Emily Shinner (7 July 1862 – 17 July 1901) was an English concert violinist and academic, and founder of a
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 ...
.
Life
She was born in
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
in 1862. Her father, Arthur Shinner, was head of the Cheltenham Original Brewery and an amateur musician; he supported her musical education. From the age of seven she had music lessons; she was a student at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
, and in 1874 went to Berlin and studied with Heinrich Jacobsen, a pupil of
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...
. She later studied with Joachim, the first woman to do so."Shinner, Emily" Sophie Drinker Institut. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
.
Shinner's debut in London after completing her studies was in 1882 at Kensington Town Hall, playing the Violin Sonata No. 1 by Brahms and other works. A critic wrote: "Her playing, besides being perfect in every technical respect, is marked by an extraordinary degree of intelligence and true artistic refinement" (''
The Pall Mall Gazette
''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed int ...
'', 12 June 1882).
In February 1884 she replaced Wilma Norman-Neruda, who was unwell, in a quartet in a Saturday "Pops" Concert in
St James's Hall
St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, ...
; the event was successful, and made her well known to the public. She appeared in London at
the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...
,
Prince's Hall
Prince's Hall was a concert venue in Piccadilly, London.
It was part of the premises of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, at 190–195 Piccadilly, situated behind the galleries where annual exhibitions of the Institute took plac ...
and
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...
, and gave concerts in other cities in England.
String quartet
She taught violin in the Ladies' Department of
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
. With colleagues from King's College, she founded a string quartet in 1886. ''The Musical World'' reported in 1887 (page 277): "A novelty unique of its kind in London, and probably elsewhere, has added a new phase to our musical life in the form of a string quartet composed entirely of ladies." A critic wrote in 1889: "The 'Shinner Quartet' are ambitious; their repertoire appears to include the most modern as well as the standard works of the great masters" (''The Musical Standard'' 1889 I, page 335). The quartet performed in London and elsewhere in England. In June 1897 Shinner handed over the leadership of the quartet to
Gabriele Wietrowetz
Gabriele Wietrowetz (or Wietrowitz; 13 January 1866 – 6 April 1937) was an Austrian concert violinist and academic. She appeared in many countries in Europe, and led a string quartet in England.
Life
Wietrowetz was born in Ljubljana, daughter of ...
.
Family
Shinner married in 1888 Captain Augustus Frederick Liddell. They had three sons: Cecil Frederick Joseph Liddell (1890–1952), David Edward Liddell (1891–1961) and Guy Maynard Liddell (1892–1958).