Taylor, Franklin

1843-

Pianist and teacher; born at Birmingham, England. He began the study of music when he was very young, taking piano lessons of Charles Flavell and organ of T. Bedsmore, then organist of Lichfield Cathedral, under whom he learned so rapidly that he could play the church service at the cathedral when he was only eleven. From 1859 to 1861 he studied at Leipsic Conservatory, taking theory of Hauptmann, Papperitz and Richter and piano of Moscheles and Plaidy. From Leipsic he went to Paris in 1861 and there studied with Mme. Schumann. The following year he returned to England and established himself as a concert pianist and teacher. As a piano-player he was very successful, and was heard at the Popular concerts and the Crystal Palace in London and in Liverpool and Birmingham as well. In 1876 he became teacher at the National Training School, but in 1882 gave up this position to become professor of piano at the Royal College of Music. He was director of the Philharmonic concerts from 1891 to 1893, and he is on the associate board of the Royal Academy of Music and of the Royal College of Music for local examinations. He is also president of the Academy for the Higher Development of Pianoplaying. Besides all this pedagogical work he was organist at Twickenham Parish Chapel and at St. Michael's, Chester Square. Taylor has written a number of pedagogical works, among them being Technique and Expression in Piano-playing; The Pianoforte Tutor, and The Primer of Piano-playing, which has been translated into German. He has translated E. F. Richter's works on Counterpoint, Harmony, Canon and Fugue, edited Beethoven's Sonatas, and contributed articles to Grove's Dictionary. He is an excellent pianoteacher and inspires his pupils with high musical ideals.