Ethel Hobday, ''née'' Sharpe (28 November 1872, Dublin – 10 July 1947,

Tankerton Tankerton (formerly Tankerton-on-Sea) is a suburb of Whitstable in Kent in south-east England. It was designed in the late 19th century as the train network brought holidaymakers to the sea. It gives its name to a ward of Canterbury City Counci ...

) was an Irish pianist, who became famous in

chamber-music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

recitals especially in England, and was married to the violist

Alfred Charles Hobday Alfred Charles Hobday (19 April 1870 in Faversham – 23 February 1942 in Tankerton) was an English viola player who made his career in England. He was the elder brother of the double-bass player Claude Hobday.Mr. Claude Hobday", ''The Times'', ...

. Ethel Sharpe was a pupil at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She then went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London, under Franklin Taylor. She gave her first recital in the

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 ...

, London in November 1891. She received the silver medal of the

Musicians' Company The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

. In 1894 she gave a recital in Vienna, but reappeared in London in 1895. Following marriage to Alfred Hobday, she became known as Ethel Hobday, and took part in early recordings of full-length chamber-works ( Brahms and Elgar Quintets) with the London Quartet and the

Spencer Dyke Quartet The Spencer Dyke Quartet was a string quartet active in England through the 1920s. It was formed in 1918 and its personnel remained unchanged until August 1927 when Bernard Shore became the violist and Tate Gilder the second violin. It is best reme ...

. She is the accompanist to violinist Albert Sammons and violist Lionel Tertis in many early recordings. Alfred Hobday died in 1942. Ethel Hobday died 10 July 1947."Mrs. Alfred Hobday", ''The Times'', 16 July 1947, p. 6

References

*A. Eaglefield-Hull, ''A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians'' (Dent, London 1924). Musicians from Dublin (city) 1872 births 1947 deaths Alumni of the Royal Irish Academy of Music Irish women pianists 19th-century Irish pianists 20th-century Irish pianists {{pianist-stub