Ruth Gipps facts for kids

Ruth Dorothy Louisa ("Wid") Gipps MBE (born February 20, 1921 – died February 23, 1999) was a talented English musician. She was a composer, who wrote music, an oboist (someone who plays the oboe), a pianist, a conductor (who leads an orchestra), and a teacher. Ruth Gipps created many different kinds of music, including five symphonies (large musical pieces for orchestra), seven concertos (pieces for a solo instrument and orchestra), and many works for smaller groups of instruments or choirs. She started two orchestras, the London Repertoire Orchestra and the Chanticleer Orchestra. She also led the City of Birmingham Choir. Later in her life, she became the leader of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain, an important group for composers.

Ruth Gipps's Early Life and Musical Journey

Ruth Gipps was born in Bexhill-on-Sea, England, in 1921. Her father, Bryan Gipps, was a businessman and a violinist. Her mother, Hélène Bettina, was a piano teacher from Switzerland. They met at a music school in Germany. Ruth had two older siblings, Ernest and Laura, who were also musicians.

Ruth was a very gifted child. She started winning music competitions when she was very young, often competing against much older people. When she was just 8 years old, she wrote her first piece of music. A publishing company liked it so much they bought it! Her career as a performer truly began when she won a competition with the Hastings Municipal Orchestra.

Studying Music and Becoming a Doctor

In 1937, Ruth went to the Royal College of Music. There, she learned to play the oboe from Léon Goossens, the piano from Arthur Alexander, and how to compose music from Gordon Jacob and later from the famous composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Many of her early works were first played at this college.

She continued her studies at Durham University, where she met her future husband, Robert Baker, who played the clarinet. When she was 26, Ruth Gipps earned a doctorate in music for her work called The Cat. This made her the youngest British woman at the time to achieve such a high musical degree.

A Change in Focus

Ruth was a very skilled musician. She could play both the oboe and the piano as a soloist, and she wrote a lot of music. She performed famous pieces like Arthur Bliss's Piano Concerto. However, when she was 33, a shoulder injury meant she could no longer perform as much. So, she decided to focus her amazing energy on conducting orchestras and composing music instead.

An early big success for Ruth was in 1942. The famous conductor Sir Henry Wood led her musical piece, Knight in Armour, at the Last Night of the Proms, a very popular concert series.

Her Unique Musical Style

Ruth Gipps's music is known for its clever use of different instrument sounds. You can often hear the influence of her teacher, Ralph Vaughan Williams, in her work. She preferred a more traditional, melodic style of music. She didn't follow the newer, more experimental music trends of her time, like serialism, which used a very strict way of organizing notes.

She believed her orchestral works, especially her five symphonies, were her best creations. She also wrote two important piano concertos. After World War II, she started focusing on chamber music (music for small groups of instruments). In 1956, she won an award for her Clarinet Sonata, Op. 45. In 1945, she even performed as a piano soloist with the City of Birmingham Orchestra and also played the cor anglais in her own Symphony No. 1 in the same concert!

Facing Challenges and Leading the Way

Early in her career, Ruth faced challenges because she was a woman in the music world, which was mostly led by men, especially in composing. This made her very determined to prove herself through her hard work and talent.

She started the London Repertoire Orchestra in 1955. This orchestra gave young professional musicians a chance to play many different kinds of music. In 1961, she founded another professional group called the Chanticleer Orchestra. This orchestra always included a piece by a living composer in its concerts, often playing it for the very first time. For example, in 1972, they performed the Cello Concerto by Sir Arthur Bliss for the first time in London, and Julian Lloyd Webber made his professional debut as the cellist.

Later, Ruth taught music at Trinity College, London (from 1959 to 1966), the Royal College of Music (from 1967 to 1977), and then Kingston Polytechnic. In 1967, she became the chairwoman of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain.

Ruth Gipps passed away in 1999 at the age of 78, after battling cancer and having a stroke. Her son, Lance Baker, is also a professional musician who plays the horn.

Ruth Gipps's Musical Style

Ruth Gipps's music is often described as "Romantic." This means it has strong emotions and beautiful melodies, similar to the music written in the 1800s. She also found inspiration in stories and ideas, like her tone poem Knight in Armour.

Even though her music isn't always about nature, she was greatly influenced by the "English pastoralist" style of music from the early 1900s, especially from her teacher Vaughan Williams. Other composers like Arthur Bliss and Malcolm Arnold also influenced her. Ruth preferred a traditional, tonal style of music, which means her music had clear keys and harmonies. She didn't like the newer, more experimental music styles of her time, like serialism, and was quite critical of them.

A List of Ruth Gipps's Works

Ruth Gipps wrote a lot of music! Here are some examples of her many compositions:

• For Orchestra:
  • Variations on Byrd's "Non nobis", Op. 7 (1942)
  • Knight in Armour, Op. 8 (1942)
  • Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 22 (1942)
  • Chanticleer Overture, Op. 28 (1944)
  • Symphony No. 2, Op. 30 (1945)
  • Symphony No. 3, Op. 57 (1965)
  • Symphony No. 4, Op. 61 (1972)
  • Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 (1982)

• Concertos (for solo instrument and orchestra):
  • Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 9 (1940)
  • Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 20 (1941)
  • Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in B-flat major, Op. 24 (1943)
  • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G minor, Op. 34 (1948)
  • Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, Op. 58 (1968)

• Chamber Music (for small groups of instruments):
  • Kensington Garden Suite for Oboe and Piano, Op. 2 (1938)
  • Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Piano, Op. 10 (1940)
  • Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 16 (1941)
  • Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 45 (1955)
  • String Quartet, Op. 47 (1956)
  • Octet for 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons and 2 Horns, Op. 65 (1983)
  • Sonata No. 2 for Oboe and Piano, Op. 66 (1985)

• For Piano:
  • Sea Nymph, ballet for two pianos, Op. 14 (1941)
  • Conversation for 2 Pianos, Op. 36 (1950)

• Choral Works (for choirs):
  • The Cat, Cantata for voices and Orchestra, Op. 32 (1947)
  • Goblin Market for voices and String Orchestra, Op. 40 (1953)
  • Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for Mixed Chorus and Organ, Op. 55 (1959)

• Songs (for voice and piano/instruments):
  • Four Baritone Songs for Baritone and Piano, Op. 4b (1939)
  • Two Songs for Soprano and Piano, Op. 11 (1940)
  • The Lady of the Lambs for Soprano and Wind Quintet, Op. 79 (1992)

See also

In Spanish: Ruth Gipps para niños