Helen Hopekirk facts for kids
Helen Hopekirk (born May 20, 1856 – died November 19, 1945) was a talented Scottish pianist and composer. She spent a big part of her life living and working in Boston, USA.
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Her Life and Music Journey
Helen Hopekirk was born in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland. Her parents, Adam and Helen Hopekirk, owned a music shop. From a young age, Helen showed a great talent for music.
She studied music with teachers like George Lichtenstein and the Scottish composer Alexander Mackenzie. Helen first performed as a solo artist in 1874 with the Edinburgh Amateur Orchestral Society. After more successful shows, she moved to Leipzig to study how to compose music with Carl Reinecke.
Helen then performed for the first time in Leipzig and London, which were very successful. This led her to start regular concert tours all over Europe.
In 1882, Helen married William A. Wilson, a merchant and music critic from Edinburgh. He became her manager and helped her with her career. She performed for the first time in America in 1883 with the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra. After this, she started touring and performing in the United States.
Helen had planned to study with the famous composer Franz Liszt. However, after he passed away, she studied with Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna and Karel Navrátil in Prague. She and her husband lived in Vienna until 1892. Then, they moved to Paris, France, where Helen began teaching piano to students. Some of her students included Anna Diller Starbuck and Elna Sherman.
After her husband was in a traffic accident, Helen accepted an invitation in 1897 to teach at the New England Conservatory. This invitation came from the Director, George Chadwick. In 1901, she left the Conservatory to teach privately. She also kept performing in concerts.
Helen and her husband became American citizens in 1918. Her very last performance was in Boston in 1939. She passed away in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1945 and was buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery.
What She Composed
Helen Hopekirk wrote many different kinds of music. She composed pieces for the piano, for the violin, and for orchestras. She also wrote many songs and other piano pieces. Helen often used Scottish folk melodies in her music, which made her compositions unique.
Here are some of her selected works:
- Piano Concerto in D major
- Serenata
- Blows the wind to-day (Words by: Robert Louis Stevenson)
- Eilidh my Fawn (from Five Songs) (Words by: William Sharp)
- From the Hills of Dream (from Six Poems by Fiona Macleod) (Words by: William Sharp)
- Hushing song (from Five Songs) (Words by: William Sharp)
- Mo-lennav-a-chree (from Five Songs) (Words by: William Sharp)
- On bonnie birdeen (from Six Poems by Fiona Macleod) (Words by: William Sharp)
- Requiescat (Words by: Matthew Arnold)
- Sag ich ließ sie grüßen (from Five Songs) (Words by: Heinrich Heine)
- St. Bride's lullaby (from Six Poems by Fiona Macleod) (Words by: William Sharp)
- The Bandruidh (from Five Songs) (Words by: William Sharp)
- The bird of Christ (from Six Poems by Fiona Macleod) (Words by: William Sharp)
- The lonely hunter (from Six Poems by Fiona Macleod) (Words by: William Sharp)
- The sea hath its pearls (from Five Songs) (Words by: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow after Heinrich Heine)
- There was an ancient monarch (from Five Songs) (Words by: after Heinrich Heine)
- Thy dark eyes to mine (from Five Songs) (Words by: William Sharp)
- When the dew is falling (from Six Poems by Fiona Macleod) (Words by: William Sharp)
See also
In Spanish: Helen Hopekirk para niños
