Dorothea Anne Franchi

Dorothea Anne Franchi
Dorothea Anne Franchi
Born	17 February 1920
Died	22 August 2003 (aged 83)
Occupation	Music composer

Dorothea Anne Franchi (17 February 1920 – 22 August 2003) was a New Zealand pianist, harpist, music educator and composer.

Early life and education

Franchi was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1920, the daughter of Peter Rudolph and Gertrude Franchi.^[1] She studied at the Auckland Teachers College and the University of Auckland, where she graduated BMus in 1939.^[2] She then went to the Royal College of Music in London in 1948.^[2] She studied harp, composition and piano accompaniment.^[3]

Career

Franchi taught music at Epsom Girls' Grammar School in Auckland before going to study in London.^[2] From 1953 to 1958 she took the position of musical director and pianist for the newly formed New Zealand Ballet Company, working with Poul Gnatt.^[4] She had a successful career as a pianist and harpist, and her works are performed internationally.^[5]^[4]

Honours and awards

Lionel Tertis Prize for Viola Rhapsody, 1950
Philip Neill Memorial Prize, 1947
The Composers Association of New Zealand KBB Citation for Services to New Zealand Music, 2000^[6]

Works

Franchi composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, voice and instrumental performance. Selected works include:

A Man of Life Upright for bass and piano
A Wet Night in Greymouth for voice and piano
Abel Tasman for voice, piccolo, piano and drum
Apple-Picking Time for voice and piano
Concertino for harmonica, harp and strings
Do-Wack-A-Do (1956) – orchestral suite from the ballet of the same name
El Bailador Inamorado song cycle for tenor and piano
Eventide for tenor, string quartet and piano
Four Pioneer Portraits (1949) – cycle of four songs for mezzo-soprano and piano based on poems by Robin Hyde, Eileen Duggan and Louis Esson^[2]
God Bless You Boy for voice and piano

References

^ "Franchi, Dorothea Anne, 1920-2003". National Library of New Zealand. 1 January 1920. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dart, William (26 August 2003). "Obituary: Dorothea Franchi". NZ Herald. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
^ Thomson, John Mansfield (1990). Biographical dictionary of New Zealand composers. Wellington [N.Z.]: Victoria University Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-86473-095-0. OCLC 22895790.
^ ^a ^b "Dorothea Anne Franchi". SOUNZ. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
^ Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian (1994). The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393034875. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
^ Dees, Pamela Youngdahl (2004). A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers: Women born after 1900.

External links

Dorothea Franchi Collection at the Alexander Turnbull Library

[1] "Franchi, Dorothea Anne, 1920-2003". National Library of New Zealand. 1 January 1920. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

[:0-2] Dart, William (26 August 2003). "Obituary: Dorothea Franchi". NZ Herald. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.

[3] Thomson, John Mansfield (1990). Biographical dictionary of New Zealand composers. Wellington [N.Z.]: Victoria University Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-86473-095-0. OCLC 22895790.

[:1-4] "Dorothea Anne Franchi". SOUNZ. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

[5] Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian (1994). The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393034875. Retrieved 10 December 2010.

[6] Dees, Pamela Youngdahl (2004). A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers: Women born after 1900.

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