Cyril Monk Cyril Farnsworth Monk (9 March 1882 – 7 March 1970) was an Australian violinist and academic. His wife was the pianist and composer

Varney Monk Varney Monk (born Isabel Varney Desmond Peterson; 18 January 1892 – 7 February 1967) was an Australian pianist and composer, best known for writing the musicals ''Collits' Inn (musical), Collits' Inn'' (1932) and ''The Cedar Tree (musical), Th ...

Life

Monk was born in

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

, Sydney in 1882, son of James Monk, a grocer, and wife Rosa née Bullen. He began playing the piano aged four, taught by his mother; from age nine he studied the violin with Samuel Chudleigh, secretary of the London College of Music. Later he studied the violin more intensively with Josef Kretschmann (who had been a pupil of

Karol Lipiński Karol Józef Lipiński (30 October 1790 – 16 December 1861) was a Polish music composer and virtuoso violinist active during the partitions of Poland. The Karol Lipiński University of Music in Wrocław, Poland is named after him. Life L ...

and

Ferdinand David Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

), and music theory and composition with Alfred Hill."Cyril Monk, Violinist: his career and impressions"
''Australian Town and Country Journal'', 3 October 1906. Page 39."Mr S. Chudleigh"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 25 July 1938. Page 9. In September 1904 he went to London and studied with Guido Papini at the College of Violinists. During his time in Europe, he heard many notable violinists of the day and had transcriptions and compositions published. In 1906 he passed the college's exams with distinction and received a gold medal. Monk returned to Australia, and was engaged by Alfred Hill as a soloist with the orchestral concerts at the

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

of 1906 in Christchurch, New Zealand. During the next year, he toured New Zealand with the orchestra. In 1910 he formed the Austral String Quartet in Sydney, Alfred Hill sometimes being a member; the quartet introduced recent works to Australia. On 22 December 1913, in Sydney, Monk married

Isabel Varney Desmond Peterson Varney Monk (born Isabel Varney Desmond Peterson; 18 January 1892 – 7 February 1967) was an Australian pianist and composer, best known for writing the musicals ''Collits' Inn (musical), Collits' Inn'' (1932) and ''The Cedar Tree (musical), Th ...

(1892–1967), a pianist and composer known professionally as Varney Monk. In 1916 the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music was founded in Sydney, and Monk was appointed a member of staff. He was leader the orchestra there, known as the New South Wales State Orchestra (the first full-time orchestra in Australia). He was an examiner for the

Australian Music Examinations Board The Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) is a federated, privately funded corporation which provides a program of examinations for music, speech and drama in Australia. The organisation had its beginnings at the Universities of Melbourne ...

, and published educational compositions and arrangements for the violin. The Austral String Quartet was disbanded when

Henri Verbrugghen Henri Adrien Marie Verbrugghen (1 August 187312 November 1934) was a Belgian musician, who directed orchestras in England, Scotland, Australia and the United States. Born in Brussels, Verbrugghen made his first appearance as a violinist when o ...

, director of the Conservatorium, formed a quartet; Monk continued to give annual recitals. The last recital was in 1927. He was known for his interest in promoting recent music from Europe, and Australian compositions.Monk, Cyril
The Dictionary of Sydney, accessed 24 July 2017. Monk retired from the Conservatorium in 1955. He died in Sydney on 7 March 1970, survived by a son and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monk, Cyril 1882 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Australian classical violinists Musicians from New South Wales