Alec Templeton

Alec Andrew Templeton (born July 4, 1909 in Cardiff , † March 28, 1963 in Greenwich, Connecticut ) was a British composer , pianist , radio and television presenter who was also active as a music cabaret artist.

Live and act

Templeton, who was blind from birth, presented music programs on the BBC at the age of twelve . He studied piano at both the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. His piano teachers there were Lloyd Powell and Isador Goodman. During this time he wrote his first compositions such as his chamber music trio for flute, oboe and piano, for which he received recognition from Ralph Vaughan Williams .

In 1935 he became a member of Jack Hylton's band , with whom he went to the United States in 1936, where he stayed and played with a number of orchestras and had radio appearances in a few shows. The first recordings were made in 1936 for the Varieties label . Two sets of four shellac records were released. The first movement is entitled Musical Impressions and was of a musical cabaret nature. The second movement, entitled His Own Compositions, contained his own pieces such as the Topsy Turvy Suite , Ghost Rhapsody , Mother's Lullaby and Bach Goes to Town .

After signing a record deal with RCA Victor in 1939, he played other parodic and humorous pieces. Recordings for other labels followed. From 1939 he had his own radio shows, in 1955 a TV show It's Alec Templeton Time ; he also appeared regularly on Bing Crosby's shows . Templeton recorded Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with Andre Kostelanetz for Columbia. In 1951/52 Templeton played jazz and classical works with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra . This also resulted in recordings for the Remington label. His Gothic Concerto for Piano & Orchestra was written in 1954. He also experimented with the new recording medium of tape and was able to use the piano and tape to produce sounds that were similar to those of Les Paul on the guitar (recording at half speed). Two albums were released using this technique: Magic Piano by Atlantic and Smart Alec by ABC-Paramount. He also recorded two children's albums on the Riverside label: Children's Concert and Mother Goose Songs .

Well-known compositions are Scarlatti Stoops to Conga and Bach Goes to Town , which consists of a prelude and a fugue . The piece, which is considered to be the first use of a fugue in jazz, has been included in the repertoire of many jazz bands, including two arrangements for Benny Goodman's orchestra alone .

Tombstone

Web links

Commons : Alec Templeton - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ There is confusion about Alec Templeton's year of birth. Most biographies give his year of birth as 1909, but his tombstone shows 1910 as the year of birth.
^ Bach Goes to Town

personal data
SURNAME	Templeton, Alec
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Templeton, Alec Andrew
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British composer, pianist, radio and television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH	4th July 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cardiff
DATE OF DEATH	March 28, 1963
Place of death	Greenwich (Connecticut)

[1] There is confusion about Alec Templeton's year of birth. Most biographies give his year of birth as 1909, but his tombstone shows 1910 as the year of birth.

[2] Bach Goes to Town