Janet Craxton
Encyclopedia
Janet Helen Rosemary Craxton (17 May 192918 July 1981) was an English
oboe
player and teacher. She was the youngest of the six children and the only daughter of the pianist and teacher Harold Craxton
. Her older brothers included the artist John Craxton
. She married the composer Alan Richardson in 1961.
Janet Craxton studied at the Royal Academy of Music
from 1945 to 1948 and at the Paris Conservatoire from 1948 to 1949. She was principal oboist of the Hallé Orchestra
from 1949 to 1952, the London Mozart Players
from 1952 to 1954, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
from 1954 to 1963, the London Sinfonietta
from 1969 to 1981, and the orchestra of the Royal Opera House
from 1979 to 1981. She was appointed oboe professor
at the Royal Academy of Music in 1958.
She was much in demand as a soloist
, and gave world premières
of works by Ralph Vaughan Williams
, Lennox Berkeley
, Alan Rawsthorne
, Elisabeth Lutyens
, Elizabeth Maconchy
, Richard Stoker
and Priaulx Rainier
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
player and teacher. She was the youngest of the six children and the only daughter of the pianist and teacher Harold Craxton
Harold Craxton
Thomas Harold Hunt Craxton, OBE was an English pianist and composer.Craxton studied piano at the Tobias Matthay Pianoforte School and made a name for himself early in his career as an accompanist with performers such as Dame Nellie Melba, Dame Clara Butt, Lionel Tertis and John McCormack.In 1919...
. Her older brothers included the artist John Craxton
John Craxton
John Leith Craxton, RA, was an English painter. He was sometimes called a neo-Romantic artist but he preferred to be known as a "kind of Arcadian".-Career:...
. She married the composer Alan Richardson in 1961.
Janet Craxton studied at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
from 1945 to 1948 and at the Paris Conservatoire from 1948 to 1949. She was principal oboist of the Hallé Orchestra
The Hallé
The Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI...
from 1949 to 1952, the London Mozart Players
London Mozart Players
The London Mozart Players is a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. The LMP is the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom whose performances and recordings focus largely on the core repertoire from the Classical era...
from 1952 to 1954, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
from 1954 to 1963, the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
from 1969 to 1981, and the orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
from 1979 to 1981. She was appointed oboe professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the Royal Academy of Music in 1958.
She was much in demand as a soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
, and gave world premières
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
of works by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
, Alan Rawsthorne
Alan Rawsthorne
Alan Rawsthorne was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex.-Career:...
, Elisabeth Lutyens
Elisabeth Lutyens
Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE was a significant English composer.- Early life and education :She was one of the five children of architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and his wife Emily, who was profoundly involved in the Theosophical Movement...
, Elizabeth Maconchy
Elizabeth Maconchy
Dame Elizabeth Violet Maconchy Le Fanu DBE was an English composer, most noted for her cycle of thirteen string quartets.-Biography:...
, Richard Stoker
Richard Stoker
Richard Stoker is a British composer and writer.He started playing the piano at six; at seven he was composing. After initial encouragement from Arthur Benjamin and Benjamin Britten, he studied under Lennox Berkeley at the Royal Academy of Music. After winning the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1962,...
and Priaulx Rainier
Priaulx Rainier
Ivy Priaulx Rainier was a South African-British composer. Although she lived most of her life in England and died in France, her compositional style was strongly influenced by the African music remembered from her childhood. She never adopted 12-tone or serial techniques, but her music shows a...
.