Frank Anderson Tyrer (17 November 1891 – 16 December 1962) was anEnglish concertpianist, composer and first conductor of New Zealand'sNational Orchestra.
Tyrer was born inAccrington, Lancashire in 1891 and studied at theRoyal Manchester College of Music.[1] He won a scholarship of four years from the County Council.[citation needed] He served in theArmy in 1914 to 1918.[citation needed]
He made his debut at aPromenade concert underThomas Beecham in 1919, playing theRachmaninoffsecond concerto. Over the next four years he gave a series of orchestral concerts in theQueen's Hall, London, playing concerti byBeethoven,Rachmaninoff,Grieg,Tchaikovsky,Arensky,Liszt andMackenzie. He also played the piano part inScriabin'sPrometheus several times.[citation needed]
In around 1922 Tyrer made somegramophone records withAdrian Boult and theBritish Symphony Orchestra for the Velvet Face (V-F) label, a department ofEdison Bell Records; the recordings includedLiszt'sPiano Concerto No. 1 in E flat andFranck'sSymphonic Variations.[citation needed]
He toured Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as a performer, conductor and musical examiner.[1][2] He visited New Zealand during the 1930s, often as a music examiner.[1][2][3][4]
He performed as a soloist with and conducted the Wellington Symphony Orchestra.[1] In 1940 he became conductor of the New Zealand Centennial Music Festival Orchestra which played concerts in several cities between May and June.[1][2][5] The orchestra played his compositionDr Faustus (1940), a symphonic setting for chorus and orchestra based onMarlowe's poem.[1][2] He was the founding conductor of the New Zealand National Orchestra, now theNew Zealand Symphony Orchestra, from 1946 to 1950.[1][6]
His composing style was English and of the first half of the 20th century.[1] He wrote symphonic works, a piano concerto, piano pieces and songs.[1]
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