Eric Hope
Life
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, of Baltic descent,[1] he was a pupil at Warwick School, 1931-34. He studied piano playing in London under Kathleen Arnold, herself a pupil of Clara Schumann's most distinguished student, Fanny Davies.[1]
He worked with leading figures of his day, including the conductor Sir Henry Wood and the composer Arthur Bliss. He made his London debut at the BBC Promenade concerts, and could be heard regularly with the London Philharmonic, London Symphony and Hallé orchestras under the batons of conductors such as Malcolm Sargent, Adrian Boult and John Pritchard. During the Second World War Eric Hope was a conscientious objector.
He became renowned as a specialist in the works of Bach, Liszt and Debussy, although he struggled with the music of Clara Schumann's great friend Johannes Brahms.
With his partner Jack Sarch Hope founded the Pro Arte Society in the 1940s. The couple invited performers including Sybil Thorndike, Ralph Richardson and Dirk Bogarde to appear in concerts of words and music, events that drew large audiences to the Royal Festival Hall.
In 1973 Hope joined the staff of the Royal Academy of Music. He also taught at the London College of Music and was president of Birmingham University Music Society.
In 1998 Hope announced that, following extensive research into his family's history, he wished to be known as Erik Khopinski. He died during a concert in Nottingham in 1999.
Publications
- Handbook of Piano Playing, Students' Music Library, Dobson Books Ltd, December 1955, ISBN 978-0234772720
- Aids to technique: Muscular development exercises for pianists and other instrumentalists, Edwin Ashdown, 1962
- Basic Piano Exercises, Edwin Ashdown, 1963
References
- "Obituaries: Eric Hope". The Independent. 1999-08-19. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- Obituary in The Portcullis, the Chronicle of Warwick School, October 1999.