Hopekirk: Piano Works

Featuring

Gary Steigerwalt
Helen Hopekirk

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Hopekirk's later compositional style, especially after 1900, was significantly influenced by her Scottish heritage and personal research into the music of the Highland and Island Scots.

Critical Reception

During her American tours, Hopekirk's recitals were highly praised, with The Chicago Tribune declaring they 'would do more for musical taste than any recitals previously given in Chicago'.

Recording & Production

This recording project was funded by a Capstone Grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the American Council on Education, administered by Mount Holyoke College.

Compositional Technique

Hopekirk's Neo-Baroque dance collections, like the Suite for Piano and Serenata Suite, merged early eighteenth-century forms with modern piano harmonies, dynamics, and pedaling to exploit the instrument's rich tone.

Composer Biography

Helen Hopekirk, born in 1856, was the daughter of a printer, bookseller, and piano-retailer, and received her earliest musical training at Windsor Lodge Academy in Portobello.

Composer Biography

After her husband suffered a severe injury in 1897, Hopekirk accepted an invitation from her former classmate George Chadwick to head the piano department at the New England Conservatory to secure a dependable income.

Composer Biography

Hopekirk's husband, William A. Wilson, limited his own business activities for many years to manage her career, organizing extensive tours for her in Great Britain and the United States.