Ronald Center (2 April 1913 – 18 April 1973) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Biography

Center was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

where he studied piano under Julian Rosetti and organ under Willan Swainson. In 1943 he moved to

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

as music master of Huntly Gordon School for a period of six years, before turning to private teaching and composition. He remained in Huntly for the rest of his life. From 1944 onwards, his works were broadcast by the BBC, particularly in their Modern Scottish Composers series. He performed many of his song settings with his wife, the soprano Evelyn Center (Morrison), and also gave piano recitals. His symphonic poem ''The Coming of Cuchulain'' was given by the Scottish Orchestra under

Warwick Braithwaite Henry Warwick Braithwaite (9 January 1896 – 19 January 1971) was a New Zealand-born orchestral Conducting, conductor. He worked mostly in Great Britain and was especially known for his work in opera. Early life and family Braithwaite was one of ...

Works

Center's music draws on Scottish folk idioms, particularly the coronach and the reel. Notable works include the symphonic poem ''The Coming of Cuchulain'' and the

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

piece ''Dona Nobis Pacem''. A revival of interest in Center's works in the late 1970s led to a piano recital in the Mitchell Hall of

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

, Aberdeen, on 14 October 1977 and an orchestral concert in King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen on 10 March 1978. In May 1979, Thurso Choral Society performed the Contata and the Scottish Baroque Ensemble played ''Lacrimae'' in Aberdeen. In

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Center's Requiem Mass was sung nine times between August and December and, in November, a Scottish Festival celebrated Center in ten concerts and recitals. In 1980, Ronald Stevenson played the Piano Sonata in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Orchestral and strings

*Symphony No. 1 *''The Coming of Cuchulain'' *Divertimento *Sinfonietta *Nocturne *Lacrimae *Elegy

Chamber

*String Quartet No. 1 *String Quartet No. 2 *String Quartet No. 3 *Violin Sonata *Suite for solo violoncello *''Dance Rustique'' for violoncello and piano *Duo for violin and violoncello (also violin and bassoon, oboe and violoncello, oboe and bassoon) *Little Canon for violin and violoncello

Piano

*Sonata *Sonatine *Suite *Three Movements *Larghetto *Pantomime in 3 movements *Prelude, Aria and Finale *6 Bagatelles *3 Preludes and Fugues *Three Studies *From Childhood *Rumba *Prelude *Toccata *Giglot *Burlesca *Homage *Impromptu *Air *Sarabande *Melodie *Molto Allegro *2 Andantes *Phantasy

Recordings

*Ronald Center: Instrumental and Chamber Music, Vol. I: Music for Solo Piano Piano Sonata, 6 Bagatelles, and world premiere recordings of Pantomime, Andante, Sarabande, Air, Larghetto, Sonatine, Hommage, Three Etudes, Impromptu,Three Movements for Piano. Christopher Guild, piano. TOCC0179. Release date: 2 September 2013. *Center of Huntly String Quartet No. 2, Violin Sonata, Piano Sonata. Emily White and the Isla Quartet. Deveron Arts CD 8 80992 14514 5

References

External links

Biographical page at Bardic-music.com, accessed 12 December 2011

Huntly Deveron Arts page

Essay on Center by James Naughtie 17 June 1978, accessed 12 December 2011

National Library of Scotland R Center inventory, accessed 12 December 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Center, Ronald 1913 births 1973 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Scottish musicians British male classical composers Musicians from Aberdeen People from Huntly Scottish classical composers 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians