Charles Edward Stephens (1821–1892) was an English musician and composer.

Life

He was born in London at 12 Portman Place (now part of

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...

) on 18 March 1821, and was nephew to the singer

Catherine Stephens Catherine Stephens, Countess of Essex (18 September 1794 – 22 February 1882) was an English operatic singer and actress, once known as Kitty Stephens. Early life Stephens was the daughter of Edward Stephens, a carver and gilder in Park Str ...

. He studied the piano and violin under J. M. Rost, Cipriani Potter, F. Smith, and Henry Blagrove, and theory under

James Alexander Hamilton James Alexander Hamilton (April 14, 1788 – September 24, 1878) was an American soldier, acting Secretary of State, and the third son of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He entered politics as a Democrat ...

. After school, Stephens was organist successively to St Mark's, Myddelton Square; Holy Trinity, Paddington;

St John's, Hampstead St John-at-Hampstead is a Church of England parish church dedicated to St John the Evangelist (though the original dedication was only refined from St John to this in 1917 by the Bishop of London) in Church Row, Hampstead, London. History Ha ...

;

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...

; and St Saviour's, Paddington, where he resigned in 1875. He died in London on 13 July 1892 and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

. He was a fellow or member of many of the English musical institutions, being an original member of the

Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and sp ...

in 1874.

Works

Stephens wrote numerous compositions. They included a symphony in G minor, played at the Philharmonic in 1891, and piano and chamber music. In 1880 he gained both the first and second prizes for

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s offered by

Trinity College, London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Charles Edward 1821 births 1892 deaths Musicians from London English composers People from Marylebone Associates of the Royal College of Organists