Vera Bradford
Encyclopedia
Vera Florence Bradford was an Australia
n classical pianist
and teacher, with a very long career. Her playing was admired for its depth and beauty of tone, classical unity and tremendous power.
Vera Bradford was born in Melbourne
to a musical family. Her mother Edith was a pianist, and her father Frederick and brother Cec were violinists. She started learning the piano at the age of seven, and she graduated from the University of Melbourne
Conservatorium in 1927, with the highest honours. In 1928 she took up a scholarship with Percy Grainger
in Chicago
. (Grainger and his wife Ella became close friends of Vera’s, and Ella always stayed with Vera on Percy's visits to Australia.) She also studied at the Chicago Musical College with Rudolph Ganz
and Alexander Raab
. It was Raab who introduced her to the technique that made her famous, the 'arm weight' technique of the Russian teacher Theodor Leschetizky, which she had first experienced when seeing Benno Moiseiwitsch
perform in Melbourne in the 1920s. It was this which developed the big tone and control that became a feature of her performances of the works of Brahms
, Rachmaninoff
and Liszt
. Raab insisted she not play the piano for a year, so that she could unlearn her previous techniques, and practise with the piano lid down.
Her debut was in 1931 at the Chicago Opera House where she played the 'Hungarian Gypsy Airs' by Sophie Menter
, orchestrated by Tchaikovsky
. This was followed by a long and triumphant career as a concert pianist in which she gave many first Australian performances – George Gershwin
’s Concerto in F
, Richard Strauss
's Burleske in D minor
(1937), the Sophie Menter piece mentioned above, Debussy
's Feux d'artifices, and works by Bartók
and William Walton
. She played extensively in Australia and with the fledgling Australian Broadcasting Commission
(ABC) orchestras before World War II
, and after the war undertook a number of overseas tours. In 1946 she was the first Australian woman to perform the Brahms concertos, which the ABC and Bernard Heinze
had previously considered too difficult for a woman. The critic Neville Cardus
wrote of a performance of the D minor concerto
with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
: "Miss Bradford put forth a strength which many men might envy or fear. It was virtuoso playing of a rare order".
The same attitude had prevailed when she was contracted to premiere Richard Strauss's Burleske with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
in 1937. The visiting Finnish conductor Georg Schnéevoigt
discovered the pianist was a woman and demanded she be replaced by a male pianist; but Vera Bradford was not one to be intimidated, and she gave an excellent performance.
For many years she was a teacher at Melbourne University. In 1963 she represented Australia at the 2nd International Music Festival in Seoul, Korea and visited Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. For some time in the 1960s she taught students in a private home in Frankston and was loved by her pupils. She continued to be active in music well into the 1970s, being the first pianist to perform a recital for Melbourne television However, for a time during this period, she was excluded from any ABC engagements, due to difficulties she had with the General Manager, Sir Charles Moses
, and her recordings were banned from ABC Radio. In fact, there are no recordings on file of her work at the ABC. In 1968 she formed the Frankston Music Society and the Frankston Symphony Orchestra
, and performed with it on a number of occasions. She also arranged for young pianists such as Geoffrey Tozer
and Ronald Farren-Price to appear with the orchestra.
Vera Bradford never married, preferring to focus her energies on her musical career.
She died on 6 January 2004, eight months short of her 100th birthday, at Tanderra Hostel in Camberwell
, Melbourne. She often gave impromptu concerts there for her fellow guests, the last time being just two months before her death.
The Frankston campus of Monash University
houses a large collection of Vera Bradford's items that she donated; it is known as the Vera Bradford Music Collection.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n classical pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and teacher, with a very long career. Her playing was admired for its depth and beauty of tone, classical unity and tremendous power.
Vera Bradford was born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to a musical family. Her mother Edith was a pianist, and her father Frederick and brother Cec were violinists. She started learning the piano at the age of seven, and she graduated from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
Conservatorium in 1927, with the highest honours. In 1928 she took up a scholarship with Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. (Grainger and his wife Ella became close friends of Vera’s, and Ella always stayed with Vera on Percy's visits to Australia.) She also studied at the Chicago Musical College with Rudolph Ganz
Rudolph Ganz
Rudolph Ganz was a Swiss pianist, conductor and composer. He claimed direct descent from Charlemagne.-Biography:...
and Alexander Raab
Alexander Raab
Alexander Raab was a Hungarian-American pianist and distinguished piano teacher.Alexander Raab was born in Győr , Hungary. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory under Hans Schmitt , Robert Fuchs and Theodor Leschetizky and became acquainted with Johannes Brahms...
. It was Raab who introduced her to the technique that made her famous, the 'arm weight' technique of the Russian teacher Theodor Leschetizky, which she had first experienced when seeing Benno Moiseiwitsch
Benno Moiseiwitsch
Benno Moiseiwitsch CBE was a Ukrainian-born British pianist.-Biography:Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Moiseiwitsch began his studies at age seven at the Odessa Music Academy. He won the Anton Rubinstein Prize when he was just nine years old. He later took lessons from Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna...
perform in Melbourne in the 1920s. It was this which developed the big tone and control that became a feature of her performances of the works of Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
and Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. Raab insisted she not play the piano for a year, so that she could unlearn her previous techniques, and practise with the piano lid down.
Her debut was in 1931 at the Chicago Opera House where she played the 'Hungarian Gypsy Airs' by Sophie Menter
Sophie Menter
Sophie Menter was a German pianist and composer who became the favorite female student of Franz Liszt. She was called l'incarnation de Liszt in Paris because of her robust, electrifying playing style and was considered one of the greatest piano virtuosos of her time.Sophie Menter was born in...
, orchestrated by Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
. This was followed by a long and triumphant career as a concert pianist in which she gave many first Australian performances – George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
’s Concerto in F
Concerto in F (Gershwin)
Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue...
, Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Burleske in D minor
Burleske (Richard Strauss)
The Burleske in D minor is a composition for piano and orchestra by Richard Strauss in 1885-86, when he was 21.-Original title and dedication:...
(1937), the Sophie Menter piece mentioned above, Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Feux d'artifices, and works by Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
and William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. She played extensively in Australia and with the fledgling Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC) orchestras before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and after the war undertook a number of overseas tours. In 1946 she was the first Australian woman to perform the Brahms concertos, which the ABC and Bernard Heinze
Bernard Heinze
Sir Bernard Thomas Heinze, AC was an Australian Professor of Music, conductor, and Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music....
had previously considered too difficult for a woman. The critic Neville Cardus
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
wrote of a performance of the D minor concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra composed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, Germany, the following year.-Form:...
with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
: "Miss Bradford put forth a strength which many men might envy or fear. It was virtuoso playing of a rare order".
The same attitude had prevailed when she was contracted to premiere Richard Strauss's Burleske with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
in 1937. The visiting Finnish conductor Georg Schnéevoigt
Georg Schnéevoigt
Georg Schnéevoigt was a Finnish conductor and cellist, born in Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland, which is now in Russia....
discovered the pianist was a woman and demanded she be replaced by a male pianist; but Vera Bradford was not one to be intimidated, and she gave an excellent performance.
For many years she was a teacher at Melbourne University. In 1963 she represented Australia at the 2nd International Music Festival in Seoul, Korea and visited Japan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. For some time in the 1960s she taught students in a private home in Frankston and was loved by her pupils. She continued to be active in music well into the 1970s, being the first pianist to perform a recital for Melbourne television However, for a time during this period, she was excluded from any ABC engagements, due to difficulties she had with the General Manager, Sir Charles Moses
Charles Moses
Sir Charles Moses CBE headed the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 1935 until 1965....
, and her recordings were banned from ABC Radio. In fact, there are no recordings on file of her work at the ABC. In 1968 she formed the Frankston Music Society and the Frankston Symphony Orchestra
Frankston Symphony Orchestra
The Frankston Symphony Orchestra is one of ten community orchestras in Victoria, Australia. It is from the Melbourne suburb of Frankston - on the Mornington Peninsula...
, and performed with it on a number of occasions. She also arranged for young pianists such as Geoffrey Tozer
Geoffrey Tozer
Geoffrey Tozer was an Australian classical pianist and composer. As a child prodigy, he composed an opera at the age of eight, and became the youngest recipient of a Churchill Fellowship award at 13...
and Ronald Farren-Price to appear with the orchestra.
Vera Bradford never married, preferring to focus her energies on her musical career.
She died on 6 January 2004, eight months short of her 100th birthday, at Tanderra Hostel in Camberwell
Camberwell, Victoria
Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Camberwell had a population of 19,637....
, Melbourne. She often gave impromptu concerts there for her fellow guests, the last time being just two months before her death.
The Frankston campus of Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
houses a large collection of Vera Bradford's items that she donated; it is known as the Vera Bradford Music Collection.
Sources
- Australian Women’s History Forum
- Monash University: Vera Bradford Music Collection
- Frankston Music Society
- Obituary 'Concert pianist studied with Grainger', The Age, 31 January 2004, p. 23