Ovenden, Lionel Hutchison (1893-1976)

Pianist, violinist and composer Lionel Ovenden was born in Worthing, Sussex where his father, Francis Edwin Ovenden, was Mayor. He was a musical prodigy on both piano and violin being tutored by Gustav Stephan, a professor of violin at the Guildhall School of Music. Having previously given a first official recital a month earlier, he appeared at the Queen's Hall on 25 June 1906 as soloist in both the Beethoven Violin Concerto and a Mozart Piano Concerto in D, accompanied by members of the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Landon Ronald, who was then Principal of the Guildhall School of Music.

Ovenden went on to study violin in Brussels with Eugène Ysaÿe and later held the post of organist at various colleges; the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 1915-19; Marlborough College, 1919-22; Wellington College, 1922-24; St. Edward's School, Oxford, 1924-45; the Old Parish Church, Hove, 1946-54; Charterhouse School, 1954. 

In 1923 the composer Albert William Ketelbey dedicated a Valse-Impromptu called 'La Gracieuse' to Lionel Ovenden.

This little Meditation came to light in 2024 when Tony Halstead was searching for items to add to a CD project. Many years ago he had been gifted a box of music from the librarian at the Guildhall School of Music and on revisiting it found this gem of a piece in Db major.

 

 

Lionel Ovenden

Compositions in catalogue

Catalogue no.

Price £

  
To buy click PayPal links below

Composer/arranger
 
 
 

Horn Club series
 
 

Horn & Piano
 
 
 
 
 
Meditation for horn & piano
edb 0702034
7.50
  
Lionel H Ovenden