music some of which was performed at the South Place Concerts Conway Hall 7 She wrote a symphony now thought lost at the age of 17 8 Other works include the Fidelite Waltz for full orchestra the Nocturne for violin and piano 1892 published Augener amp Co 9 and the Canzona for violin and piano 1898 published C Woodhouse In the Summer of 1912 she married Joseph Wallis a retired architect aged 78 who died the following year Amy Jane Grimson 11 September 1872 23 January 1935 was a cellist and pianist who trained at the Royal College of Music from the age of 14 and later with Tobias Matthay For a while she played with the Rev E H Moberley s Ladies Orchestra 10 and as a soloist 8 She lived in Sunbury Jessie Grimson later Mason 26 November 1873 19 October 1954 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in 1889 where she studied violin with August Wilhelmj Henry Holmes and Richard Gompertz She was one of the first women along with Rebecca Clarke to play in Henry Wood s Queen s Hall Orchestra Her debut as a soloist took place at the Crystal Palace Concerts in 1896 where she performed Spohr s Violin Concerto in A Minor Op 47 11 She formed the Grimson Quartet in which Frank Bridge played second violin after leaving college The Quartet put on the first performance of Bridge s Three Idylls in 1907 12 Her husband Edward Mason whom she married in 1905 was a cellist and also played with the quartet He was killed serving in the War on 9 May 1915 13 14 15 She retired from performing in 1927 but continued to appear occasionally into the 1930s 16 Like her older sisters Annie and Amy she was long associated with music making at Conway Hall 17 One of her pupils was Nona Liddell 18 19 Ellen Elizabeth Grimson later Woodroffe 1877 8 April 1941 was a concert pianist sometimes referred to as Nellie Grimson She was interested in Theosophy and married the British orientalist John Woodroffe in 1902 20 21 Samuel Bonarius Grimson 7 January 1879 29 November 1955 was an orchestral London Symphony Orchestra and concert violinist who also composed several songs His performing career was ended by injuries sustained while serving in Italy towards the end of the War After the war he became a collector of art and musical instruments Samuel Grimson moved to America where he married twice to sculptor and author Malvina Hoffman on 4 June 1924 divorced 1936 and then to the psychoanalyst Bettina Warburg 22 He forged a new career as a research scientist in colour cinema and television and died in New York 14 Robert Alfred Grimson 22 February 1881 30 January 1953 trained at the Royal College of Music and later in Berlin His was a cellist violist and organist He taught at the Basle Conservatory of Music later returning to the UK where he married Dorothy Astley Cottrell in 1927 Harold Grimson April May 1882 1 December 1917 was a violinist who studied with Emile Sauret Wilhelmj and Joachim He was known professionally as Harold Bonarius performing as a soloist and as leader of the Torquay Orchestra He enlisted early in the War and was killed in action during the Battle of Cambrai on 1 December 1917 14 Other 19th century musical families editAdolf Borsdorf horn player was the father of three horn playing sons Oskar Francis and Emil who all became professionals The younger Borsdorfs changed their surname to Bradley because of anti German sentiment Oskar became as Oscar Bradley a successful composer and conductor in America and Francis stayed in London retiring from the ENO orchestra in 1976 23 The Brains Alfred Edwin Brain Sr was a horn player Two of his children Alfred and Aubrey became great horn players Aubrey married Marion Beeley a singer at Covent Garden His two sons were the world famous horn player Dennis Brain and Leonard Brain an oboist The Carters The brothers John Carter 1832 1916 George Carter 1835 1890 Henry Carter 1837 1901 and William Carter 1838 1917 were all organist composers taught by their father who was organist at St Matthew s Bethnal Green 24 The Chaplins Sisters Eleanor Mary or Nellie pianist and harpsichordist Kate Chaplin violinist and player of the viola d amore and Mabel Chaplin cellist and player of the viola da gamba formed the The Chaplin Trio known for contributing to the revival of early music from 1889 until the late 1920s Eugene Goossens pere was the father of the conductor and violinist Eugene Goossens fils and grandfather of the conductor and composer Sir Eugene Goossens the harpists Marie and Sidonie Goossens the hotn player Adolphe Goossens and the oboist Leon Goossens 25 The Hambourgs Pianist Michael Hambourg 1855 1916 was the father of the internationally famous pianist Mark Hambourg and his brothers Boris Hambourg cello and Jan Hambourg violin Mark Hambourg s uncle Alexander Hambourg was also a conductor 26 and his cousin Charles Hambourg 1895 1979 was a cellist and conductor 27 The Harrisons Four sisters May violin Beatrice cello Monica mezzo soprano and Margaret violin Inspired by the many performances of Brahms Double Concerto by May and Beatrice Delius wrote his Double Concerto for the sisters which they performed in 1920 28 The Lushingtons Jane Lushington and her three daughters Kitty Margaret and Susan the subject of a painting exhibited by Arthur Hughes in 1883 The Home Quartet Mrs Vernon Lushington and her Children 29 30 The Mukles May Mukle 1880 1963 was a cellist Her father was a mechanical musical instrument maker Her sisters Anne pianist Lillian trumpet Flora Louisa and Clara were also musicians 31 The Novellos Vincent Novello and his wife Mary Sabilla nee Hehl had eleven children His son Joseph Alfred Novello was a singer who established the music publisher Novello amp Co and founded The Musical Times in 1844 Five of his daughters survived to adulthood four of them became gifted singers Clara Novello was a soprano one of the best known vocalists in opera and oratorio and on the concert stage from 1833 onward The Simonsens of St Kilda French soprano Fanny Simonsen and her Danish husband the violinist and conductor Martin Simonsen In the wider family active in Australia and New Zealand from 1865 there were 12 professional singers and three violinists including the world famous lyric soprano Frances Alda 32 The Walenns The scientist William Henry Walenn and his musical wife Skene Charlotte raised a family of 15 including many professional musicians Herbert Walenn was a cellist and professor at the Royal Academy of Music Charles Walenn was a singer another son was an organist and Gerald Walenn and Dorothea were violinists Arthur Walenn Dorothea Walenn Herbert and Gerald formed the Walenn String Quartet in the 1890s 33 References edit Samuel Dean Grimson Geni com Art uk Jessica Claire Beck The Women Musicians of South Place Ethical Society 1887 1927 Manchester Metropolitan University thesis 2018 The Grimson Concert in The Times 23 January 1896 p 15 The Musical Times Vol 38 No 649 March 1897 p 193 The Grimsons Concert in The Times 17 February 1898 p 2 The women musicians of Conway Hall s past Conwayhall org a b James Duff Brown and Stephen Stratton British Musical Biography 1897 pp 174 5 Recorded in a version for cello and piano by Alexandra Mackenzie and Ingrid Sawers on Beyond Twilight Music For Cello amp Piano By Female Composers Delphian DCD34306 2023 Percy Scholes The Mirror of Music Vol 2 p 732 Women Violinists of the Victorian Era The Lady s Realm February March 1899 The Times 7 March 1907 p 7 Second Lieutenant Edward Mason Imperial War Museum a b c The Grimson family and the First World War The Western Front Association Edward Mason obituary RCM Magazine No 11 3 Midsummer Term 1915 pp 82 85 Radio Times Issue 483 1 January 1933 p 18 Hughes Rosemary South Place A Home of Chamber Music in the Musical Times Vol 94 No 1320 February 1953 pp 61 64 Nona Liddell brilliant violinist obituary The Daily Telegraph 22 April 2017 Violinist Nona Liddell on studying with female orchestral pioneer Jessie Grimson in The Strad July 2007 Sir John George Woodroffe biography Titi Tudorancea Bulletin Taylor Kathleen Sir John Woodroffe Tantra and Bengal An Indian Soul in a European Body 2001 Ron Chernow The Warburgs The Twentieth Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family 2016 p 605 Johnson Jo The LSO in World War I The Sad Tale of Adolph Borsdorf London Symphony Orchestra Retrieved 30 October 2019 W B Henshaw Biographical Dictionary of Organists Composers for Organ and Organ Builders online 2003 2021 Rosen Carole The Goossens A Musical Century 1993 Musical Notes The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review 29 September 1910 p 6 Palmer Russell British Music 1947 p 117 Fountain Katrina In a Surrey Garden The Story of the Harrison Sisters Delius Society Journal No 87 1985 3 12 Paula Gillett Musical Women in England 1870 1914 2000 p 101 2 The Home Quartet Mrs Vernon Lushington and her Children 1883 Meisterdrucke Margaret Campbell The Great Cellists 1988 ch 25 pp 200 209 Neill Roger The Simonsens of St Kilda A Family of Singers 2003 By 1903 The Walenn Quartet included Gerald and Herbert alongside Herbert Kinze violin and James Lockyer viola Lionel Tertis later took over as violist External links editThe Grimson Family and the First World War Western Front Association The women musicians of Conway Hall s past Conway Hall Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Grimson musical family amp oldid 1221703028, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
