William Gillock

William L Gillock (July 1, 1917 – September 7, 1993) was an American music educator noted for his many pedagogical piano compositions. Because of the melodic strength of his music he has sometimes been called "the Schubert of children's composers".[1]

Life

Gillock was born in La Russell, Missouri and began taking an interest in the piano from the age of three.[2] He studied art at Central Methodist College, where his music teacher was Nannie Louise Wright.[3] After graduating he moved to New Orleans, setting up his own teaching studio there. He later moved again to Dallas, where he concentrated on composing and adjudicating.[4]

Gillock received multiple honours from the National Federation of Music Clubs, and his teaching pieces gained widespread popularity beyond the US, especially in Japan and Germany. He died in Dallas on September 7, 1993.[5]

Music

Gillock wrote over 300 pieces of pedagogical piano music, brief works with engaging titles and in many different historic and geographic styles.[6] They are still widely available in modern editions, and regularly included in collections of graded pieces issued by the music examination boards.

His most productive period as a composer was between 1956 and 1969.[2] Notable examples include the three volumes of New Orleans Jazz Styles, and the eight volume (51 pieces) Accent on series (such as Accent on Duets, Accent on Solos and Accent on the Seasons). The four movement Little Suite in Baroque Style provides an introduction to contrapuntal playing (unusual in early-level pieces) and might be used as a bridge to Handel's keyboard suites.[7] Similarly (although for more advanced players) Gillock composed the three movement Sonatine in Classic Style (1963),[4] and the Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style (24 pieces in all keys, 1958).[8]

Well-known individual short pieces, mostly for beginning and intermediate players, include Aeolian Harp, Autumn is Here, Carnival in Rio (originally for two pianos), the impressionistic Fountain in the Rain (1960, said to have been his best-selling composition),[2] Goldfish (1964), Happy Holiday, Holiday in Spain, New Orleans Nightfall, On a Paris Boulevard, and The Prowling Pussy Cat. Gillock also published the multi-volume Piano All the Way method.[9]

References
  1. Kathryn Starnes Duarte. The Piano Music of William Gillock, doctorate dissertation, University of Oklahoma (2004)
  2. Richard Rejino. 'The Magic of William Gillock' (Part One), in The American Music Teacher, Volume 66, Issue 4, (Feb/Mar 2017): pp. 12-16.
  3. "The History of Central". Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  4. Henry Doskey 'William Glock; Teacher and Friend,' in The American Music Teacher, Vol 43, No 5 (April 1994), pp.22-23
  5. Biography at bachcantatas.com
  6. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 7th ed. (1984), p. 881
  7. Le Zhan. William Gillock's Contributions to Piano Pedagogy: A Comparison of Three Works of Gillock with Selected Stylistic Models from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic Repertoire (2019)
  8. N.J Bona. An Analytical Guide to Teaching and Performing Selected 'Lyric Preludes' of William Gillock, doctoral dissertation, University of Miami (1995)
  9. Joseph Rezits and Gerald Deatsman. The Pianist's Resource Guide: Piano Music in Print and Literature on the Pianistic Art (1978), p. 214
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