Maude Mary Puddy (27 March 1883 – 1 August 1974) was an Australian pianist and music educator.

Early life and education

Puddy was born in Brompton, South Australia on 27 March 1883. She was the third daughter of Cornish-born Jane (née Coombe) and Devon-born Albert Puddy. She was educated at the Currie Street Model School and then

Advanced School for Girls The Advanced School for Girls was a South Australian State school whose purpose was to prepare girls to qualify for entry to the University of Adelaide. Founded in 1879, the school merged with Adelaide High School in 1907. History From its ince ...

in Grote Street, Adelaide. From the age of eight she was taught piano by her father. In 1893, competing against girls of 15, she won the annual Public School Exhibition for piano. She performed a public concert in August 1894 and was praised for both her technique and "''con amore'' style of playing". She won the Public School Exhibition for piano again in 1894. She began lessons with

Gotthold Reimann Immanuel Gotthold Reimann RAM, CMB (13 January 1859 – 19 March 1932), generally known as I. G. Reimann or Gotthold Reimann, was a South Australian musician and teacher of music. He founded the Adelaide College of Music, which became the Elder C ...

at the Adelaide College of Music in 1895 and continued under his tuition when the college merged with the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is Australia's senior academy of music and is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder. Dating in ...

at the University of Adelaide. In 1898 Puddy received special mention by the examiners assessing the competitors for the Elder pianoforte scholarship. The following year she won that three-year scholarship. In 1900 she was awarded the first diploma of associate of music and in 1905 she graduated with a bachelor of music.

Career

In 1905 Puddy left Adelaide for Vienna, via Melbourne and London, with her eldest sister, Rosa. There she studied with

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 ...

, gave concerts and worked as a student teacher. Leschetizky said of her, "her notable talent has helped her not only to perform as a distinguished public piano player, but also to teach with an unusual measure of success". He further honoured her by dedicating Valse Prelude (op. 49, no. 2) to her. Puddy and Rosa moved to London in 1913 and stayed there for the duration of World War I. In addition to teaching and performing professionally, Puddy entertained Australian and other soldiers in camps and recovering in hospitals. In 1919 she was appointed by the University of Adelaide to fill Reimann's position as '' locum tenens''. Taking up the job in January 1920 she remained at the Elder Conservatorium until her retirement in 1949. She accompanied

Benno Moiseiwitsch Benno Moiseiwitsch CBE (22 February 18909 April 1963) was a Russian-born British pianist. Biography Moiseiwitsch was born to Jewish parents in Odessa, Russian Empire (today part of Ukraine), and began his studies at age seven with Dmitry Klimo ...

, playing the orchestral part of Tchaikowsky's 1st Piano Concerto to his solo at a concert in Adelaide in 1923 which was met by a "storm of applause". From 1928 she performed on radio

5CL Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

as a soloist, accompanist and as a member of the Elder Trio (Charles Schilsky and Harold Parsons). Puddy died on 1 August 1974 and was buried at Dudley Park Cemetery.

Legacy

Five years after her retirement, a scholarship was inaugurated to be awarded to a piano student at the Elder Conservatorium.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puddy, Maude Mary 1883 births 1974 deaths University of Adelaide alumni Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Australian classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists Australian women pianists Australian music educators Australian women music educators Musicians from Adelaide Women classical pianists Australian accompanists Australian people of Cornish descent People educated at the Advanced School for Girls Burials in South Australia Australian expatriates in Austria Australian expatriates in England