Malcolm Troup

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Malcolm Troup (22 February 1930 – 8 December 2021) was a Canadian classical pianist, musicologist and academic administrator, who spent much of his career in London.[1][2]

Early life and education[]

Troup was born on 22 February 1930[3] in Toronto to Wendela (née Seymour Conway), a musician, and William Troup, a stockbroker and former farmer. He received his earliest piano lessons from his mother. He studied under Alberto Guerrero at the Toronto Conservatory, and then in Europe with Sidney Harrison in London (1950–52) and Walter Gieseking in Saarbrücken (1954–56).[1]

He gained a DPhil from the University of York in 1968, with a thesis entitled "Messiaen and the Modern Mind"; his supervisor was the composer and musicologist, Wilfrid Mellers.[1][2]

Career[]

Troup first appeared with the CBC Toronto Orchestra, playing the Piano Concerto in D minor by Anton Rubinstein, at the age of 17. During the 1950s and 1960s he toured in Canada, South America and Europe, including frequent visits to the Soviet Union.[1][2] Despite the demands of his academic career, he did not give up performing and touring, and continued to give concerts after his retirement from academia, including a recital for the 50th anniversary of Martinů's death in 2009.[2]

He served as music director of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (1970–75).[1] In 1975, he co-founded the music department at London's City University, where he remained until his retirement in 1993.[1][4] As a musicologist, he studied Liszt, Debussy and Messiaen.[2]

In 1993, Troup co-founded the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe with Carola Grindea, and served as its chair (1993–2014). He also held positions in other British and European music societies, including master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians (1999–2000), chair of the Ernest Bloch Society and vice-president of the European Piano Teachers' Association.[1]

Personal life[]

In 1962, Troup married Carmen Lamarca Subercasaux (died 2011), from Chile, in Rome, and they settled in the London suburb of Islington. They had one daughter.[1]

In his final months he lived in Newbury, Berkshire, where he participated in a video illustrating the use of music therapy, in which he is shown responding to his own recording of Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus.[2][5] He died on 8 December 2021, at the age of 91.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Julian Jacobson (23 January 2022). Malcolm Troup obituary. The Guardian (accessed 24 January 2022)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Telegraph Obituaries (24 December 2021). Malcolm Troup, dashing pianist whose bravura performances provoked screams and ovations from audiences – obituary. The Daily Telegraph (accessed 24 January 2022)
  3. ^ Malcolm Troup. Classical Music Daily (accessed 24 January 2022)
  4. ^ Steve Stanton (11 January 2022). Remembering Malcolm Troup, founder of City's Department of Music. City, University of London (accessed 24 January 2022)
  5. ^ Watch the emotional moment a Newbury care home resident hears his favourite piano piece (9 September 2021). Care UK (accessed 24 January 2022)
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