Cyril Scott (1879-1970)
by Rowena Pearce
English composer and pianist Cyril Scott is best described as an individualist. His musical talent was recognised from the tender age of 12 when he was sent to the Hoch Conservatorium in Frankfurt am Main. He studied piano under Lazarro Uzielli and theory with Engelbert Humperdinck, and some years later with Iwan Knorr, who in 1907 was to describe his pupil as "brilliant and revolutionary". During his student years in Frankfurt, Cyril Scott began establishing his career in composition, later becoming known as a member of the 'Frankfurt Group' with fellow composers Percy Grainger, Balfour Gardiner, Roger Quilter and Norman O'Neill.
Cyril Scott's return to England around the turn of the century marked the beginning of a long and fruitful career as a composer at the forefront of English modernism. During the first decades of the twentieth century his compositions were considered "daring and very un-English", with "surprisingly modern harmonies". His works were compared to those of Stravinksy and Schoenberg, and he later attracted the label "the English Debussy" for his determination to create a continuous flow in his music by avoiding cadence.
In 1921 Cyril Scott married the English novelist Rose Allatini, whose radical work Despised and Rejected had been banned upon its release in 1918. They shared an interest in the occult and had two children together before amicably dissolving their marriage at the outbreak of World War 2. In 1943 Scott met Marjorie Hartston who was to remain his partner until death.
Cyril Scott's extraordinarily diverse range of interests were reflected in his writings. He published widely on both musical and non-musical subjects, including homeopathy, philosophy, occultism and theology. He also published numerous volumes of poetry and even tried his hand at playwriting, literary translations and painting, and penned two autobiographies; My Years of Indiscretion in 1924, and Bone of Contention: Life Story and Confessions in 1969.
Percy Grainger and Cyril Scott remained close lifelong friends and maintained a lively correspondence reflecting their diverse and at time conflicting creative ideals. The Grainger Museum contains the most substantial collection of Scott's letters (over 400 items) as collected by Grainger. However the Museum's collection extends beyond Cyril Scott's association with Grainger and also contains a number of his manuscript scores, published compositions, interviews, articles, writings and even some of his personal clothing.
Like many composers of his era, Scott suffered the double bind of satisfying publishers and audiences' demand for short vocal and piano works and he became known for these works at the expense of acquiring recognition for his more substantial and exploratory works. Scott's 1904 publishing agreement with Elkin & Co resulted in widespread recognition for many of these smaller works, and made Scott an internationally known name.
Cyril Scott's creative outpouring, both musical and otherwise, received mixed responses during his lifetime. He was considered by conservatives to be an enfant terrible and by others to be the "savior" of English music, however today his contributions have received little scholarly attention and his repertoire remains largely unheard.