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The Radio 3 Boards > The Radio 3 Boards > General Radio 3 Discussion > RIP Phyllis Sellick
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Author Topic: RIP Phyllis Sellick  (Read 357 times)
iwarburton
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Posts: 139
« on: 13:12:23, 30-05-2007 »
The pianist Phyllis Sellick has died at the age of 95.  She enjoyed a concert career in her own right and was teaching right up till last year.  But the public will remember her primarily for her professional partnership with her husband, Cyril Smith, who died in 1974.  Their days of playing duets appeared to have ended when he suffered a stroke in 1956 but they then rearranged their entire repertoire for three hands (a hugely daunting task) and resumed their joint career in 1957.  Subsequently a number of composers, including Malcolm Arnold, wrote pieces specially adapted to their need.  The story was told by PS when she was on Desert Island Discs about 6 years ago.

My sympathy to her family.

Ian.
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smittims
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Posts: 258
« Reply #1 on: 08:59:04, 01-06-2007 »
I treasure an early photo of her on an HMV CD cover,what a beauty she was in 1945!

And what a noble pioneer of English music,with the Tippett first sonata,the Walton Sinfonia Concertante and the Rawsthorne First concerto . As Constant Lambert said in  a letter of 17 September 1945:

'Old Fishface had a good call after his concerto... it was very well played by Phyllis Sellick and I was delighted to see that  it had a bad notice from W.Glock.'

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pim_derks
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« Reply #2 on: 09:37:19, 01-06-2007 »
I'm sorry to read about the death of Phyllis Sellick.

I've heard indeed a three hand piano concerto by Malcolm Arnold: a very energizing piece of music!

Speaking of Constant Lambert: he was mentioned in the Elgar feature on WDR 3 yesterday evening:

http://r3ok.myforum365.com/index.php?topic=1167.0

The author of the book Music Ho! was introduced as Christopher Lambert: apparently he isn't very famous in Cologne. Grin
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"People hate anything well made. It gives them a guilty conscience." John Betjeman
iwarburton
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« Reply #3 on: 12:13:58, 01-06-2007 »
They could have confused him with his son Christopher Lambert (1935-81) who, as Kit Lambert, was a record producer and manager of the Who in the 60s.  Eeerily, he emulated his father by dying shortly before his 46th birthday.

Ian.
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pim_derks
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« Reply #4 on: 15:05:57, 01-06-2007 »
Quote from: iwarburton on 12:13:58, 01-06-2007
They could have confused him with his son Christopher Lambert (1935-81) who, as Kit Lambert, was a record producer and manager of the Who in the 60s.  Eeerily, he emulated his father by dying shortly before his 46th birthday.

Ian.

I didn't know that, Ian. Many thanks! Smiley
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"People hate anything well made. It gives them a guilty conscience." John Betjeman
martle
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« Reply #5 on: 15:36:27, 01-06-2007 »
Of course one reason for their early deaths was the phenomenal amounts of alcohol and, in Kit's case, drugs they consumed. Constant's father wasn't much better. There is a really excellent triple biog about all three of them, called The Lamberts, by Andrew Motion. Well worth a read.

(Motion is a far, far better biographer than he is poet, IMO.)
« Last Edit: 11:24:38, 02-06-2007 by martle » Logged
Green. Always green.
pim_derks
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« Reply #6 on: 16:08:38, 01-06-2007 »
That must be a very interesting book indeed, Martle! Many thanks. Smiley

This week's episode of Last Word on Radio 4 includes an item about Phyllis Sellick.
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"People hate anything well made. It gives them a guilty conscience." John Betjeman
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