Florence Hooton (8 July 1912 – 14 May 1988) was an English cellist. She was born in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, the daughter of a cellist, and studied 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 ...

under Douglas Cameron, then in Zurich with

Emanuel Feuermann Emanuel Feuermann (November 22, 1902 – May 25, 1942) was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century. Life Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to ...

.Palmer, Russell. ''British Music'' (1947), p. 127-8 Her debut recital was in 1934 at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

and her

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

debut a year later, playing Beethoven's Triple Concerto. During the 1930s she was a member of the Grinke Trio (with violinist Frederick Grinke and pianist Dorothy Manley) and the New English String Quartet. She later formed the Loveridge-Martin-Hooton Trio with pianist

Iris Loveridge Iris Gwendolyne M. Loveridge (10 April 1917 – 6 November 2000) was an English classical pianist. Born in West Ham, Essex, she attended the Royal College of Music, and later the Royal Academy. She specialised in British contemporary music, incl ...

and her husband, the violinist David Martin. It was active between 1956 and 1976. Hooton became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in 1964 and also gave private lessons in Suffolk and Sheffield.Biographical Note, ''MusicWeb International''
/ref> The Academy holds a portrait of her by Wilfrid Gabriel de Glehn, painted in 1936. It is hanging in the Duke's Hall. Her premiere performances included: *

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about m ...

's Divertimento for unaccompanied Cello (1934) which Jacob dedicated to her. *

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845-1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a m ...

's ''Oration'' on 18 January 1936, after the work had been turned down by

Felix Salmond Felix Adrian Norman Salmond (19 November 188820 February 1952) was an English cellist and cello teacher who achieved success in the UK and the US. Early life and career Salmond was born to a family of professional musicians. His father Norman Sa ...

and by

Guilhermina Suggia Guilhermina Augusta Xavier de Medim Suggia Carteado Mena, known as Guilhermina Suggia, (27 June 1885 – 30 July 1950) was a Portuguese cellist. She studied in Paris, France with Pablo Casals, and built an international reputation. She spent man ...

; * William Busch's Cello Concerto on 13 August 1943 at the Proms. *

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

's ''Legend-Sonata'' in F sharp minor for cello and piano (with

Harriet Cohen Harriet(t) may refer to: * Harriet (name), a female name ''(includes list of people with the name)'' Places *Harriet, Queensland, rural locality in Australia * Harriet, Arkansas, unincorporated community in the United States * Harriett, Texas, ...

) premiered in 1943. The work is dedicated to her. * Gordon Jacob's Cello Concerto at the Royal Albert Hall in 1955 *

Kenneth Leighton Kenneth Leighton (2 October 1929 – 24 August 1988) was a British composer and pianist. His compositions include church and choral music, pieces for piano, organ, cello, oboe and other instruments, chamber music, concertos, ...

's Cello Concerto at the Cheltenham Festival in 1956. *

Alan Bush Alan Dudley Bush (22 December 1900 – 31 October 1995) was a British composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and political activist. A committed communist, his uncompromising political beliefs were often reflected in his music. He composed pro ...

's ''Concert Suite'' at the Royal Albert Hall in 1956. *

Helen Perkin Helen Craddock Perkin (25 February 1909 – 19 October 1996) was a pianist and composer, best known today for her association with John Ireland (composer), John Ireland during the 1920s and 1930s.Richards, Fiona. 'Helen Perkin: Pianist, Composer a ...

's Cello Sonata in Eb in 1957 with the composer at the piano. Hooton recorded with

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

from the late 1930s and was a frequent broadcaster. Her last public performance was in 1978. In 1981 she commissioned Gordon Jacob to write a Cello Octet for her students at the Royal Academy. She was appointed OBE in 1982. Following her death the Academy established the annual David Martin/Florence Hooton Concerto Prize in her memory. Hooton married David Martin in 1938. They lived in

Ickenham Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the eastern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon. While no major historical events have taken place in Ickenham, settlements dating back to the Roman occupation of Britain ...

in Middlesex at 34, Thornhill Road, and later at 345 Stag Lane, London NW9. There were two daughters. Martin died in 1982.David Martin obituary, ''The Times'', 24 February 1982

External links

Notes to Lyrita CD REAM.2104, ''Florence Hooton Plays Bax & Jacob Cello Works''

Portrait of Florence Hooton by Wilfrid Gabriel de Glehn

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooton, Florence 1912 births 1988 deaths British classical cellists 20th-century classical musicians Musicians from Scarborough, North Yorkshire 20th-century cellists