Dorothea Anne Franchi

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

Dorothea Anne Franchi
Born17 February 1920
Died22 August 2003
OccupationMusic 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

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
  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.
  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.
  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. 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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