Helen Pyke (June, 1905 – 13 July 1954) (full name Helen Lucas Pyke) was an English pianist, teacher and composer, born in Paddington, London. She was educated at the London Academy of Music under Yorke Trotter and Horace Kesteven. She composed songs, including ''A Requiem - When I am dead my dearest'' (setting

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

), and ''April'' (text

William Watson William, Willie, Bill or Billy Watson may refer to: Entertainment * William Watson (songwriter) (1794–1840), English concert hall singer and songwriter * William Watson (poet) (1858–1935), English poet * Billy Watson (actor) (1923–2022), A ...

), both published in 1948, and educational piano pieces such as 'Song of the Kinkajou' (originally from the piano suite for children ''Five Zoo Pictures'', 1929). In the mid-1930s, she was living at Studio 4, 59 Edwardes Square, London W.8. As a pianist, she specialised in piano duet performances, initially with Paul Hamburger. They premiered Alan Rawsthorne's ''The Creel'' in 1940, and the ''Fantasia on The Irish Ho-Hoane'', Op.13 by

Bernard Stevens Bernard (George) Stevens (2 March 1916 – 6 January 1983) was a British composer. Life Born in London, Stevens studied English and Music at St John's College, Cambridge with E. J. Dent and Cyril Rootham, then at the Royal College of Mus ...

in 1949.

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music ...

dedicated his Concerto for Piano Duet and Strings, op. 32 to Pyke and Hamburger, who gave its first performance in August 1951, and again at the

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 ...

in 1953. Just before her death in 1954 Pyke also partnered for piano duets with Maurice Cole. Between the wars she worked for

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

, the Arts Council and the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

. She married the musicologist Mosco Carner in 1944. He dedicated his 1958 book ''Puccini: a Critical Biography'' to the memory of his wife.Brook, Donald, ''Conductors' Gallery: Biographical sketches of well-known orchestral conductors'', Rockliff, 1947

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyke, Helen 1905 births 1954 deaths 20th-century British pianists English classical pianists Women classical pianists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century English musicians 20th-century English women musicians 20th-century women composers 20th-century women pianists