William Gardiner (15 March 1770, in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
– 16 November 1853) was an English
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 ...
who is best known for his
hymns. He published two collections of his works: ''Sacred Melodies'' (1808) and ''Music and Friends'' (1838). Gardiner's promotion of
Ludwig van Beethoven led to the first performances of Beethoven's music in England in 1794.
In his ''Music and Friends'', Gardiner told the story of how the first work of Beethoven became known in Britain after arriving in a violin case of a priest
fleeing the French Revolutionary army.
Vegetarianism
Gardiner was a
teetotaller and
vegetarian.
He lived on a milk and vegetable diet for several years but gave it up after a life-changing experience.
Gardiner stated that on one occasion he was dining with a "Mr. Brooke" an eccentric who placed a beef-steak on the table.
He was offended that Gardiner refused to eat meat. Mr. Brooke put a
horse pistol
A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a pistol, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman.
History
The earliest kind of pistoleer was the mounted German Reite ...
to Gardiner's head and declared he would shoot him if he did not eat the beef-steak. After this experience Gardiner gave up his vegetarian diet and resumed his former mode of living.
Selected publications
''Music and Friends''(3 volumes, 1838-1853)
''The Music of Nature''(1849)
References
*
1770 births
1853 deaths
Musicians from Leicester
English composers
{{UK-composer-stub