Cyril Smith

Cyril James Smith OBE (11 August 1909 – 2 August 1974) was a virtuoso concert pianist of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and a piano teacher.

Personal life

Smith was born at Costa Street, Middlesbrough, England, the son of Charles Smith, a foundry bricklayer, and Eva Harrison, and had an older brother and sister. He married Andrée Antoinette Marie Paty in 1931, but the couple divorced. Smith died in 1974 at his home in East Sheen, London, as a result of a stroke.

Performing From 1926 to 1930, Cyril Smith studied with Herbert Fryer (a student of Tobias Matthay and Ferruccio Busoni) at the Royal College of Music, winning medals and prizes and joined the BBC when they took over. It was at the BBC's early television studios that he met his future second wife, the pianist Phyllis Sellick.

In 1934, Smith left the BBC to take up an appointment as professor of pianoforte at the Royal College of Music. Smith and Sellick married in 1937, pursuing solo careers. During the Second World War Cyril Smith performed concerts for ENSA but in 1941 he and his wife began performing together as a piano duo at the Proms, and made many international concert tours for ENSA and the British Council In 1945, they toured the Far East, Among Cyril Smith's many performances were appearances at The Barn Theatre,

In 1956, while in the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine at the start of a concert tour of the Soviet Union he experienced thrombosis and had a stroke that paralysed his left arm. However, with music arranged by themselves, or written or arranged by composer friends, Smith and Sellick were able to continue to perform concerts of three-handed music as a piano duo. who premiered it at the Proms in 1969 and recorded it in 1970.

Teaching Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick both taught piano at the Royal College of Music John Barstow, Clifford Benson, Philip R Buttall, Maureen Challinor, June Clark, Margaret Fingerhut, Patrick Flynn, Eric Harrison, Joan Havill, David Helfgott, Peter Hill, Antony Hopkins, Niel Immelman, Rae de Lisle, Barry Morgan, Siva Oke, Aydin Önaç, Jennifer Pearce, June Pepin, Joan Ryall, Stephen Savage, Kimberly Schmidt, Jo Spanjer, Kathron Sturrock, Sharon Joy Vogan, David Ward, Fanny Waterman, Gillian Weir, Kenneth Weir, Frank Wibaut, Simon Young, and David Waldmann. In 1973 Cyril Smith was once again appointed professor of pianoforte until his death the next year.

Autobiography

Cyril Smith's autobiography written in the form of a memoir, is entitled Duet for Three Hands (Angus & Robertson, 1958). One of the chapters was written by his wife Phyllis Sellick.

Honours Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick were both made Officers of the Order of the British Empire in 1971.

Discography Cyril Smith, Phyllis Sellick and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra (conductor Malcolm Sargent), Dutton, (P)1947/48 Phyllis Sellick, Cyril Smith, Orchestras of the Bournemouth Symphony, Philharmonia, City of Birmingham and the Royal Philharmonic, Arnold: English Dances, HMV Classics Cyril Smith & Phyllis Sellick, Piano Duos: Faure Mendessohn Franck Schubert, Nimbus Records, (P)1974 (Cyril's last recording) Cyril Smith, The Complete Solo Recordings (recorded 1929–52), APR 7313 (3 CDs)