Vera Josephine Moore (1896–1997) was a
New Zealand concert pianist.
She is considered to be the first New Zealand pianist to gain international recognition.
Early life
Moore was born in
Dunedin, the youngest of five children of Herbert and Charlotte Moore.
The family was a musical one - her father was a church organist and a piano teacher, and her older brother Frederick later became a professor of piano at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
in London.
Another brother, Irvin, became a church organist in
Gisborne, in the North Island of New Zealand. Following lessons at home, Moore began entering piano competitions at the age of 7, in 1903. She competed in Dunedin and
Christchurch competitions, gaining many first-placings. She also won first prize of a grand piano at a Christchurch competition when aged 16, in 1912.
Career
From 1917 Moore performed as a soloist and as an accompanist at recitals around the South Island. She moved to England in 1920, where she initially studied piano under her brother Frederick, followed by four years as a pupil of
Leonard Borwick.
In the 1920s, Moore became friends with the artist
Winifred Nicholson, and was the subject in one of Nicholson's paintings, ''Woman Playing a Piano''.
Moore enjoyed a successful performing career in England and Europe, receiving particular acclaim for her renditions of the work of Debussy and Chopin. Indeed, in 1931 Debussy's widow attended a concert by Moore and wrote her a congratulatory note for her "exquisite" performance. Moore returned to New Zealand for visits and to give recitals in 1924 and 1928. In 1928, she stopped en route in
Melbourne to perform at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music.
Her Christchurch concert in the same year was described by critics as "phenomenal".
On occasion, when her brother Frederick was overseas examining for the Associated Board of the Royal Academy, Moore took his place at the Royal Academy.
In the late 1930s, Moore was frequently invited to perform for
BBC broadcasts. In 1937, she performed as part of the BBC's
New Zealand Day
Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wait ...
radio broadcast.
In 1962 Moore retired to a small French village near Paris,
Jouy-en-Josas, where she provided private tutoring in piano, poetry and philosophy. Amongst her students were
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
Sophie Koch and pianist Pierre-Alain Volondat.
Personal life
Moore met the Romanian artist
Constantin Brâncuși
Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...
in 1931, when their mutual friend, art critic
H. S. Ede, invited Brâncuși to one of Moore's concerts.
The couple began a relationship, and in 1934 she gave birth to their son, John Moore.
Brâncuși never acknowledged his son as his own.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Pianist Vera MooreRadio New Zealand, ''Upbeat'', 17 June 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Vera
1896 births
1997 deaths
Musicians from Dunedin
New Zealand pianists
New Zealand women pianists
20th-century New Zealand musicians
20th-century New Zealand women
20th-century pianists
Women classical pianists
20th-century women pianists