Hill, William Henry
Hill, William Henry
(b.1857, d.1927)
London and Oxford.
William Henry Hill is one of the lesser-known sons of William Ebsworth Hill, working for the firm W. E. Hill & Sons in his later years. As a proficient viola player, he should not be confused with the brother of W. E. Hill, Henry Hill (who played the solo in the London premier of Harold in Italy). His obituary is particularly interesting in terms of the society of amateur musicians that he worked with and the familiarity of their names as the cognoscenti in London who owned and collected Cremonese violins.
He retired to Beacon Hill, Saltwood, near Hythe in Kent, and his obituary was reported in the Folkstone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald, 29 January 1927.
"As briefly recorded in last week's issue of "The Herald", the death occurred at Beacon Hill, Saltwood, on the 20th inst., of Mr. William Henry Hill.
The deceased, who was in his seventieth year, was the eldest son of the late Mr. William E. Hill, the violin maker whose forebears had been violin makers and musicians for several generations. Born in 1857, he showed a talent for music, and was trained for the musical profession, in which he attained a certain amount of distinction. He took up the study of the viola, and began his professional career by playing at the pantomime in th Italian Opera, and in most of the Symphony Orchestras.
His preference, however, was for chamber music, and he lost no opportunity of playing with the leading amateurs of his day, such as Alfred Borwick (father of the pianist), Frederick Pawle, Alfred Pawle (who's eldest daughter, an accomplished pianist, he married)., the Rev. Henry Deane, of St John's a gifted 'cellist, who with Sir Walter Parratt and other enthusiasts for forty odd years ago, did so much for music at Oxford; Sir John Muir Mackezie, and his brother Montagu Muir Mackenzie; Richard Lak Harrrison and his brother Daren't: Vincent Purrier and Walter Scadding, both London solicitors (the former played in chamber music practically every night of his life), and Baron Johhann Knoop, who led his own quartet. A memorable occasion for William Hill was when on April 5th, 1884, he was called upon by Professor Joachim to take part in a celebration of Spohr's centenary, which was held at the German Atheneum.
Owing to indifferent health, he subsequently retired from the profession and joined his brothers in th firm of W. E. Hill and Sons, where his knowledge of the tonal qualities of stringed instruments proved an invaluable asset, and ultimately found utterance in his part of "The Life of Stradivari" published by the firm. After ten years he withdrew from business, and spent the remainder of his life in retirement. He leaves a son who has ben trained as a violin maker and a musician, to carry on the name and all the traditions with which it has so long been associated."
Benjamin Hebbert
www.hebberts.com
(b.1857, d.1927)
London and Oxford.
William Henry Hill is one of the lesser-known sons of William Ebsworth Hill, working for the firm W. E. Hill & Sons in his later years. As a proficient viola player, he should not be confused with the brother of W. E. Hill, Henry Hill (who played the solo in the London premier of Harold in Italy). His obituary is particularly interesting in terms of the society of amateur musicians that he worked with and the familiarity of their names as the cognoscenti in London who owned and collected Cremonese violins.
He retired to Beacon Hill, Saltwood, near Hythe in Kent, and his obituary was reported in the Folkstone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald, 29 January 1927.
The deceased, who was in his seventieth year, was the eldest son of the late Mr. William E. Hill, the violin maker whose forebears had been violin makers and musicians for several generations. Born in 1857, he showed a talent for music, and was trained for the musical profession, in which he attained a certain amount of distinction. He took up the study of the viola, and began his professional career by playing at the pantomime in th Italian Opera, and in most of the Symphony Orchestras.
His preference, however, was for chamber music, and he lost no opportunity of playing with the leading amateurs of his day, such as Alfred Borwick (father of the pianist), Frederick Pawle, Alfred Pawle (who's eldest daughter, an accomplished pianist, he married)., the Rev. Henry Deane, of St John's a gifted 'cellist, who with Sir Walter Parratt and other enthusiasts for forty odd years ago, did so much for music at Oxford; Sir John Muir Mackezie, and his brother Montagu Muir Mackenzie; Richard Lak Harrrison and his brother Daren't: Vincent Purrier and Walter Scadding, both London solicitors (the former played in chamber music practically every night of his life), and Baron Johhann Knoop, who led his own quartet. A memorable occasion for William Hill was when on April 5th, 1884, he was called upon by Professor Joachim to take part in a celebration of Spohr's centenary, which was held at the German Atheneum.
Owing to indifferent health, he subsequently retired from the profession and joined his brothers in th firm of W. E. Hill and Sons, where his knowledge of the tonal qualities of stringed instruments proved an invaluable asset, and ultimately found utterance in his part of "The Life of Stradivari" published by the firm. After ten years he withdrew from business, and spent the remainder of his life in retirement. He leaves a son who has ben trained as a violin maker and a musician, to carry on the name and all the traditions with which it has so long been associated."
Benjamin Hebbert
www.hebberts.com
