The death of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday marked the end of a monumental history: 70 years, 15 prime ministers, 1 Queen. For these 70 years, the Queen was also the patron of the Royal Academy of Music, my alma mater. By chance, she visited the school during my first year there, and I was very excited to have sat only a few rows away. The Queen spread her love for music by being the patron of institutions and orchestras, as well as being very amiable to musicians. She received two honorary degrees: Bachelor of Music from University of London, and Doctorate of Music from the University of Wales. Apparently, the Queen also played the piano herself. In paying tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, this post is a brief researching into snippets of her stories with the piano.
In her 2018 Christmas speech, the golden piano behind Queen Elizabeth II sparked the interest of many piano fans.[ii] The 18th-century-style gilded piano by the Erard firm was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1856. Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were both pianists, and often played duets together.[i] Felix Mendelssohn, a favourite composer of the couple[iii], arranged personally one of his songs without words for piano duet, and sent the manuscript to Prince Albert in 1847.[iv]
Queen Elizabeth II has occurred in photographed with a few other pianos in the Buckingham Palace. As a child, she received lessons with her sister (Princess Margaret) from their mother – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. When she was only 5 years old, Princess Elizabeth II and her sister received the dedication of Nursery Suite by Sir Edward Elgar. Charles Woodhouse has made an arrangement of the suite for piano solo, and below is my rendition of piece no.2, ‘Serious Doll’.
Many of Queen Elizabeth II’s piano stories predate her coronation. Princess Elizabeth was seen playing the piano for her sister and mother in 1942, and in 1946, seen at the piano with the score of a waltz on the reading desk.[v] In 1947, there is a beautiful, short piece written by Arnold Bliss called ‘Morning Song, May Time in Sussex’, a piece for piano and orchestra, to celebrate the 21st birthday of Princess Elizabeth.[vi] It is said that her last time playing piano at a public was in 1950, when she performed at a charity concert in London, but I have yet to locate the whereabouts of the concert, and what repertoire was performed.
Little is known regarding what her favourite piece is on the piano, excepting that in 2016 the BBC revealed the Queen’s 10 top favourite tunes, which consisted mostly of songs from musicals.[vii] There are two hymns: Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven, and The Lord is My Shepherd. The last verse of the latter hymn is of particular blissfulness for this moment in time: may Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II rest in eternal peace.
Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me, and in God’s house forevermore my dwelling place shall be.
[i] https://music.si.edu/story/smithsonian-year-music-object-day-october-24-grand-piano-gifted-prince-albert-queen-victoria, accessed 14/09/22.
[ii] The Queen’s Christmas message for 2018, CBC News, accessed 14/09/22.
[iii]https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohn-and-queen-victoria/, accessed 14/09/22.
[iv] https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/trails/the-patronage-and-collecting-of-queen-victoria-and-prince-albert/song. Their website is currently not accessible owing to updates following recent announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. On it would be the manuscript image.
[v] https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/queen-elizabeth-ii-piano-singing-training/, accessed 14/09/22.
[vi] Morning Song, “Maytime in Sussex”, Ashley Wass & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, 2011 Naxos, accessed 14/09/22.
[vii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36467980, accessed 14/09/22.
Joyce Tang 