Marmaduke Barton FRCM (29 December 186524 July 1938) was an English pianist, composer and teacher at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

for almost 50 years.

Career

Marmaduke Miller Barton was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, the son of a

United Methodist Free Church United Methodist Free Churches, sometimes called Free Methodists, was an English nonconformist community in the last half of the 19th century. It was formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association (which had in 1836 largely absorbed ...

minister, the Rev Samuel Saxon Barton.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. (1954), Vol. I, p. 476 He was educated at the

(RCM) in London under one of the first 50 scholarships. His teachers were John Francis Barnett (piano) and Sir

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

. On 2 July 1884 he opened the very first concert ever given by students of the RCM, in the West Theatre of the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, with a performance of Chopin's Ballade No. 3 in A-flat.cph.rcm
He met

Hamish MacCunn Hamish MacCunn, ''né'' James MacCunn (22 March 18682 August 1916) was a Scottish composer, conductor and teacher. He was one of the first students of the newly-founded Royal College of Music in London, and quickly made a mark. As a composer he ...

at this time and the two became lifelong friends.Alasdair Jamieson, ''The Music of Hamish MacCunn: A Critical Study'', vol. 1
Etheses.dur.ac.uk He made piano duet arrangements of two of MacCunn's orchestral works, and some smaller works were dedicated to him. He and MacCunn played piano duets in some student concerts. Barton was the inaugural winner of the

Hopkinson Gold Medal Hopkinson is a surname of English and Welsh origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Abdur Rahman Slade Hopkinson (born 1934), West Indian writer * Alfred Hopkinson (18511939), British politician * Alister Hopkinson (194199), New Zealan ...

for piano performance at the RCM. He was the soloist at the premiere performance of Charles Wood's Piano Concerto. In 1887 he played before

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

in a concert celebrating her Golden Jubilee. On 20 December 1887, he participated in the first English performance of

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

's ''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

'', at the Princes' Hall, under Sir

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...

. In 1888 he was awarded a travelling scholarship, enabling him to study with the

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

pupil

Bernhard Stavenhagen Bernhard Stavenhagen (24 November 1862 – 25 December 1914) was a German pianist, composer and conductor. His musical style was influenced by Franz Liszt, and as a conductor he was a strong advocate of new music. Biography Born in Greiz, he com ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. He was appointed to the teaching staff of the RCM on his return in 1889, while continuing his career as a solo performer. In February 1891 he played

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

' Piano Concerto No. 2 under Sir

August Manns Sir August Friedrich Manns (12 March 1825 – 1 March 1907) was a German-born British conductor who made his career in England. After serving as a military bandmaster in Germany, he moved to England and soon became director of music at London' ...

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

, and also appeared at the Albert Hall,

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 ...

(he played the

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Piano Concerto in A minor The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and is among the most popular of the genre. Structure The concerto is in three movements: ...

on 11 October 1911 under Sir

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hund ...

), and in the provinces. He gave frequent solo recitals in London, and he toured South Africa and the Netherlands. Of his playing of the Schumann Piano Concerto in 1910,

Ernest Newman Ernest Newman (30 November 1868 – 7 July 1959) was an English music critic and musicologist. ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century." His ...

wrote:

A more superb performance of Schumann's Concerto it would be hard to imagine. When we get a piece of playing so thoroughly splendid in every quality of technique and brain and temperament, there is no room for any feeling but one of thankfulness.

Barton taught at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

from 1911, and regularly acted as Examiner for the

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualification ...

. He published a small number of compositions, including a Mass in A major"Mr. Marmaduke Barton"
obituary, ''

Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly newspaper and starting December 2014 a magazine, published in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and, formerly, the United States. It reports a total circulation of abo ...

'', 29 July 1938] and some piano pieces. His students included: Marion Scott (musicologist), Marion Scott,

Cyril Rootham Cyril Bradley Rootham (5 October 1875 – 18 March 1938) was an English composer, educator and organist. His work at Cambridge University made him an influential figure in English music life. A Fellow of St John's College, where he was also or ...

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and imp ...

Lloyd Powell Lloyd Powell (22 August 188825 March 1975) was an English, later Canadian pianist and teacher. Career Lloyd Ioan Powell was born in Ironbridge, Shropshire in 1888.''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 5th ed (1954), Vol. VI, p. 901 His p ...

Henry Ley Henry George Ley (30 December 188724 August 1962) was an English organist, composer and music teacher.Anna Russell Anna Russell (born Anna Claudia Russell-Brown; 27 December 191118 October 2006) was an English–Canadian singer and comedian. She gave many concerts in which she sang and played comic musical sketches on the piano. Among her best-known works a ...

(presumably no relation to his wife).

Legacy

The Marmaduke Barton Prize for Pianoforte Playing is awarded by the RCM. Recipients include

David Helfgott David Helfgott (born 19 May 1947) is an Australian concert pianist whose life inspired the Academy Award-winning film '' Shine'', in which he was portrayed by actors Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor and Alex Rafalowicz. Biography Early life Helfgot ...

and

Marianna Prjevalskaya Marianna Prjevalskaya (born 1982 in Chişinău) is a Russian concert pianist and a naturalized Spanish citizen, having settled in A Coruña in 1992. Education Born to a musical family, Prjevalskaya benefited from early lessons with her mother, ...

Personal life

In 1891 he married Anna Russell, one of his co-students at the RCM, a pupil of

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and a ...

and Sir

George Henschel Sir Isidor George Henschel (18 February 185010 September 1934) was a German-born British baritone, pianist, conductor, and composer. His first wife Lillian was also a singer. He was the first conductor of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra ...

. She had sung Agathe in the college's production of ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

''. He became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

soon afterwards.

Death

Barton died in 1938, aged 72, survived by his widow, a daughter and three sons. He was buried at

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery St Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located on Harrow Road, Kensal Green in London, England. It has its own Catholic chapel. History Established in 1858, the site was built next door to Kensal Green Cemetery. It is the final resting place for mo ...

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Marmaduke 1865 births 1938 deaths English classical pianists Male classical pianists English composers Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Piano pedagogues Musicians from Manchester Converts to Roman Catholicism from Methodism English Roman Catholics 19th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics Burials at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green