Gillian Weir
Encyclopedia
Dame Gillian Constance Weir DBE
(born 17 January 1941, Martinborough, New Zealand) is a New Zealand
organist
.
. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London. There, she studied with the concert pianist Cyril Smith
and the renowned organist Ralph Downes
, and in her second year (1964) won the prestigious St. Albans International Organ Competition
.
came at a time when his music was little-known outside France, and she became particularly associated with this composer; she has several times performed his complete works in series. Her recording for Collins Classics was hailed as "one of the major recording triumphs of the century" in
In Tune Magazine.
Her pre-eminent position as Messiaen interpreter has been further underlined by her CD release of his complete organ works to great acclaim as well as by her contribution to Faber's The Messiaen Companion and other publications. At Messiaen's request she gave the first UK performance in January 1973 of the Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité at the Royal Festival Hall
from the composer's manuscript, given to her after he gave the world première in Washington D.C.
Her series of six weekly recitals in Westminster Cathedral
of Messiaen's organ works in 1998, the 90th anniversary of his birth, brought huge audiences, and for her performances she was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, the first organist to have been so honoured. Weir made her début at the Royal Albert Hall
while still a student, as soloist in the Poulenc
Organ Concerto, on the opening night of the 1965 season of the Promenade Concerts
, and in the same year at the Royal Festival Hall
in recital, then the youngest organist to have performed there publicly. She returned to the Albert Hall to make the first recording on the great organ
after the 2004 rebuild.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 17 January 1941, Martinborough, New Zealand) is a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
.
Biography
Gillian Weir was a co-winner of the Auckland Star Piano Competition at 19, playing MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London. There, she studied with the concert pianist Cyril Smith
Cyril Smith (pianist)
Cyril James Smith OBE was a virtuoso concert pianist of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and a piano teacher.-Personal life:...
and the renowned organist Ralph Downes
Ralph Downes
Ralph William Downes CBE was an English organist, organ designer, teacher and music director, and was formerly Professor of Organ of the Royal College of Music....
, and in her second year (1964) won the prestigious St. Albans International Organ Competition
St Albans International Organ Festival
The International Organ Festival is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasingly ambitious programme...
.
Messiaen
Her performance in 1964 of a work by Olivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
came at a time when his music was little-known outside France, and she became particularly associated with this composer; she has several times performed his complete works in series. Her recording for Collins Classics was hailed as "one of the major recording triumphs of the century" in
In Tune Magazine.
Her pre-eminent position as Messiaen interpreter has been further underlined by her CD release of his complete organ works to great acclaim as well as by her contribution to Faber's The Messiaen Companion and other publications. At Messiaen's request she gave the first UK performance in January 1973 of the Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
from the composer's manuscript, given to her after he gave the world première in Washington D.C.
Her series of six weekly recitals in Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
of Messiaen's organ works in 1998, the 90th anniversary of his birth, brought huge audiences, and for her performances she was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, the first organist to have been so honoured. Weir made her début at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
while still a student, as soloist in the Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
Organ Concerto, on the opening night of the 1965 season of the Promenade Concerts
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
, and in the same year at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
in recital, then the youngest organist to have performed there publicly. She returned to the Albert Hall to make the first recording on the great organ
Royal Albert Hall Organ
The Grand Organ situated in the Royal Albert Hall in London, is the second largest pipe organ in the United Kingdom. It was originally built by Henry "Father" Willis and most recently rebuilt by Mander Organs, having 147 stops and 9,997 speaking pipes....
after the 2004 rebuild.
Recordings
Weir's artistry was marked in 1999 by the re-issue on CD of her series of Argo recordings, and her nomination by Classic CD magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Players of the Century, and by the Sunday Times as one of the 1000 Music Makers of the Millennium. In December 2000, ITV's South Bank Show chronicled her worldwide activities as performer, teacher and recording artist in a highly acclaimed documentary.Awards/Honours
- 1975: Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of OrganistsRoyal College of OrganistsThe Royal College of Organists or RCO, is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, but with members around the world...
, London (Hon. FRCO) - 1977: First woman elected to the Council of the Royal College of Organists
- 1981: International Performer of the Year, elected by the American Guild of Organists, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- 1981-83: First woman President of the Incorporated Association of Organists
- 1982: Elected Musician of the Year by the International Music Guide
- 1982: Elected Honorary Member of the International Music Sorority Sigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
- 1983: Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (Hon FRCCO)
- 1983: Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Victoria, Wellington, New Zealand (Hon D.Mus)
- 1985: First musician to receive the Turnovsky Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts
- 1989: Created Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
) for services to music - 1989: Elected Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, London (Hon. RAM) - 1992-93: President of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, England
- 1993: Trustee of the Eric Thompson Charitable Trust for Organists and Organ Music
- 1994-96: First woman President of the Royal College of Organists, England
- 1996: Created Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
) for services to music - 1997-98: Visiting Professor of the Royal Academy of Music, London
- 1997: Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of HuddersfieldUniversity of HuddersfieldThe University of Huddersfield is a university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.- History :The University traces its roots back to a Science and Mechanic Institute founded in 1825...
(Hon D.Litt) - 1998: Awarded Silver Medal by the Albert SchweitzerAlbert SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
Association (Sweden) - 1998–present: President of the Soloist's Ensemble
- 1998: Patron of the Oundle International FestivalOundle International FestivalThe Oundle International Festival is a music festival and organ school held in Oundle, England.- Background :Oundle International Festival was founded in 1985, with the training of young organists as its core component. The summer schools were to be centred upon a new organ, built by Frobenius of...
- 1999: Appointed the Prince Consort Professor in Organ, Royal College of MusicRoyal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, London - 1999: March 1999 - Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Solo Performance in 1998
- 1999: July 1999 - Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of HullUniversity of HullThe University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
(Hon D.Mus) - 1999: Patron of Friends of Young Artists' Platform
- 1999–present: Patron of the CirencesterCirencesterCirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
Early Music Festival - 2000: November 2000 - Elected Fellow of the Royal College of Music, London (FRCM)
- 2000: December 2000 - Subject of television documentary profile by the South Bank Show (ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
) - 2001: February 2001 - Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of ExeterUniversity of ExeterThe University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
(Hon D.Mus) - 2001: Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Birmingham City UniversityBirmingham City UniversityBirmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
(Hon Doctor of the University) - 2003: Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of LeicesterUniversity of LeicesterThe University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
(Hon D.Mus) - 2004: Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of AberdeenUniversity of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
(Hon D.Mus) - 2006: Elected Member of the Senior Common Room at the University CollegeUniversity College, DurhamUniversity College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centred around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 and is the oldest of Durham's colleges. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is, independently of the University, a listed body...
and St Chad's CollegeSt Chad's CollegeSt Chad's College is a college of the University of Durham in England. One of the smallest of Durham's colleges in terms of student numbers , it has the largest staff, the most extensive college library facilities, and consistently the highest academic results in Durham...
, Durham UniversityDurham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837... - 2009: Elected Member of the Senior Common Room at the College of St Hild and St BedeCollege of St Hild and St BedeThe College of St Hild and St Bede, commonly known as Hild Bede, is a college of Durham University in England. It is the University's second largest collegiate body, with over 1000 students. The co-educational college was formed in 1975 following the merger of two much older single-sex...
, Durham UniversityDurham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837... - 2009: Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of LondonUniversity of London-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(Hon D.Mus)