Description

GERTRUDE PEPPERCORN (WEST HORSLEY, SURREY, DECEMBER 1, 1878 – HAILSHAM, SUSSEX, 1966)

 

 

 

 

The daughter of the landscape painter Arthur Douglas Peppercorn (1847-1926) and his wife Marion Aimee Jemina Pooulton (c. 1854-1935), she grew up in an artistic environment. She spent her youth in West Horsley, nothing is known about her early music lessons. As a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the young pianist quickly made a name for herself. Her teacher Tobias Matthay (1858–1945) seems to have encouraged her greatly. Already during her studies she performed frequently and with great success. Between 1894 and 1897 Gertrude Peppercorn was awarded five important prizes (1894 Robert Cocks and Co. Prize, 1895 Sterndall Bennett Prize, 1896 Louisa Hopkins Memorial Prize and Potter Exhibition for Pianists, 1897 Macfarren Gold Medal for Piano Forte Playing). Her repertoire corresponded to the customs of the time: Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Schumann, Liszt transcriptions, Tchaikovsky and others. She also often played compositions by her teacher Matthay. In 1896 she presented herself at the Edinburgh Summer Meeting with works by Rachmaninoff, Paderewski, Chopin, Moszkowski, Matthay, Chaminade and Beethoven. In 1897, shortly after completing her studies, the pianist made her debut at St. James‘s Hall in London.  A lively concert activity, initially mainly in the London area, later also in other regions of England, followed. Her power, the brilliance of the game and her technique are generally praised, as well as the freshness of her game and its clear design. A first trip abroad took place in 1900, when Gertrude Peppercorn was heard in the Netherlands. Further appearances followed here in 1906 and 1907. In 1902 Gertrude Peppercorn appeared in Munich, in 1904 and 1907 she undertook extensive tours to the USA, which were extensively documented in the press. On Jan. 29, 1907, Gertrude Peppercorn married the painter and writer Stacy Aumonier (1877–1928). In 1921 the only son Timothy († 1983) was born. In the mid-1920s, Stacy Aumonier was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After long stays in a sanatorium, he died in a Swiss clinic at the end of 1928. After her marriage, Gertrude Peppercorn continued her concert activities under her birth name, although the next recorded appearances are not until 1912. She appeared as a soloist in piano concertos with orchestra and often together with other former students of the Royal Academy of Music. Mainly romantic and baroque works now appear on the programmes. The pianist later became quieter, but in 1910, 1920, 1930, 1931 and 1935 she traveled again to the Netherlands, where her piano concertos were regularly broadcast on the radio. In the years 1920/1921 Gertrude Peppercorn performed in Paris. She taught piano at Matthay’s School in London and at the Royal Academy of Music.  The last known appearance is on June 17, 1944, where she performed a Brahms-Chopin program at Wigmore Hall in London.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Gertrude Peppercorn plays Bach, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Liszt, Schubert, Chopin

Label: Claviar – 101

Format: Records, LP, Album

Page: UK

Genre: Classical

Style: Romantic

Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desire

Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach

Songs Without Words In G. Op. 62 No. 1

Composed By – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Songs Without Words In C. Op. 67 No. 4

Composed By – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Prelude In C. Sharp Minor Op. 3 No. 2

Composed By – Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff

Claire De Lune In D Flat

Composed By – Claude Debussy

Liebstraum In A Flat

Composed By – Franz Liszt

Impromptu In A Flat Op. 143 No. 1

Composed By – Franz Schubert

Study In G Flat Op. 25 No. 9

Composed By – Frédéric Chopin

Nocturne In C Minor Op. 48 No. 13

Composed By – Frédéric Chopin

Valse In D Flat Op.64 No.1

Composed By – Frédéric Chopin

Study In C Minor Op. 10 No. 12

Composed By – Frédéric Chopin