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/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, 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 the oldest conservatoire 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 first Duke ...

. 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. In 1892 he became a student at the Royal Academy of Music under Alexander Mackenzie, where he was awarded the

Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship (german: Mendelssohn-Stipendium) refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to c ...

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 mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

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 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', '' The Pirates of Penzance ...

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

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

suites for string orchestra, and perhaps of

Parry PARRY was an early example of a chatbot, implemented in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby. History PARRY was written in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby, then at Stanford University. While ELIZA was a tongue-in-cheek simulation of a Rog ...

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 Josephine Preston Peabody (May 30, 1874 – December 4, 1922) was an American poet and dramatist. Biography Peabody was born in New York and educated at the Girls' Latin School, Boston, and at Radcliffe College. In 1898, she was introduced t ...

's ''The Piper'' (1911), and music for many Shakespeare plays as produced by Asche, Benson,

Otho Stuart Otho Stuart (9 August 1863 – 1 May 1930) was a British actor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who specialised in performing in the plays of Shakespeare. Stuart played the range of Shakespearean leading men, both with the Company of ...

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 tour ...

. 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 poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settin ...

'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 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. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' 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