Gerald Moore
Gerald Moore is widely regarded as the finest recital accompanist of the 20th century. Known for his great sensitivity in adapting to and drawing the best from his various musical partners, he was in constant demand for decades, and his discography amply represents his talents.
Born on July 30, 1899, in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, Moore began taking lessons with Wallis Bandey at the local Watford School of Music. He had perfect pitch. Moore was a reluctant student who had to be dragged to the piano by his parents. He stated that he did not feel truly immersed in music until his middle twenties. The family moved to Canada in 1913, and Moore studied with Michael Hambourg. For a time, he worked as a movie theater accompanist. His family did not envision this as a musical career, however, and sent him back to England. There, he studied with Michael Hambourg's son Mark and began to make solo appearances.
In 1921, Moore signed with EMI, accompanying violinist Renée Chemet on a recording, and he remained on that label for his entire six-decade recording career. Landon Ronald of the Guildhall School of Music noticed Moore's talent as an accompanist and urged him to focus on that field. In 1925, tenor John Coates recruited Moore as his permanent accompanist, and Moore accepted, working with Coates for five years. Moore mostly declined permanent arrangements of this sort but pointed to his work with Coates as a major influence. Other singers noted Moore's gifts, and soon he was in demand as an accompanist. By the late '30s, he was well known and was able to give lectures at Britain's National Gallery on the art of accompaniment, notable in that the accompanist had always previously been considered a secondary figure. He continued to lecture after World War II, and in this capacity, he became a draw even internationally. In 1943, he published a book, The Unashamed Accompanist, which gained popularity despite its arcane subject with its variously instructive and anecdotal style, and he went on to write seven more books, including an accompanist's edition of Schubert's song cycles. In 1986, Moore's various memoir writings were collected into a single volume entitled Am I Too Loud?
Moore often worked with singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Victoria de los Angeles, and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and he was a major influence in propelling the popularity on recordings of tenor Aksel Schiøtz. Most of his work was with singers, but he also accompanied cellist Pablo Casals and other major instrumentalists. He cultivated a distinctive style marked by exceptional legato and a variety of tonal shades generated by subtle but significant use of pedals. He spoke disdainfully of those who considered it the accompanist's job to recede into the background. Moore, however, was a supremely empathetic artist who meshed deeply with musical personalities of his partners. The song recital was Moore's specialty, and he knew the repertory of German lieder deeply. He induced his recital partners to explore lesser-known songs of Schubert, Hugo Wolf, and Richard Strauss, and there are few works by those composers not included somewhere in his large discography. Moore also taught master classes in song interpretation. In 1967, Moore retired from the concert stage, bowing out with a recital at Royal Festival Hall in London that concluded with him playing the piano solo, but he remained active in recordings until 1975. He is widely credited with having raised the status of the accompanist to that of a true partner in the vocal recital. Moore died at his home in Penn, Buckinghamshire, England, on March 13, 1987. Some 450 CD reissues exist that capture some aspect of his work, but a full survey of his importance and influence is lacking.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Songs You Love
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 3 jul. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Song Book, Vol. 1
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 nov. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert Le Voyage d’hiver
Gerald Moore, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Klassiek - Released by Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group on 23 feb. 2018
Diapason d'or16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Most Beautiful Lieder
Gerald Moore, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Klassiek - Released by ISIS on 2 mei 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Lieder Recital
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 20 sep. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wolf: The Italian Songbook
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1969
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wolf: Goethe-Lieder
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 4 okt. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Lieder
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jun. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Violinists, Vol. 20 (1939-1965)
Josef Hassid, Philip Newman, Ivor Newton, Gerald Moore, Charles Hens
Kamermuziek - Released by Symposium on 16 feb. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Schwanengesang etc
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Erlkönig, Op. 1 - Schumann: Die beiden Grenadiere, Op. 49 No. 1 (Mono Version)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1953
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert: Schwanengesang, D.957 - Der Wanderer, D.493 - Der Fischer, D.225 - Erlkönig, D.328
Klassiek - Released by Decca on 1 jan. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert & Wolf: Lieder (Live)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Orfeo on 10 aug. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die Romantiker von Schumann bis Wolf - Lied-Edition Vol. 3
Hermann Prey, Karl Engel, Gerald Moore, Leonard Hokanson
Klassiek - Released by Decca on 1 jan. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolf: Lieder
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 5 mrt. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Schwanengesang, D. 957
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by MVE on 20 jan. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Victoria De Los Angeles in Spanish Songs
Victoria de los Angeles, Gerald Moore, Renata Tarragó
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by Prima Voce on 1 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf chante Schubert
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Edwin Fischer, Gerald Moore, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by Naxos on 27 mei 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The HMV Sessions 1944-1945
Kathleen Ferrier, Gerald Moore
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 6 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo