 Stirling, where Frederic Lamond Died |
Frederic Lamond lived from 28 January 1868 to 21 February 1948. He was a classical pianist and composer. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline.
Frederic Lamond was born in Glasgow. He is said to have come from a fairly poor background, and all that is know about his early life is that he received piano lessons from his brother, David. This story of his background is slightly at odds with his commencing studies at the age of 14 in 1882 at the Raff Conservatory in Frankfurt as a pupil of Hans von Bülow. Such was his promise that von Bülow recommended he become a student of the eminent pianist and composer, Franz Liszt. Lamond became a pupil of Liszt, working with him in Weimar, Rome and London. Liszt died in 1886, and Lamond became a pupil of Johannes Brahms.
During this period, Lamond also became a highly acclaimed performer. His first Berlin concert took place on 17 November 1885, and after appearances in Vienna and Glasgow he performed a series of recitals in London in 1886. He would go on to play throughout Europe, including in Russia, though he spent most of his time in his adoptive home, Germany. As a concert pianist, Lamond was instrumental in the popularisation of the works of Johannes Brahms, and for many years he was considered to be the pre-eminent player of Beethoven's works anywhere in the world.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Lamond made many recordings of Beethoven's works as well as of works by lesser composers. He was by now probably past his best as a pianist, but his recordings were still widely acclaimed. Lamond was living in Prague when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938. As a British citizen he was forced to flee, returning to London where he gave more concerts during the Second World War. He died at the age of 80 in Stirling in 1948.
