from the Houldsworth Hall. Manchester
A Pianoforte Recital by Frank Merrick with songs by Bettine Young (soprano)
Hope Squire (1878-1936), who married Frank Merrick in 1911, studied the piano under Henry Gadsby and afterwards had some greatly valued lessons from Ernst von Dohnanyi and Tobias Matthay. But she never received systematic instruction in composition. What helped her most was her wide knowledge of the musical works of many periods. Partly because she was anxious to leave behind her nothing of second-rate quality her works were very limited.
The song was her main preoccupation as a composer, and even her two most important instrumental pieces, the piano variations on 'Black-eyed Susan' and the tone poem ' Tom Bowling', are both based on songs. She combines finish of workmanship with keen attention to the words, both as regards their lyrical structure and their meaning.
FRANK MERRICK