Peter Cropper (19 November 1945 – 29 May 2015) was a British violinist, leader of the

Lindsay Quartet The Lindsay String Quartet (or The Lindsays) was a British string quartet from 1965 to 2005. History The quartet first performed at the Royal Academy of Music in 1965 to compete for a prize and set out to make the string quartets of Bartók a ...

, and founding Artistic Director of

Music in the Round Music in the Round is a charitable organisation based in Sheffield, UK that exists to promote the best in international chamber music and inspire audiences with the unique power and intensity of music played in an intimate setting. The organisati ...

, a charitable organisation he founded in the 1980s to promote chamber music concerts.

Biography

Cropper was born in Southport, Lancashire on 19 November 1945. His father, Alfred Cropper was a chartered accountant and his mother was Edith Kathleen (Kate), née Hale. He gained a scholarship to

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

in 1959 based on his musical ability. In 1963 he studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He was married at

Thornham Parva Thornham Parva is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located to the north of sister village Thornham Magna and around five miles south of Diss, in 2005 its population was 50. By the time of the 2 ...

, Suffolk, on 19 December 1972 to violinist Nina Esmé Martin. He died, as a result of a heart attack, on 29 May 2015 in Sheffield.

Career

While at the Royal Academy, Cropper formed the Cropper Quartet with Michael Adamson, Roger Bigley and Bernard Gregor-Smith. Then when they moved to

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

, they renamed themselves the

after Alexander Lindsay who was its first Principal. In 1984, Cropper founded

, which would promote chamber music around the UK. The Lindsays formed the core of Music in the Round's activity for over twenty years, until their retirement in 2005. Peter Cropper obituary in The Guardian
4 June 2015, retrieved 5 May 2015. By the time of their retirement, Music in the Round was the largest promoter of chamber music in the UK outside London. A frequently told story about Cropper dates to 1981 when London's Royal Academy of Music lent him a 258 year old

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are c ...

for a series of concerts. On the first night of the concert, Cropper tripped and broke the precious violin. Fortunately, a master craftsman was able to repair the violin which reportedly sounded even better after the repair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cropper, Peter 1945 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Southport British violinists People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music