Peter Cropper (19 November 1945 – 29 May 2015) was a British violinist, leader of the Lindsay String Quartet, and founding artistic director of Music in the Round, a charitable organisation he founded in the 1980s to promote chamber music concerts.

Biography

Cropper was born in Southport, Lancashire, on 19 November 1945. His father Alfred Cropper was a chartered accountant and his mother was Edith Kathleen (Kate), née Hale. He gained a scholarship to

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

in 1959 based on his musical ability. In 1963 he studied 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 was married at Thornham Parva,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, on 19 December 1972 to violinist Nina Esmé Martin. He died, as a result of a heart attack, on 29 May 2015 in Sheffield.

Career

While at the Royal Academy, Cropper formed the Cropper Quartet with Michael Adamson, Roger Bigley and Bernard Gregor-Smith. When they moved to

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

, they renamed themselves the Lindsay String Quartet after Alexander Lindsay who was its first principal. In 1984, Cropper founded Music in the Round, which would promote

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

around the UK. The Lindsays formed the core of Music in the Round's activity for over twenty years, until their retirement in 2005. By the time of their retirement, Music in the Round was the largest promoter of chamber music in the UK outside London. A frequently told story about Cropper dates to 1981 when London's Royal Academy of Music lent him a 258 year old

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

for a series of concerts. On the first night of the concert, Cropper tripped and broke the precious violin. Fortunately, a master craftsman was able to repair the violin which reportedly sounded even better after the repair.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cropper, Peter 1945 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Southport British violinists People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music