Ernest Hutcheson (20 July 1871 – 9 February 1951) was an Australian pianist, composer and teacher.

Biography

Hutcheson 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 ...

, and toured there as a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

at the age of five. He later travelled to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and entered the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

at the age of fourteen to study with Carl Reinecke, Bernhard Stavenhagen (a pupil of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

) and Bruno Zwintscher. He was part of the London music circuit in 1896 and 1897. Prior to the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he taught at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, but in 1914 he settled in New York City, where he made his US debut. He is believed to have been the first pianist to play three concertos of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

in a single concert: his performances of Beethoven's

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, fourth and fifth with the

New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...

in the Aeolian Hall in 1919. He became a member of the faculty at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, and successively Dean (1926–1937) and President (1937–1945) of the school. At Juilliard, he championed the use of radio musical broadcasts in education. He taught many first-rate students. One of these many students was Mary Ann Craft, who later taught the prodigy Edgar Coleman during his formative years. Two other students who went on to important pianistic careers were the American Abram Chasins, and the Australian Bruce Hungerford. He also taught Muriel Kerr, a winner of the Naumberg Competition who made her Carnegie Hall debut 5 December 1928 in Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 with the Philharmonic SO of New York conducted by Willem Mengelberg. She became Hutcheson's assistant at Juilliard and later toured under Columbia Artists Management, settling finally in Los Angeles where she taught at the University of Southern California. Hutcheson was a member of the

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (legally Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha, PMA, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for men with a special interest ...

music fraternity.

At Chautauqua

Hutcheson was also associated with the Chautauqua School of Music at the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown, New York, Jamestown in the western southern tier of New York (state), N ...

in Western

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. Hutcheson provided a much needed refuge for

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

at Chautauqua during the stressful period of composing and refining the Piano Concerto in F. Since Gershwin was already very famous as a successful writer of popular works and musical shows, he was constantly besieged by admirers. Further, he had never scored a large symphonic work (the earlier ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concer ...

'' had been scored for jazz band by Gershwin, but was orchestrated by

Ferde Grofé Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972), known as Ferde Grofé () was an American composer, arranger, pianist, and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement symphonic poem, ''Grand Canyon Suite'', and for ...

) and was under great stress from the pressing deadline expectations from

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...

, conductor of the

New York Symphony The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...

, who had commissioned the Concerto in F. Thanks to Ernest Hutcheson's kind offer of seclusion for Gershwin at Chautauqua where his quarters were declared off limits to everyone until 4 p.m. daily, Gershwin was able to successfully complete his piano concerto on time.

Works

Ernest Hutcheson wrote concertos for piano; 2 pianos; and violin, and many solo piano works, such as a transcription of

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's '' Ride of the Valkyries''. His music has been little heard in concert or on recordings, but his Australian compatriot Ian Munro has recorded some of his piano pieces. Hutcheson wrote important books ''The Literature of the Piano'', ''The Elements of Piano Technique'', ''A Musical Guide to Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung,'' and ''Elektra, by Richard Strauss: a Guide to the Opera with Musical Examples from the Score'',Hutcheson, Ernest
''Elektra, by Richard Strauss; a Guide to the Opera with Musical Examples from the Score''
New York,, Boston,: G. Schirmer, Boston Music Co., 1910. among others.

References

External links

*
Ernest Hutcheson
''The National Portrait Gallery of Australia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutcheson, Ernest 1871 births 1951 deaths Australian classical pianists Australian male classical pianists Australian male composers Australian composers American composers Juilliard School faculty Peabody Institute faculty Australian music educators Piano educators Musicians from Baltimore Presidents of the Juilliard School American male composers Australian expatriates in the United States