Moore, Gerald

Moore, Gerald, renowned English piano accompanist; b. Watford, July 30, 1899; d. Perm, Buckinghamshire, March 13, 1987. He first studied with Wallis Bandey at the local music school. After the family went to Canada in 1913, he continued his studies with Michael Hambourg, then made appearances as a solo recitalist and accompanist. Following his return to England (1919), he completed his training with Mark Hambourg. He began recording in 1921 and first gained distinction as accompanist to John Coates in 1925; he subsequently achieved well-nigh legendary fame as the preeminent accompanist of the day, appearing with such celebrated singers as Kathleen Ferrier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Janet Baker, and others. He retired from the concert platform in 1967 but continued to make recordings. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1954); was made an honorary D.Litt. by the Univ. of Sussex (1968) and Mus.D. by the Univ. of Cambridge (1973). As a witty account of his experiences at the piano, he publ, a sort of autobiography, The Unashamed Accompanist (London, 1943; rev. 1957), followed by an even more unzipped opus, Am I Too Loud? Memoirs of an Accompanist (London, 1962), and concluding with a somewhat nostalgic vol., Farewell Recital: Further Memoirs (London, 1978), and a rip-roaring sequel, Furthermoore [sic]: Interludes in an Accompanist’s Life (London, 1983). Of a purely didactic nature are his books Singer and Accompanist: The Performance of 50 Songs (London, 1953), The Schubert Song Cycles (London, 1975), and “Poet’s Lore” and Other Schumann Cycles and Songs (London, 1984).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire