Violet Gordon Woodhouse -
The Harpsichord Virtuoso (rec. 1920-41, comp. 2016)
Violet was the first person to make recordings on the harpsichord, some of which are featured here. Her consummate skill is clearly on display. Less visible is her lurid personal life, which features the following major events (synthesized from Music Web and Wiki):
Violet Kate Eglinton Gwynne was born in 1871 into a musical environment. Adelina Patti was a family friend and at sixteen Violet began to be taught by pianist Oscar Beringer and later by Augustin Rubio, dashing Spanish émigré pianist.
Violet broke off an engagement to a wealthy neighbor,
Viscount Gage, after
human sexuality was explained to her.
In 1895 she entered into a
mariage blanc with another wealthy heir, Gordon Woodhouse, to further her musical ambitions, knowing that otherwise a performing career would be difficult for her, if not impossible. She persuaded her new husband to adopt the hyphenated surname Gordon-Woodhouse. His reasons for entering into the marriage are unclear.
Gordon Woodhouse lost his money after the First War but in 1926 his sisters were both conveniently murdered by their butler. His finances were thereby miraculously restored, allowing Violet more or less to retire from public performance.
In 1899,
William Barrington (heir to a viscountcy, known to his friends as "Bill") moved into the marital house, Nether Lypiatt Manor in Gloucestershire. They were joined later by Max Labouchere and Dennis Tollemache. This ménage a Cinq arrangement was referred to in society circles as the "Woodhouse circus". After Violet's death in 1948 at age 75, the men all remained together at Nether Lypiatt until 1951, when Gordon died.
Violet, Gordon and Bill with a canine friend.
