Jump to content

Kalitha Dorothy Fox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kalitha Dorothy Fox (1894 – 11 August 1934) was an English composer.[1][2] She was born in London to wealthy parents. Her mother died in 1905, and a year later, aged 11, she composed the solo piano piece Affliction – on the death of my mother, which was published by Augener.[3]

A set of her mature compositions were published by Maurice Senart in the 1920s and 1930s, and there were occasional performances - her Suite for String Orchestra was heard in London in 1925, her substantial Piano Trio (lasting 40 minutes) was performed at a Society of Women Musicians concert at 74 Grosvenor Street, London on 10 July 1926,[4] and her Viola Sonata was broadcast from Bournemouth on 21 November 1927.[5] Another trio, for flute, viola and piano, was performed at Grosvenor Street on 9 July, 1932.[6] There are modern recordings of her Chant Élégiaque, op. 6 and her Viola Sonata, op, 7.[7][8]

Fox suffered from ill-health and a nervous disposition throughout her life.[4] She had a London address in Hyde Park Square, spent some time in France, and from the mid-1920s until her death lived at Windsor House, Amersham with her friend, the novelist Christabel Lowndes-Yates (1880-1966).[4] A concert of her music was given in London about a month before her death.[9]

She committed suicide at the age of 40 at the White Hart Hotel in Windsor, having left the house at Amersham apparently upset by the noise of road drilling outside.[10] A number of half-finished manuscripts were found in her luggage. The death and inquest received considerable attention in the newspapers.[9][11] Her estate was valued at £13,635.[12] A Phantasy Quartet was performed as a tribute a year after her death.[13][14]

Selected works

[edit]
Chamber music
  • Scherzo in C for violin and piano, op. 4 (published 1910)
  • Chant élégiaque for cello and piano, op. 6 (published 1921)[15]
  • Suite for string orchestra (performed 1925, presumed lost)
  • Sonata in C minor for viola and piano, op. 7 (ca. 1925)
  • Trio for piano, violin and cello (performed 1926, presumed lost)
  • Sonata for violin and piano (published 1931)
  • Trio for flute, viola and piano (performed 1932)
  • Phantasy Quartet (posthumous performance, 1935)
Piano
  • Affliction: On the Death of My Mother (published 1906); arrangement by L. L.
  • Fantasie in C♯ minor, op. 2 (published 1910)
  • Minuet in G minor, op. 3 (published 1910)
  • The Kitten Scherzo, op. 8 (published 1929)
  • Prélude, op. 9 (1925?)
  • Five Pieces, op. 11 (1925?)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Fox, K. Dorothy 1894-1934 (Kalitha Dorothy) [WorldCat Identities]".
  2. ^ Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers: Volume 1.
  3. ^ Emma A. G. Cifrino. Beyond Rebecca Clarke: Viola Music by Ruth Gipps and Kalitha Fox, thesis (2020), pp. 10-19
  4. ^ a b c 'Local composers in London concert', Buckinghamshire Examiner, 16 July 1926, p. 4
  5. ^ Radio Times, Issue 216, 20 November 1927, p.11
  6. ^ 'London Concerts', The Musical Times, Vol. 73, No. 1074 (August 1932), p. 747
  7. ^ Brief Encounters, Meridian CDE 84677/8-2 (2024)
  8. ^ Encircling, Acis APL53974 (2024)
  9. ^ a b 'Inquest On Woman Composer', in The Times, 14 August 1934, p. 9
  10. ^ 'A Composer's Death: Too Noisy at Amersham', Buck's Herald, 17 August, 1934. p. 12
  11. ^ 'Half-Finished Music in Room of Dead Woman', Daily Herald, 13 August 1934
  12. ^ Sunday Times, 30 December 1934, p. 15
  13. ^ Society of Women Musicians Concert Programme, July 13, 1935
  14. ^ 'London Concerts', The Musical Times, Vol. 73, No. 1074 (August 1932), p. 747
  15. ^ Musical compositions: Part 3. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1922.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalitha_Dorothy_Fox&oldid=1257333344"