Guy Jonson

Stanley Guy Jonson (born November 5, 1913 in Finchley , † March 10, 2009 ) was an English pianist and music teacher.

As a child, Jonson took piano lessons from Betty Humby , the second wife of the conductor Thomas Beecham . At the age of 14 he continued his education at Tobias Matthay's piano school. In 1930 he won an Ada Lewis scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music , but continued his training with Matthay.

In 1936 he made his debut as a pianist at Wigmore Hall , at the same time he played live concerts for the BBC's overseas programs . In 1939 he became the youngest professor at the Royal Academy, but was soon drafted into military service. Because of a rheumatic heart condition he was transferred to the Army Educational Corps , from where he had the opportunity to conduct concerts with the Southern Symphony Orchestra in Southampton.

In 1946 he returned to the Royal Academy. His students included u. a. the pianists Dimitris Sgouros , Matrin Jones and Philip Smith and the composers Iain Hamilton and Sir John Tavener . As a concert pianist, Jonson has performed all over Europe, South Africa, South and Central America. In 1954, 1960 and 1963 he went on ten-week concert tours through Canada. In 1995 he gave his farewell concert at Wigmore Hall. In 1998 he recorded the album Echoes from a Golden Era with works by Joseph Haydn , Frédéric Chopin , Claude Debussy , Isaac Albéniz and others.

Web links

• Obituary , The Daily Telegraph , March 27, 2009