Jennifer Pike is an English violinist and teacher born (in Stockport,
England – Stockport is about five miles southeast of Manchester) on November 9,
1989. She is known for having been the
youngest winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award competition in
2002. On the occasion of her
performance, she played the well-known Mendelssohn concerto - the one in e
minor. She was 12 years old. Since then, she has forged a solo career,
touring the world as soloist in recital and with orchestra, as most concert
artists do. Her violin studies began at
age 5. I do not know who her first
teacher was, although it is very likely that it was her father, a violinist and
composer. At age 8 she entered Chetham’s
School of Music in Manchester. She made
her debut at age 15 playing Haydn’s fourth violin concerto (the one in G),
although by then she had already been recognized as a child prodigy and made
public appearances, including one at the Royal Opera House when she was ten
years old. She further studied with
David Takeno in London. She also
attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and the University
of Oxford (in Oxford, England – about 40 miles northwest of London) from which
she graduated in 2012. Her discography
is not extensive but she has recorded a few works for the Chandos and Sony
labels. Pike has played a Matteo Goffriller
violin constructed in 1708 for some time but I do not know if she is still
playing that violin. Here is a YouTube
video where she is playing a popular piece by William Kroll.
Edward Elgar (Sir Edward William Elgar) was an English violinist and composer born on June 2, 1857 (Brahms was 24 years old.) During his early career, he struggled to establish himself as a composer and played in various orchestras and gave lessons in order to support himself. He began his study of the violin and piano at the age of 8 but was mostly self-taught as a composer. He learned much by arranging the music of classical composers for ensembles he played in as a young man. He did not achieve national recognition as a prominent composer until 1899, at age 42; however, by 1902, he was enjoying international fame. Today, he is remembered for his Enigma Variations (1899), violin concerto (1910), cello concerto (1919), and Pomp and Circumstance Marches. His Symphony No. 1 (1908) received over one hundred performances in its very first year, a feat probably unmatched by any other composer since then. One of his violin pupils was Marie Hall, though only for a very brief while. Elgar died in February 1934, at 76 years of age.
Edward Elgar (Sir Edward William Elgar) was an English violinist and composer born on June 2, 1857 (Brahms was 24 years old.) During his early career, he struggled to establish himself as a composer and played in various orchestras and gave lessons in order to support himself. He began his study of the violin and piano at the age of 8 but was mostly self-taught as a composer. He learned much by arranging the music of classical composers for ensembles he played in as a young man. He did not achieve national recognition as a prominent composer until 1899, at age 42; however, by 1902, he was enjoying international fame. Today, he is remembered for his Enigma Variations (1899), violin concerto (1910), cello concerto (1919), and Pomp and Circumstance Marches. His Symphony No. 1 (1908) received over one hundred performances in its very first year, a feat probably unmatched by any other composer since then. One of his violin pupils was Marie Hall, though only for a very brief while. Elgar died in February 1934, at 76 years of age.