Donald Tovey facts for kids
Sir Donald Francis Tovey (born July 17, 1875 – died July 10, 1940) was a talented British musician. He was a musical analyst, a writer about music, a composer, a conductor, and a pianist. He is most famous for his book series, Essays in Musical Analysis. He also edited music by famous composers like Bach and Beethoven. Since the 1990s, more people have started to discover and enjoy his own musical compositions.
Life
Donald Tovey was born in Eton, Berkshire. His father, Duncan Crookes Tovey, was a teacher at Eton College. As a child, Donald was taught at home by Sophie Weisse. She quickly saw how gifted he was in music and helped him develop his talents. Through her, he met many important musicians and critics. These included composers like Hubert Parry and violinists like Joseph Joachim.
When Tovey was seven or eight, he met Joseph Joachim, a very famous violinist. Later, in 1905, Tovey played the piano with Joachim's string quartet. By this time, Tovey was already composing his own music. His works were performed in big cities like Berlin, Vienna, and London. His large Piano Concerto was first played in London in 1903. Tovey himself was the piano soloist.
Around this time, he also wrote many articles about music for the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
In 1914, Tovey started teaching music at the University of Edinburgh. He became the Reid Professor of Music. There, he created the Reid Orchestra. For their concerts, he wrote special notes about the music. Many of these notes were later collected into his well-known books, the Essays in Musical Analysis. In 1917, he became a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
As he spent more time with the Reid Orchestra and writing, Tovey composed and performed less. However, the few big pieces he did finish were very important. These include his Symphony from 1913 and his Cello Concerto from 1935. He wrote the Cello Concerto for his friend, the famous cellist Pablo Casals. Towards the end of his life, a problem with one of his hands made it hard for him to play the piano.
Tovey also prepared special editions of other composers' music. In 1931, he finished Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue). His edition of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier is still used today. He was made a knight by King George V in 1935. This was reportedly suggested by Sir Edward Elgar, another famous composer.
Sir Donald Tovey passed away in 1940 in Edinburgh. His collection of music, letters, and notes is kept at the University of Edinburgh library.
Family Life
Donald Tovey married Margaret "Grettie" Cameron in 1916. They adopted a son named John Wellcome Tovey in 1919. After some difficulties, they divorced in 1922.
In 1925, Tovey married Clara Wallace. She had also been a student of Sophie Weisse. They had a supportive marriage and often traveled together for Tovey's musical events. Clara became Lady Tovey when he was knighted in 1935. They stayed together until his death in 1940.
Compositions
When Tovey first started composing in the early 1900s, his music sounded a bit old-fashioned. It was serious and followed traditional rules. But his music was well-liked in other parts of Europe. His first official work, the Piano Trio in B minor, was a big piece. He finished it in 1895 and dedicated it to his teacher, Sir Hubert Parry.
Tovey often included a piano part in his chamber music so he could play it himself. He actively promoted his music through regular concerts. His early works, like the Piano Quintet in C (1900) and the Piano Quartet in E minor (1901), received good reviews. The Times newspaper called him "a composer with serious aims."
His patron, Sophie Weisse, helped pay for his concerts and for his music to be published. She funded the publication of his Piano Concerto in A major in 1903. This concerto was first performed in London with Tovey as the soloist. It was also played successfully in Germany.
Weisse also helped publish his early chamber works between 1906 and 1913. These included two String Quartets (1909) and his fourth Piano Trio (1910). Another important work was his Symphony in D, finished in 1913. It was first performed in Germany and later in London.
After 1914, Tovey focused more on his teaching career. He also felt a bit out of step with newer music styles. He started a big opera called The Bride of Dionysus in 1907. It took him over ten years to finish it, and it was first performed in 1929. After that, he composed very little, except for his Cello Concerto in 1933. This concerto was written for Pablo Casals and first performed in 1934.
Tovey as a Music Theorist
Donald Tovey believed that classical music has a special beauty. He thought this beauty could be understood by looking closely at the music itself. His ideas have influenced many music writers since then. In his essays, Tovey explained how musical structure works. He showed how these ideas appear in different ways in each piece of music.
He liked to use comparisons to explain his thoughts. For example, he wrote about how a piece of music is like a complete living thing. He also said that when a familiar musical theme returns, it should feel like coming home. He wrote:
We do not expect a return to the home tonic to be associated with a theme we have never heard before, any more than we expect on returning from our holiday to find our house completely redecorated and refurnished and inhabited by total strangers.
Recordings
Donald Tovey made some recordings of himself playing the piano. In 1928, he recorded his own completion of Bach's The Art of Fugue. He also recorded Beethoven's 10th Violin Sonata with violinist Adila Fachiri. In this recording, Tovey famously tells the listener to "Return to the beginning of the record; second time..." so they can repeat a section if they want.
His compositions have also been recorded by other musicians:
- The Bride of Dionysus – Prelude and parts of the opera have been recorded.
- Cello Concerto, Op. 40 (1935). This has been recorded by cellists like Pablo Casals and Alice Neary.
- Piano Concerto in A, Op. 15. Steven Osborne recorded this with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
- His chamber music, like the Piano Trios and String Quartets, has also been recorded.
See also
In Spanish: Donald Tovey para niños
