Erik Chisholm facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Erik Chisholm
Born	4 January 1904 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	8 June 1965(1965-06-08) (aged 61) Cape Town, South Africa
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation	Composer and conductor
Spouse(s)	Diana Brodie (1st) and Lillias Scott (2nd)
Parent(s)	John Chisholm and Elizabeth Macleod

Erik William Chisholm (born January 4, 1904 – died June 8, 1965) was a talented Scottish composer, pianist, and conductor. Some people called him "Scotland's forgotten composer." He was known for adding Scottish (Celtic) musical styles into his works. This made some people nickname him "MacBartók," comparing him to the famous composer Béla Bartók.

Erik Chisholm played a big part in Glasgow's music world between the two World Wars. He helped create the Celtic Ballet. With Margaret Morris, he made The Forsaken Mermaid, which was the first full-length Scottish ballet. After World War II, he became a professor and head of the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town. He held this job for 19 years until he passed away. Chisholm also started the South African College of Music opera company. He was key in bringing new operas to Scotland, England, and South Africa. By the time he died in 1965, he had written more than 100 musical pieces.

Erik Chisholm's Early Life and Learning

Erik Chisholm was the son of John Chisholm, a master house painter. His mother was Elizabeth McGeachy Macleod. He left Queen's Park School in Glasgow at just 13 years old because he was not well. But he showed a great talent for writing music. Some of his pieces were even published when he was a child.

He took piano lessons from Philip Halstead at Glasgow's Athenaeum School of Music. This school is now called the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Later, he studied the organ with Herbert Walton, who was the organist at Glasgow Cathedral. By age 12, Erik was already giving organ concerts. One important concert was in Kingston upon Hull. The famous pianist Leff Pouishnoff then became his main teacher and guide. In 1927, Erik traveled to Nova Scotia, Canada. There, he became the organist and choirmaster at Westminster Presbyterian Church in New Glasgow. He also directed music at Pictou Academy.

A year later, he came back to Scotland. From 1928 to 1933, he was the organist at St Matthew's Church in Glasgow. In 1933, he became the organist at Glasgow's Barony Church. Erik had not finished high school, so he could not go to university. But with help from his future wife, Diana Brodie, he got letters of support from music friends. These letters helped him get into university without the usual certificate.

In 1928, he was accepted to study music at the University of Edinburgh. His friend and teacher, the well-known music expert Sir Donald Tovey, guided him. Chisholm earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 1931. He then got his Doctor of Music degree in 1934. While at university, he started the Scottish Ballet Society in 1928. In 1929, he also founded the Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music. He did this with fellow composer Francis George Scott and his friend Pat Shannon. From 1930 to 1934, Chisholm also wrote music reviews for newspapers.

Erik Chisholm's Scottish Career and World War II

After finishing his education, Erik Chisholm's music was called "daring and original." This was according to Sir Hugh Roberton. His works also showed a strong Scottish style. Examples include his Piano Concerto No. 1, called Piobaireachd (1930). Other pieces were the Straloch Suite (1933) and the Sonata An Riobhan Dearg (1939).

In 1933, he was the main performer for his Dance Suite for Orchestra and Piano. He played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He also performed the first Scottish showings of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 1. He also played Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.

From 1930, he was the music director of the Glasgow Grand Opera Society. They performed at the city's Theatre Royal. He led the first British performances of Mozart's Idomeneo in 1934. He also conducted Berlioz's Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict in 1935 and 1936. He was also the first conductor for the Barony Opera Society and the Scottish Ballet Society. In 1938, he became the music director of the Celtic Ballet. As director, he wrote four works with Margaret Morris. The most famous was The Forsaken Mermaid, the first full-length Scottish ballet.

Chisholm had many friends who were composers. These included Béla Bartók, Bax, Alan Bush, Delius, Hindemith, Ireland, Medtner, Kaikhosru Sorabji, Szymanowski, and Walton. He invited many of them to Glasgow to perform their music.

When World War II began, Chisholm did not want to fight. He was found unfit for military service because of poor eyesight and a crooked arm. During the war, he conducted for the Carl Rosa Opera Company in 1940. Later, he joined the Entertainments National Service Association. He toured Italy with the Anglo-Polish Ballet in 1943. He also directed music for the South East Asia Command from 1943 to 1945.

He first created an orchestra in India with musicians from many different backgrounds. But after disagreements, he was moved to Singapore. In 1945, he started the Singapore Symphony Orchestra there. Many musicians were former prisoners of war. Chisholm found Szymon Goldberg to be the leader. Goldberg had hidden his valuable Stradivarius violin in a chimney for over three years in the prison camp. Chisholm created a truly international orchestra with fifteen different nationalities. They gave 50 concerts in Malaya in just six months.

After returning to Scotland, Chisholm married his second wife, Lillias Scott (1913-2018). She was a singer and poet, and the daughter of composer Francis George Scott. In 1946, he became a professor of music at the University of Cape Town. He also became the director of the South African College of Music.

Erik Chisholm's South African Career

Strubenholm, the home of the SA College of Music.

An article about Chisholm after his death mentioned three important moments in his life. These were hearing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata at age seven, learning about Indian music, and being offered the music professor job at Cape Town University in 1947.

That year, Chisholm brought new life to the South African College of Music. He would later teach composer Stefans Grové and singer Désirée Talbot there. Using the University of Edinburgh as his guide, Chisholm hired new staff. He added more courses and started new degrees and diplomas. To help young South African musicians, he founded the South African National Music Press in 1948. With help from the Italian baritone Gregorio Fiasconaro, Chisholm also started the college's opera company in 1951. He opened an opera school in 1954.

Chisholm also founded the South African part of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) in 1948. He helped start the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre in 1950. He also continued his work as a conductor around the world.

The South African College of Music's opera company became very successful. It toured Zambia and the United Kingdom. In 1956, Chisholm held a big festival of South African Music and Musicians in London. It was very popular. The festival included concerts and the first London showing of Bartók's opera Bluebeard's Castle. The company also performed Menotti's The Consul. They also performed Chisholm's own opera The Inland Woman.

In 1952, Szymon Goldberg performed Chisholm's violin concerto for the first time. This was at the Van Riebeeck Music Festival in Cape Town. Chisholm's opera series Murder in Three Keys was performed for six weeks in New York City in 1954. Two years later, he was invited to Moscow. There, he conducted the Moscow State Orchestra in his second piano concerto, The Hindustani. In 1961, his company performed the first showing of South African composer John Joubert's first opera, Silas Marner.

Chisholm did not agree with the South African policy of apartheid, which separated people by race. He had socialist ideas. Chisholm convinced Ronald Stevenson, a fellow Scot, to perform at the University of Cape Town. During a performance, the program mentioned Lenin's idea of "peace, bread and land." It also saluted "emergent Africa." The next day, South African police searched Chisholm's study. They tried to link him to working for the USSR, but they failed.

Erik Chisholm's Later Years and What He Left Behind

Composing at his Petrof piano with Towser, his concert-going Spaniel, at his feet.

Sir Arnold Bax called Erik Chisholm "the most forward-thinking composer that Scotland has ever produced." After 19 years at the South African College of Music, Dr. Chisholm wrote twelve more operas. He found ideas from many places. These included India, the Scottish islands, old classical music, and even astrology.

Chisholm died from a heart attack at age 61. He left all his music to the University of Cape Town. He wrote over 100 pieces, but only 17 were published during his life. After he died, his music was not performed as often, especially in Britain. But his fans have worked to make sure his music is heard more regularly. His style was seen as varied and challenging. His modern music was sometimes hard for audiences to understand.

However, in recent years, the Erik Chisholm Trust has helped. This trust was started by Chisholm's daughter, Morag. Thanks to their efforts, there is new interest in his music. Several of his works, including orchestral, piano, and vocal pieces, have been performed and recorded again. Many of his unpublished works are now available.

He always loved Scottish music. In 1964, he published a collection of Celtic folk songs. He was also interested in Czech music. He finished his book The Operas of Leoš Janáček just before he died. His help with Czech music was officially recognized in 1956. He was one of the few non-Czech musicians to receive the Dvořák medal.

The University of Cape Town holds a collection of Chisholm's papers and music. His published music is in the College of Music library. Many copies are also in the Scottish Music Centre in Glasgow. Another important collection of his writings and letters is now at the Archive of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. This collection was left to his daughter Morag.

To remember him, the South African College of Music offers a scholarship in his name. The Scottish International Piano Competition also gives an Erik Chisholm Memorial Prize.

A book about Erik Chisholm was written by John Purser. It is called Chasing A Restless Muse: Erik Chisholm, Scottish Modernist (1904–1965). It was published on June 19, 2009. A special event was held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in October 2009. His widow, his daughter Morag, two of his granddaughters, and great-grandsons attended. His widow, Lillias, later married the clarinettist John Forbes.

Erik Chisholm's Musical Works

Erik Chisholm wrote more than 100 musical pieces. These include 35 works for orchestra and 7 concertos. He wrote a violin concerto and two piano concertos. He also composed 7 works for orchestra with singing or chorus. He created 54 piano pieces, 3 organ works, and 43 songs. He also wrote 8 choral songs, 7 ballets, and 9 operas. One opera was about Robert Burns. He also made interesting arrangements of music by composers like Handel and Mozart.

Pianist Murray McLachlan divided Chisholm's works into four main periods. These are the Early Period, the "Scottish" Period, the Neoclassical Period, and the "Hindustani" Period.

Early Period Music

The "Early Period" is very large. It includes pieces he wrote as a teenager. One example is a Sonatina in G minor, written when he was 18. This piece clearly shows some influence from John Blackwood McEwen.

Scottish Period Music

The "Scottish" Period began in the early 1930s. During this time, his music had a clear Scottish feel. This was influenced by folk music. Chisholm wanted to create a style based on the music of his ancestors and countrymen. This was similar to what Béla Bartók aimed for. Chisholm's Sonatine Ecossaise, 4 Elegies, Scottish Airs, Piano Concerto no. 1 "Piobaireachd", and Dance Suite show a strong, energetic style. This was influenced by Bartók and Prokofiev. He used many clashing sounds and note clusters. He also used ideas from Scottish folk songs, bagpipe music, and dance moves. The folk elements are so deeply mixed into this style that some called Chisholm "MacBartók."

Neoclassical Period Music

Chisholm's Neoclassical Period includes several works inspired by old and less common ideas from before the classical music era. His Sonatina no. 3 is an example. It seems to be based on old musical ideas by Dalza. It blends harmonies like those of Britten and gentle clashing sounds. These pieces are very well-suited for the piano.

Hindustani Period Music

The music from his "Hindustani" period was written in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It shows his travels in the East during the war. It also reflects his interest in hidden knowledge and his friendship with Sorabji. Important works from this time are his 2nd "Hindustani" Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto. Other examples are the one-act opera Simoon and the Six Nocturnes, Night Song of the Bards. These pieces have rich sounds and are very demanding to play. They are similar to works by Szymanowski and Sorabji. They also have a style that sometimes lacks a clear key, like music by Alban Berg.

Pianist Murray McLachlan has recorded all of Chisholm's piano music on 7 CDs. His two piano concertos and his Dance Suite were recorded by Danny Driver. The Violin Concerto was recorded by Matthew Trusler. The first live performance of his opera Simoon was recorded in 2015. A video of it was released in July 2020.

Chisholm's interest in Scottish songs began when he was 10 years old. He received a book called A Collection of Scottish Airs, published in 1784. His songs include the Seven Poems of Love, which use words written by his wife Lillias Scott. He also set poems by William Soutar to music, such as A Dirge for Summer.

Erik Chisholm's Writings

Chisholm, E. (1971) The Operas of Leoš Janáček ISBN: 0-08-012854-8.

Images for kids

• 

  Erik Chisholm

• 

  Strubenholm, the home of the SA College of Music.

• 

  Composing at his Petrof piano with Towser, his concert-going Spaniel, at his feet.