George Frederick Anderson (14 December 1793– 14 December 1876) was a British violinist and

Master of the Queen's Music Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orche ...

. Anderson was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1793. He was engaged as violinist in a variety of orchestras. In July 1820 he married the pianist Lucy Philpot, who, as Mrs Anderson, taught the piano to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and her children. In 1837, in return for his providing the publisher Alfred Novello with an interest-free loan of £30 in order to publish Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2, Novello gave his wife Lucy Anderson exclusive rights for six months to play the concerto in England. In 1840 he became the Treasurer of the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

, a position he held until his death. By 1841 he was a professor of music. In 1848 he was appointed

by Queen Victoria, succeeding

Franz Cramer Franz Anton Dorotheus Cramer or François Cramer (12 June 17721 August 1848) was an English people, English violinist and conductor who was Master of the Queen's Music, Master of the King's/Queen's Musick from 1834 until his death. He was born ...

. He is not recorded as having composed any music, an activity normally associated with this appointment. He remained in the post until 1870; the circumstances of his departure are not known. Until the ten-year fixed-term appointment of Sir

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...

in 2004, Anderson was the last Master of the Queen's Music to leave the post before his death, and the first since

Nicholas Staggins Nicholas Staggins (died 13 June 1700) was an English composer. Staggins first studied music under his father. He was made Master of the King's Music by Charles II in 1674. In 1682, he was granted a musical doctorate by Cambridge University, an ...

in 1700. He died on 14 December 1876 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. A collection of his correspondence with musicians and composers is in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

.The National Archives
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References

Sources

* Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954 (Master of the Queen’s Music article)

External links

* 1793 births 1876 deaths British classical violinists British male violinists Masters of the Queen's Music Male classical violinists 19th-century British male musicians {{Violinist-stub