Terence Judd (3 October 1957between 16 and 23 December 1979) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Career

Terence Judd was born in 1957 to

- American parents, Anthony and Gloria Judd. In 1967, aged 10, he won the National Junior Pianoforte Competition, and came to the attention of

Eileen Joyce Eileen Alannah Joyce CMG (died 25 March 1991) was an Australian pianist whose career spanned more than 30 years. She lived in England in her adult years. Her recordings made her popular in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly during World War I ...

, who supported and encouraged him. He also studied with

Maria Curcio Maria Curcio (27 August 1918 or 191930 March 2009) was an Italian classical pianist who became a sought-after teacher. Her students included Barry Douglas, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Martha Argerich, Evelyne Brancart, Radu Lupu, Dame Mitsuko Uchida, ...

, the last and favourite pupil of

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

. In London he also studied with Ezra Rachlin, (1915-1995). Known particularly for his championship of virtuosic romantic works, above all the music of Franz Liszt, he brought a characteristic exuberance and clarity of expression to his performances; and his recordings bear witness to that. His renditions of Alberto Ginastera's Piano Sonata No. 1 and Samuel Barber's Piano Sonata in E minor are exemplary for other pianists, and his memorable performances of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's Piano Concerto No. 1 and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's Piano Concerto No. 3, which he played back-to-back in the finals of the 1978

Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

, are among the most exciting of these well-known virtuosic works. He was awarded joint 4th Prize, with Boris Petrov.

Death

Shortly before he was due to embark on a six-concert tour of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, Judd left his parents'

Brondesbury Park Brondesbury Park is a suburb and electoral ward of the London Borough of Brent. It is the part of Brondesbury which is not interwoven with Kilburn due to the naming of a major tube station ( Kilburn) and is centred on Brondesbury Park railway ...

home in north-west London after Sunday lunch on 16 December 1979, telling them he was going for a walk. A week later, on 23 December, his body was found washed up on the beach at the foot of

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formi ...

.''The Day'' 28 December 1979, New london, Connecticut, USA. There was a one-way train ticket in his pocket, which was seen as evidence he had not intended returning."Remembering Terence: tragedy of a prodigy", Classic fm, February 2009
At the coroner's inquest, his general practitioner testified that he had treated Judd for depression in February 1979. Earlier in his life, Judd had suffered a nervous breakdown and spent several months at a clinic in north London, where he received ECT. The coroner delivered an open verdict,The Glasgow Herald, 25 January 1980
/ref> but it is generally accepted that Judd took his own life. His family scattered his ashes in Hawaii, a place he had long desired to visit. The Terence Judd Award is given in his honour.

Selected discography

Judd produced a number of recordings under th
Chandos
label. In particular:

Includes the Ginastera and Barber sonatas mentioned above as well as Liszt, Dmitri Shostakovich, Shostakovich and

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

.

Predominantly Liszt (including the Sonata in B minor (Liszt), Sonata in B minor) as well as some Chopin.

A more classical selection, with Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach, Scarlatti and

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

as well as some romantic works.

The concertos mentioned above, recorded in the Tchaikovsky Competition.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Judd, Terence 1957 births 1979 suicides English classical pianists Male classical pianists Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century English musicians Pupils of Maria Curcio Living people 20th-century British male musicians