Christopher Wilson (7 October 1874 - 17 February 1919) was a British composer and conductor best known for his theatre music. Wilson was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Derbyshire, into a musical family. His mother and grandmother were both accomplished pianists, and his uncle, Francis William Davenport, was a professor at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools 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 firs ...

. He showed early musical promise as a composer and performer (piano, organ, violin, viola). In 1889 he won the first choral scholarship at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational a ...

. In 1892 he became a student at the Royal Academy of Music under Alexander Mackenzie, where he was awarded the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1895. There followed a period of study abroad, with

Franz Wüllner Franz Wüllner (28 January 1832 – 7 September 1902) was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Wagner's ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrate ...

in Cologne, Heinrich von Herzogenberg in Berlin and

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ sympho ...

in Paris.''The Musical Times'', Vol. 60, No. 914 (April 1, 1919), pp. 169-170
/ref> His ''Suite for String Orchestra'' was first performed while he was in Cologne (the first such performance of English music at a principal concert there since

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

) and published by the German publishers Schott in 1899. It shows the influence of the

Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...

and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

suites for string orchestra, and perhaps of

Parry Parry may refer to: People * Parry (surname) * Parry (given name) Fictional characters * Parry, protagonist of the movie ''The Fisher King'', played by Robin Williams * Parry in the series '' Incarnations of Immortality'' by Piers Anthony * ...

in "mock baroque" mode. A modern recording of the work was issued in 2021. His working life was mostly as a composer and musical director for the theatre. His scores included incidental music to F. R. Benson's production of the '' Orestean Trilogy'' (1904), Rudolf Besier's ''The Virgin Goddess'' (1906), Oscar Asche and Edward Knoblock's '' Kismet'' (1911), Josephine Preston Peabody's ''The Piper'' (1911), and music for many Shakespeare plays as produced by Asche, Benson, Otho Stuart and

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry (27 February 184721 July 1928) was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured ...

. One of the most notable of these was ''The Taming of the Shrew'', co-produced by Asche and Stuart at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in 1904. During this period Wilson was living at 30, Bedford Street in London, off the Strand. Other works outside the theatre include a second suite for strings, two string quartets, a piano quartet, two violin sonatas, a setting of

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

's ''Prospice'', and a choral mass.''Shakespeare and Music'' (1922), LibraVox recording
/ref> He also composed the music for the Winchester National Pageant, held at

Wolvesey Castle Wolvesey Castle, in Winchester, Hampshire, England, was the main residence of the Bishop of Winchester in the Middle Ages. The castle, mostly built by Henry of Blois in the 12th century, is now a ruin, except for its fifteenth-century chapel, wh ...

in 1908. Wilson died of heart failure at the age of 44 in 1919. His book ''Shakespeare and Music'', compiled from a series of articles he had written for ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...

'' in the year before his death, was published posthumously in 1922.''Shakespeare and Music'' (1922), Project Gutenberg
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Christopher English male musicians English composers 1874 births 1919 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music