Evelyn Suart, Lady Harcourt (30 April 188126 October 1950) was an English pianist. She was born in 1881 in Sindapore,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, the daughter of Brigadier-General W. H. Suart,Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-45
at unithistories.com, accessed 3 April 2018 and she spent some of her early childhood there. She also lived for periods in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

and England.Harcourt Articles 2 Lady Evelyn Harcourt, nee Suart - Information Provided by Rebekah Coombs: A Talented Concert Pianist who pioneered modern music.
at members.iinet.net.au, accessed 3 April 2018 Her piano studies were with Storck in Brussels,

Raoul Pugno Stéphane Raoul Pugno (23 June 1852) was a French composer, teacher, organist, and pianist known for his playing of Mozart's works. Biography Raoul Pugno was born in Paris and was of Italian origin. He made his debut at the age of six, and with t ...

in Paris and

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky, pl, Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915 was an Austrian-Polish pianist, professor, and composer born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of ...

in Vienna. She made six tours and appeared in Vienna, Brussels, London, and with the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

Philharmonic Orchestras. In London she often played at the St. James's Hall, under conductors such as Hans Richter and Sir Henry J. Wood, and appeared with violinists of the calibre of

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysa ...

and Karel Halíř, and other artists. Her British premieres included the original version of

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

's 1st Piano Concerto (under Wood, 4 October 1900),

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Leipzig University Church, as a professor a ...

's Violin Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp minor (with Halíř), and pieces by

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

H. Balfour Gardiner Henry Balfour Gardiner (7 November 1877 – 28 June 1950) was a British musician, composer, and teacher. He was born at Kensington (London), began to play at the age of 5 and to compose at 9. Between his conventional education at Charterhouse ...

, and most particularly

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

. She met Scott in 1902 and soon became his champion, frequently playing his works, and introducing him to his publisher, Elkin.Leslie De’Ath, Cyril Scott as Composer, Pianist and Author
at musicweb-international.com, accessed 3 April 2018 Scott dedicated his Scherzo, Op. 25, to her. She was also a

Christian Scientist Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally known ...

, and interested in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

. It was through her that Cyril Scott began his lifelong interest in such matters. Evelyn Suart was a President of the Society of Women Musicians. She died in London in 1950.

Private life

In 1910, Evelyn Suart married Gerald Gould, an Irish-born civil servant with the Foreign Office, who died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...

in 1916. They had one son (also named Gerald Gould) and two daughters. The elder daughter Diana Gould became a noted ballerina and was the second wife of

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

. The younger, Griselda, became the second wife of the pianist

Louis Kentner Louis Philip Kentner (19 July 190523 September 1987) was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. Life and career He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian S ...

. Evelyn Suart had no time for her children, and had so little understanding of the world that Diana found it hard to imagine how she and her siblings had been conceived. She told Griselda, "Don't think of her as a mother, think of her as a fascinating woman".Sydney Morning Herald, She chose to be a great fiddler’s moll (Lady (Diana) Menuhin, Ballerina 1912-2003)
at smh.com.au, accessed 3 April 2018 In 1920 she married a second time, to a naval officer,

Cecil Harcourt Admiral Sir Cecil Halliday Jepson Harcourt (translated to Chinese as zh , t= 夏慤 , j=haa6 kok3 , labels=no; 11 April 1892 – 19 December 1959) was a British naval officer. He was the ''de facto'' governor of Hong Kong as commander-in-chie ...

. He had a prominent career, rising to the rank of admiral in 1949. He was Head of the Military Government of Hong Kong in 1945–46, and became

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

in 1948. He was knighted on 18 December 1945, and Evelyn Suart became Lady Harcourt.

References

Sources

* Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954 {{DEFAULTSORT:Suart, Evelyn 1881 births 1950 deaths English classical pianists British people in colonial India 20th-century classical pianists Pupils of Theodor Leschetizky