Lindley Evans CMG (18 November 18952 December 1982) was a

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

-born Australian composer, pianist and teacher. He is best known for his collaboration with Frank Hutchens in a famous piano duet, which lasted 41 years, and as the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's " Mr Melody Man" for 30 years.

Biography

Harry Lindley Evans was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, Cape Colony in 1895, to British parents. He had already become an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and chorister before moving to Sydney at the age of 17. He studied at the

New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

to advance his keyboard technique with Frank Hutchens. He also taught piano privately. He later studied with

Tobias Matthay Tobias Augustus Matthay (19 February 185815 December 1945) was an English pianist, teacher, and composer. Biography Matthay was born in Clapham, Surrey, in 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and eventually became naturalised Brit ...

in London.

Musical career

Evans developed as an accompanist, playing with the

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

John Lemmone John Lemmone (22 June 1861 – 16 August 1949; also seen as John Lemmoné) was an Australian flute player and composer who was largely self-taught and who at the age of 12, paid for his first flute with gold he had panned himself on the goldfiel ...

and the opera singer Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century, ...

on her tours of England and Australia, from 1922 until her death in 1931. He always played from memory. From 1920 to 1929, Evans also taught at a private girls' school. He later adapted his lectures in music appreciation as scripts for an ABC radio program called ''Adventures in Music''. In the 1920s he joined Frank Hutchens in a two-piano partnership, which lasted from 1924 until Hutchens' death in 1965. They performed standard piano duet works as well as some of their own compositions, all played from memory. He and Hutchens included the young and then unknown

Joan Hammond Dame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond, (24 May 191226 November 1996) was an Australian operatic soprano, singing coach and champion golfer. Early life Joan Hilda Hood Hammond was born and baptised in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her father, Samuel Hood, w ...

on one of their tours to Melbourne, Adelaide and Tasmania, over the ABC's misgivings. Evans joined the Conservatorium in 1928 as a teacher. Colleagues included the pianist and composer

Isador Goodman Isador Goodman AM (27 May 19092 December 1982), frequently misspelled Isidor Goodman, was a South African-Australian Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. He became a household name in Australia in the 1930s-1970s, taught at the New South Wal ...

, who was also from Cape Town, and they became firm friends. Evans taught at the school for 40 years. From 1930 to 1946 Evans was a visiting teacher at MLC School, Burwood. He wrote a small amount of solo piano music, but his only substantial piano piece is ''Rhapsody.'' The other works are considered light pieces (''Vignette: Fragrance'', ''Lavender Time'', ''Berceuse (For a Sleeping Sand Baby)'') and competition/examination pieces (''Tally-Ho!'', ''Merry Thought''). He also wrote songs and choral works. His song "Australia Happy Isle", with lyrics by

Jessie Street Jessie Mary Grey, Lady Street (née Lillingston; 18 April 1889 – 2 July 1970) was an Australian diplomat, suffragette and campaigner for Indigenous Australian rights, dubbed "Red Jessie" by the media. As Australia's only female delegate to th ...

, won the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

n sesquicentennial prize in 1934. One of his best known works was ''Idyll'' for two pianos and orchestra, which was premiered in the

Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...

on 4 September 1943 with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

under

Edgar Bainton Edgar Leslie Bainton (14 February 18808 December 1956) was a British-born, latterly Australian-resident composer. He is remembered today mainly for his liturgical anthem ''And I saw a new heaven'', a popular work in the repertoire of Anglican ch ...

, along with the premiere of Hutchens' ''Fantasy Concerto''. Evans wrote some film scores for the developing movie industry: for Charles Chauvel's ''Uncivilised'' (1936), ''

Forty Thousand Horsemen ''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' (aka ''40,000 Horsemen'') is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse (mounted rifleman as distinct from cavalry) which operated in the desert at t ...

'' (1940) with

Willy Redstone Willy (or Willie) Redstone (24 September 1883 – 30 September 1949) was a French composer and conductor of light music who had a substantial career in England and Australia, where he became music editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ...

and

Alfred Hill Alfred Hill may refer to: * Alfred John Hill (1862–1927), British railway engineer * Alfred Hill (cricketer, born 1865) (1865–1936), English cricketer * Alfred Hill (politician) (1867–1945), British Member of Parliament for Leicester West 19 ...

, ''

The Rats of Tobruk The Rats of Tobruk were soldiers of the Australian-led Allied garrison that held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The siege started on 11 April 1941 and was relieved on 10 December. ...

'' (1944), and

Ken G. Hall Kenneth George Hall, AO, OBE (22 February 1901 – 8 February 1994), better known as Ken G. Hall, was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. ...

's ''Tall Timbers'' (1937). For thirty years from 1939, Lindley Evans was featured as "Mr Melody Man" in the ''ABC Children's Hour'' and the ''

Argonauts Club ''The Argonauts Club'' was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour as "Pat". The show was discontinued in 1934 when Ni ...

''. His interest in music for children led to involvement in the

National Music Camp Association The Australian Youth Orchestra (''AYO''), formerly Youth Music Australia, is an Australian organisation for young musicians. History The Australian Youth Orchestra has its origins in the music camps founded by John Bishop and Ruth Alexander i ...

as piano tutor, administrator, director and councillor. From 1957 he also worked with the

Australian Youth Orchestra The Australian Youth Orchestra (''AYO''), formerly Youth Music Australia, is an Australian organisation for young musicians. History The Australian Youth Orchestra has its origins in the summer camp, music camps founded by John Bishop (academi ...

. He frequently was an adjudicator at eisteddfods and an examiner for the

Australian Music Examinations Board The Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) is a federated, privately funded corporation which provides a program of examinations for music, speech and drama in Australia. The organisation had its beginnings at the Universities of Melbourne ...

. In 1958–1959 he had a TV series on ATN-7 titled '' Rendezvous with Lindley Evans''. Evans was a prominent member of Sydney's arts-based

Savage Club The Savage Club, founded in 1857, is a gentlemen's club in London, named after the poet, Richard Savage. Members are drawn from the fields of art, drama, law, literature, music or science. History The founding meeting of the Savage Club took ...

, serving a term as president. He died aged 87 on 2 December 1982, the same day as his long-time friend and colleague

. He was survived by his wife Marie; they had no children. His autobiography ''Hello, Mr Melody Man: Lindley Evans Remembers'', was published in 1983.

Legacy and honours

*1963, Lindley Evans was appointed a Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG).It's an Honour: CMG
Government of Australia

References

External links

ADB Online, Australian National University {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Lindley 1895 births 1982 deaths South African classical pianists South African composers South African male composers South African emigrants to Australia Australian classical pianists Australian music educators Australian accompanists Piano pedagogues Classical piano duos 20th-century classical composers Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian male classical composers Australian classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Australian musicians Male classical pianists 20th-century Australian male musicians