Kathleen Long

Born in Brentford, Kathleen Long (1896–1968) was an English pianist. She studied with Herbert Sharpe at the RCM (1910–16) and taught there from 1920 to 1964. She introduced music by, among others, Bloch, Bridge, Holst and Finzi. She was particularly admired for her Mozart playing, and gave notable performances of Mozart and Bach with the Boyd Neel Orchestra. Her other specialty was French music, and she particularly made Fauré her own. Long performed the more academic of Beethoven’s sonatas, such as opp.109 and 110, and was admired for her interpretation of the Scarlatti sonatas. Long founded her own quartet, the English Ensemble, before World War II, and played on occasion with such artists as Casals, Sammons and Suggia and with the violinist Antonio Brosa. She performed throughout Europe, in Canada, the USA and South Africa. In 1950 she was awarded the palmes académiques and was made a CBE seven years later.This painting was a gift from Freda Taylor in 2008.