James Friskin

James Friskin (3 March 1886, in Glasgow – 16 March 1967, in New York City) was a Scottish-born pianist, composer and music teacher who relocated to the United States in 1914.

Biography

Friskin studied in Glasgow with local organist Alfred Heap, and from 1900—at the precocious age of 14—at the Royal College of Music under Edward Dannreuther for piano and (from 1905) Charles Villiers Stanford for composition. He completed his Piano Quintet in 1907 at age 21; published by Stainer & Bell, Thomas Dunhill assessed it as "one of the most brilliant op.1's in existence". After completing his studies, from 1909 to 1914 Friskin taught at the Royal Normal College for the Blind. In 1914 he emigrated to the United States, where, at the invitation of Frank Damrosch, he became a founding teacher of the Institute of Musical Arts, forerunner of the Juilliard School of Music. He taught at Juilliard until his death.

While still at the Royal College, Friskin met composer and violist Rebecca Clarke (18861979). Friskin and Clarke, along with George Butterworth, formed a small choir to explore the works of Palestrina, asking Vaughan Williams to direct them, whose 1912 ''Elegy'' for viola and piano might have been written with Clarke in mind. Over 30 years later, Frisking and Clarke were married in New York City (on 23 September 1944), both aged 58, after a chance reunion.

In 1925, Friskin was the first pianist to perform J. S. Bach's ''Goldberg Variations'' in the United States; and in 1934 he performed both books of Bach's ''Well-Tempered Clavier'' in two New York recitals. He eventually recorded the ''Goldberg Variations'' in 1956, a year after Glenn Gould's celebrated recording. Friskin's obituarist in ''The New York Times'' wrote, "He became known as a Bach specialist long before others began specializing in baroque composers . . . He doesn't exaggerate or distort the music and plays Bach in a way that goes to the heart of the music. Friskin was not pedantic in his approach to Bach. Nor was he overly Romantic, an accusation that has been levelled at some of his more famous contemporaries."

Friskin's early promise as a composer was limited by his activities as a teacher and performer and he appears to have given up composing soon after his move to the United States. The early Piano Quintet was followed by a series of ''Phantasie'' chamber works written for the Cobbett chamber music competitions, including a piano trio,''English Piano Trios: Bridge, Friskin, Ireland, Moeran''. BMS 418CD (2007) a string quartet and another piano quintet. The Piano Sonata, perhaps his last major work, dates from 1915. Friskin returned to London to perform it at the Wigmore Hall in November, 1920. There was also a handful of orchestral works, including a Piano Concerto which remained in manuscript and which has apparently been lost.

Compositions

Friskin's compositions include:

* ''Ballade'' in C major for piano
* Cello Sonata in F major
* Concert Overture
* ''Elegy'' for viola (or clarinet) and piano (1912)
* ''Impromptu'' for cello and piano
* ''Nocturne'' in E flat for piano
* ''Phantasy'' for string quartet, winner of a Cobbett Prize in 1906
* ''Phantasy'' for piano trio in E minor
* ''Phantasy Quintet'' (for piano, 2 violins, viola and cello) (1910 or 1912)
* Piano Concerto
* Piano Quartet in G minor
* Piano Quintet in C minor, op 1 (1907)
* Romance for cello and piano
* Romance for violin and piano
* Scherzo for cello and piano
* Sonata for piano in A minor
* Suite in D minor
* Three Pieces for piano
* Three Sacred Motets for unaccompanied five-part chorus
* Violin Sonata in G major

Publications

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References

External links

Wellington, Christopher (2011). Notes to CD Nimbus 6182
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Friskin, James
1886 births
Musicians from Glasgow
1967 deaths
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
Scottish classical composers
British male classical composers
Scottish classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Juilliard School faculty
20th-century Scottish musicians
British male pianists
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century British male musicians
British emigrants to the United States