Moura Lympany
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Dame Moura Lympany DBE (18 August 191628 March 2005) was an English concert pianist.


Biography

She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash, Cornwall. Her father was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother originally taught her the piano. Mary was sent to a convent school in Belgium, where her musical talent was encouraged, and she went on to study at
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
, later winning a scholarship to 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. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) in 1948. After auditioning for the conductor
Basil Cameron Basil Cameron, CBE (18 August 1884 – 26 June 1975) was an English conductor. Early career He was born Basil George Cameron HindenbergW.L. Jacob, "Hindenburg v. Cameron" (Letter to the Editor) (1991). ''The Musical Times'', 132 (1782), p. ...
, she made her concert debut with him at Harrogate in 1929, aged twelve, playing the G minor Concerto of
Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
, the only concerto she had memorised up to that point. It was Cameron who suggested that she adopt a stage name for the concert and a Russian diminutive of the name Mary, Moura, along with an old spelling of her mother's maiden name, ''Limpenny'', were chosen. She went on to study in Vienna with Paul Weingarten, and in London with Mathilde Verne, who had been a pupil of Clara Schumann and Tobias Matthay. In 1935, she made her London debut at the Wigmore Hall, and in 1938 she came second to Emil Gilels in the Ysaÿe Piano Competition in Brussels. By the Second World War, she was one of the UK's most popular pianists. On 13 April 1940 she gave the British premiere of
Khachaturian Khachaturian, Khachaturyan, Khachadurian or Khachatourian ( hy, Խաչատուրյան) is an Armenian surname meaning "cross bearer". People with the name include the following: * Leon Khachatourian (born 1936), Iranian Armenian boxer * Aram Khach ...
's Piano Concerto in D-flat, one of the pieces most closely associated with her. She had been approached when
Clifford Curzon Sir Clifford Michael Curzon CBE (né Siegenberg; 18 May 19071 September 1982) was an English classical pianist. Curzon studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and subsequently with Artur Schnabel in Berlin and Wanda Landowska and Nad ...
pleaded he would not be able to learn it in time. On 25 February 1945, with
Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...
, Lympany was the first British musician to perform in Paris after the Liberation. She performed
Alan Rawsthorne Alan Rawsthorne (2 May 1905 – 24 July 1971) was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex. Early years Alan Rawsthorne was born in Deardengate House, Haslingden, Lancashire, to Hu ...
's Piano Concerto No 1 and the Khachaturian Piano Concerto with Boult conducting the orchestra of the Conservatoire de Paris. Although around this time she performed the Rawsthorne with Boult several times, including with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London on 12 October 1945, it was not until 1958 that her recording of it with Herbert Menges and the
Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...
was issued on HMV. In 1944 she married
Colin Defries Colin Defries (1884–1963) was an English racing driver and pilot who made his first powered aeroplane flight over Australia on 9 December 1909. He piloted a Wright Model A airplane approximately 100 yards (91 m), although the flight was not off ...
, 32 years her senior, but they divorced in 1950. In 1951 she married Bennet Korn, an American television executive, and moved to the United States. Lympany very much wanted to start a family but she had two
miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
s, and a son who died shortly after birth. She and Bennet Korn divorced in 1961. Some years later she became a close friend of the British Prime Minister and amateur musician Edward Heath; mutual friends expressed hopes that they might marry, but this did not happen. After the war she became more widely known, performing throughout Europe and in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. When living in New York, Lympany continued her concert and recording career. Lympany was a Steinway pianist and participated in the Steinway Centenary Concert on 19 October 1953 in which ten Steinway pianists played a Polonaise by Chopin. The rehearsal of this piece was recorded and broadcast on Ed Sullivan's television show, at that time called '' Toast of the Town''. Lympany also gave a recital at Carnegie Hall on 20 November 1957, for which tickets sold for 75c to $1.50. The flyer announcing her appearance contains a quote from the Los Angeles Herald & Express: "Since the days of Clara Schumann and Teresa Carreno, there have been few women pianists who could be counted among the great. Last night Moura Lympany gave evidence of possessing qualities which place her high among her historic colleagues." In 1969 Lympany was diagnosed with breast cancer and her left breast was removed. Three months after the operation she performed Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 4 for the Left Hand at the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
, London. She later had a second mastectomy but continued working and gained renewed popularity. In 1979, fifty years after making her debut, she performed at the Royal Festival Hall for Charles, Prince of Wales. That year she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 1981 she established the annual Rasiguères Festival of Music and Wine, near
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
, France (for which the
Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...
was resident orchestra), which ran for 10 years and also assisted Prince Louis de Polignac to establish, in 1986, the Festival des Sept Chapelles in
Guidel Guidel (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Guidel are called in French ''Guidélois''. Population Cemetery The communal cemetery, containing 108 tombs from the World War II, has bee ...
, Brittany. From the mid-1980s she was based in Monaco. ''Moura - Her Autobiography'', written with her cousin, author Margot Strickland, was published by Peter Owen in 1991. In 1992 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She also received honours from the Belgian and French governments. One of Lympany's last public functions was as a juror for the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition held in Texas in May/June 1993.


Death

Dame Moura Lympany died in Gorbio near Menton, France, in 2005, aged 88. Her archive was deposited in the International Piano Archives at the University of Maryland, College Park.


Legacy

A succession of reissues of Lympany archive recordings has contributed to both maintaining her reputation and introducing her to post-LP generations including CDs issued by Dutton (Mozart K.414 and K.467),
Ivory Classics Ivory Classics is an American classical music record label governed by the Ivory Classics Foundation. The purpose of this foundation, which was established in 1998, is to promote, through charitable and benevolent activities, an appreciation for the ...
(Mendelssohn, Litolff, Liszt), Olympia (Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev), Pristine Audio (Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2), Eloquence (Rachmaninov Preludes recorded 1951-2) and Documents (10 CD boxed set of all Lympany's recordings 1951-1961).


Notable recordings

* Brahms, Intermezzi ( EMI) * Beethoven, Piano Concerto No 5 (Emperor), Stadium Concerts S.O. Cond. Thomas Scherman (1957) * Chopin, The Complete Nocturnes ( Angel) * Chopin, 24 Preludes, Op. 28 (
Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...
) *
Khachaturian Khachaturian, Khachaturyan, Khachadurian or Khachatourian ( hy, Խաչատուրյան) is an Armenian surname meaning "cross bearer". People with the name include the following: * Leon Khachatourian (born 1936), Iranian Armenian boxer * Aram Khach ...
,
Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...
( Decca) * Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Angel) * Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 3 (Decca) * Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 1 (Angel) * Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 (HMV) * Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3 (Decca) * Rachmaninoff, 24 Preludes (
Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...
) This (1994) was her third recording of the set. Her first and the first full set ever recorded was recorded from 1941 to 1945 for Decca. Her second recording of the full set was for Decca in 1951, later reissued on vinyl, then Ace of Clubs and by Everest Records. *
Alan Rawsthorne Alan Rawsthorne (2 May 1905 – 24 July 1971) was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex. Early years Alan Rawsthorne was born in Deardengate House, Haslingden, Lancashire, to Hu ...
, Piano Concerto No. 1 (HMV) * Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jean Martinon. (Decca 1951) (Pristine Audio) * Schubert, Piano Quintet in A "The Trout" – with principals of the London Symphony Orchestra (EMI) *
Litolff Henry Charles Litolff (7 August 1818 – 5 August 1891) was a British virtuoso pianist, composer of Romantic music, and music publisher. A prolific composer, he is today known mainly for a single brief work – the scherzo from his Concerto Sy ...
, Concerto Symphonique No. 4 in D minor (
Ivory Classics Ivory Classics is an American classical music record label governed by the Ivory Classics Foundation. The purpose of this foundation, which was established in 1998, is to promote, through charitable and benevolent activities, an appreciation for the ...
)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lympany, Moura 1916 births 2005 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English autobiographers English classical pianists English women pianists English expatriates in France English expatriates in Monaco Musicians awarded knighthoods People from Saltash Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Women classical pianists Pupils of Tobias Matthay 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century English musicians 20th-century English women musicians Women autobiographers 20th-century women pianists