Dorothea Anne Franchi
New Zealand composer and harpist
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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