William Yeates Hurlstone (7 January 1876 – 30 May 1906) was an English composer. Showing brilliant musical talent from an early age, he died young, before his full potential could be realized. Nevertheless, he left behind an exquisite, albeit small, body of work. His teacher Sir

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

considered him the most talented of his pupils, above

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

and

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

Career

Born at 12 Richmond Gardens (now Empress Place), Fulham, on 7 January 1876, Hurlstone was the grandson of Frederick Yeates Hurlstone, president of the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

, and only son of the four children of Martin de Galway Hurlstone, a surgeon, by his wife Maria Bessy Styche, a piano teacher. Hurlstone's earliest musical education was with his mother. In 1883 the family moved to

Bemerton Bemerton, once a rural hamlet and later a civil parish to the west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, is now a suburb of that city. Modern-day Bemerton has areas known as Bemerton Heath, Bemerton Village and Lower Bemerton. History In 1086, th ...

, a village near

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

where he became chorister in the local church, until his asthma prevented him from carrying on singing. The vicar was so impressed with him that he invited

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...

and

George Grove Sir George Grove (13 August 182028 May 1900) was an English engineer and writer on music, known as the founding editor of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Grove was trained as a civil engineer, and successful in that profession ...

from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

to meet him. Parry told his parents that he was taken more by their son's grasp of the subject than by his abilities as an executant. Grove was amazed by the boy's capacity to identify chords played on the piano among other tests. Young William's earliest compositions for the piano were at age nine, and were so convincing that his father arranged for them to be published. At age eighteen, two years after his father's premature death from smallpox, Hurlstone won a scholarship to study piano and composition at the Royal College of Music, after writing a Trio for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano, performed at his local church. His piano professors in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

were Algernon Ashton and

Edward Dannreuther Edward George Dannreuther (4 November 1844, in Strasbourg – 12 February 1905, in Hastings) was a pianist and writer on music, resident from 1863 in England. His father had crossed the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, moving to Cincinnati, and there es ...

. At the Royal College, his composition teacher, Sir

, considered Hurlstone to have been the most talented of the many brilliant students he taught. Those also included

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845–1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...

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and

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. After completing his studies Hurlstone settled in

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and ...

to be near his family and worked as a piano teacher and choir master to help the family finances. He also taught at the Croydon Conservatoire. He retained links with Croydon for the rest of his life despite moving to Battersea to be nearer his work. The family suffered financial difficulties after their father, Martin, caught smallpox from one of his patients and went blind. He was obliged to give up his work and died shortly after in 1892. William was 16 years old. A musician friend of the family, named Beaumont, became their benefactor and saved them from penury. In 1904 he was highly commended for ''Variations on a Swedish Air'', performed at the first Patrons' Concert. In 1905 he won first prize in the

Cobbett Competition Walter Willson Cobbett (11 July 184722 January 1937) was an English businessman, amateur violinist and an influential patron of British chamber music from the decade before World War I until his death in 1937. He was an innovative and astute b ...

for a single-movement String Quartet. One of his former teachers,

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, appointed him accompanist to the

Bach Choir The Bach Choir is a large independent musical organisation founded in London, England in 1876 to give the first performance of J. S. Bach's '' Mass in B minor'' in Britain. The choir has around 240 active members. Directed by David Hill ( Yale ...

. In 1906, Hurlstone returned to the college, having been appointed Professor of Counterpoint, but died later that year of

bronchial asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheez ...

, from which he had suffered all his life. He was 30 years old. He is buried in

Croydon Cemetery Mitcham Road Cemetery, previously called Croydon Cemetery, is a cemetery located next to Mitcham Common near Croydon, which is part of the London Borough of Croydon, London. Croydon Crematorium is located inside the cemetery, and are both mana ...

with members of his family. The monument over William's grave was designed as a broken column to signify that he had died before reaching his peak. A street in South Norwood was named after Hurlstone; his mother had lived in Selhurst Road nearby as did his musician friend

Musical works

The greater part of Hurlstone's body of work consists of works for chamber ensembles. Although they are of consistently high quality, none achieved any great fame, but the Bassoon Sonata has become particularly popular along with the Characteristic Pieces for Clarinet and Piano. Among the better known are: * Phantasie for String Quartet in A minor (published early 1905), which won first prize in the inaugural Cobbett Chamber Music Competition * Piano Quartet in E minor, Op. 43; * Piano Trio in G major, dating from 1905; * Trio in G minor for clarinet, bassoon and piano; and * ''Four Characteristic Pieces'' for clarinet and piano (Ballade, Croon Song, Intermezzo and Scherzo). Additionally, he composed four instrumental sonatas for: * piano solo (in F minor) * violin and piano; * cello and piano (in D major); and * bassoon and piano (in F major). There is also a Quintet in G minor for flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano. His orchestral works include * ''Variations on a Swedish Air''; * ''Variations on a Hungarian Air''; * ''Variations on an Original Theme''; * ''Magic Mirror Suite'' (based on the fairy tale of

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

); and * a Piano Concerto in D major.

Editions of his music

*''Four Characteristic Pieces'' (B clarinet and piano) Emerson Edition (Ref: E97) *''Quintet in G minor'' (flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano; ed. Jonathan Kershaw 1998) Emerson Edition (Ref: E324) *''Scherzo'' (clarinet, bassoon and piano; missing movement from Trio in G minor; ed. Richard Moore) Emerson Edition (Ref: E404) *''Trio in G major'' (violin, cello and piano; published by Edition Silvertrust in 2008, Catalogue No. ES 2008–90) *''Trio in G minor'' (clarinet, bassoon, and piano; new complete edition 2006) Emerson Edition (Ref: E488) – This replaces the original Edition E62 (1982) which was found to contain many inaccuracies.Richard J. Moore
'The Trio in G Minor for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano by William Yeates Hurlstone, a Critical Reassessment'
/ref> *''Sonata in F'' (bassoon and piano) Emerson Edition (Ref: E75)

Recordings

* ''Hurlstone: Chamber Works'',

Dutton Vocalion Dutton Vocalion specialises in re-issuing on CD music recorded between the 1920s and 1970s, and in issuing albums of modern digital recordings. It was established by British recording and re-mastering engineer Michael J. Dutton. Dutton Laborator ...

CDLX7128 (orig. 2003 – reissued 2013) ** Piano Trio in G major ** Adagio from Cello Sonata in D major (performed on viola) ** Piano Quartet in E minor, Op. 43 * ''William Hurlstone: Orchestral Works'',

Lyrita Lyrita is a British classical music record label, specializing in the works of British composers.Lewis Foreman. ''Recording British Music'' (2024), ch. 17, pp. 223-233 Lyrita began releasing LPs in October 1959 as Lyrita Recorded Edition for ...

SRCD208 (orig. 1993 – reissued 2006) ** Variation sets on an Original Theme ** Variation sets on a Hungarian Air **Magic Mirror Suite * ''William Hurlstone: Piano Concerto etc'', Lyrita SRCD2286 (orig. 1979, 1984 – reissued 2007) **Piano Concerto in D **Variations on a Swedish Air **Piano Quartet **Piano Trio * ''The English Romantics – Works for Clarinet, Bassoon & Piano'', Clarinet Classics CC0023 (1998) ** Trio for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano (1998 edition NOT the 2006 edition) **Four Characteristic Pieces * ''Goossens, Hurlstone and Turnbull: Violin Sonatas'', Somm SOMMCD031 (2003) * ''Romantic Cello'',

CDLX7102 (1999) ** Cello Sonata * ''Dale and Hurlstone: Piano Sonatas'', Somm SOMMCD097 (2010) * ''William Hurlstone: Complete Piano Music'' – Kenji Fujimura, Toccata Classics TOCC0289 (2015) * ''Romantic Piano Trios'' – Trio Anima Mundi, Divine Art, DDA 25102 (2013) ** Piano Trio in G major * ''Romance and Reverie: Holst and his contemporaries'', Albion ALBCD 065 (2024) **Four English Sketches **Reverie **Romance

References

Sources

* *

External links

William Yeates Hurlstone: A Web Resource
These pages, prepared by Dr Peter Horton and Katy Hamilton, offer a biography of the composer, a catalogue of his works, facsimiles of letters, documents concert programmes in the collections of the Royal College of Music, some audio recordings, and facsimiles of some of Hurlstone's childhood writings.

* ttp://blackmahler.com [Web site for book/nowiki> ''Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story''">eb site for book">ttp://blackmahler.com [Web site for book/nowiki> ''Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story'' by Charles Elford, 2008, Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd., London, England,
"Biography"
a 2000-word appendix of Richard J. Moore'

��The ''... Reassessment'' also cites dozens of sources.

2- to 3-minute audio excerpt per movement, Edition Silvertrust * * * ''William Hurlstone, Croydon's forgotten Musical Genius'', by Christopher Redwood (Sequoia PublishingUK, 2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurlstone, William 1876 births 1906 deaths 19th-century English classical composers 19th-century English musicians 19th-century English male musicians 20th-century English classical composers 20th-century English conductors (music) 20th-century English male musicians English Romantic composers English male classical composers Alumni of the Royal College of Music Academics of the Royal College of Music Deaths from asthma Composers from London People from Croydon People from Fulham Pupils of Charles Villiers Stanford 19th-century British classical pianists 20th-century English classical pianists