Arnold Trowell

Arnold Wilberforce Trowell, also known as Thomas Wilberforce Trowell, (25 June 1887 – 16 December 1966) was a New Zealand composer, cellist and teacher, who became Professor of Music at the Guildhall School of Music in London.

Biography

Arnold Trowell was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1887.{{Cite book|last=Thomson|first=John Mansfield|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22895790|title=Biographical dictionary of New Zealand composers|date=1990|publisher=Victoria University Press|isbn=0-86473-095-0|location=Wellington [N.Z.]|pages=138–139|oclc=22895790}} He was the son of Thomas Trowell and twin of Garnet Carrington Trowell.{{Cite web|title=Trowell, Thomas Wilberforce, 1887-1966|url=https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ethesaurus.78936|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-15|website=tiaki.natlib.govt.nz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204000402/https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/ |archive-date=4 February 2016 }} In 1903 both brothers went to Europe to study; Arnold the cello and Garnet the violin.

Trowell studied at the Hoch Conservatorium in Frankfurt and in Brussels, winning the Concours prize for the cello. He settled in London in 1907.

Before leaving for Europe Trowell had become friends, and romantically involved, with Katherine Mansfield and they continued to correspond when Mansfield was living in London and Trowell was studying in Brussels. Mansfield later fell in love with Garnet.{{Cite web|last=Boddy|first=Gillian|date=1996|title=Mansfield, Katherine|url=https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3m42/mansfield-katherine|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-15|website=teara.govt.nz|language=mi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715061904/http://www.teara.govt.nz:80/mi/biographies/3m42/mansfield-katherine |archive-date=15 July 2015 }}

Trowell became a member of The Chamber Music Players, a group formed by Lionel Tertis, in 1922 until 1923.John White. Lionel Tertis The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola

He became Professor of Cello at the Guildhall School of Music in 1924 and joined the staff of the Royal School of Music from 1937.

Trowell was both performer and composer.{{Cite web|title=SOUNZ Arnold Trowell|url=https://www.sounz.org.nz/contributors/1717|access-date=2021-08-15|website=www.sounz.org.nz|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815070842/https://www.sounz.org.nz/contributors/1717|url-status=live}} He wrote seven concertos, three sonatas, four symphonic poems and numerous pieces for cello and piano{{Cite thesis|title=Arnold Trowell - Violoncellist, Composer and Pedagogue|url=https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/5964|publisher=University of Waikato|date=2012|degree=|language=en|first=Martin|last=Griffiths|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815073848/https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/5964|url-status=live}} and songs.{{Cite web|date=2021-08-06|title=Arnold TROWELL: Three Songs|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/musicalive/audio/2018807132/arnold-trowell-three-songs|access-date=2021-09-14|website=RNZ |language=en-nz|archive-date=14 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914054541/https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/musicalive/audio/2018807132/arnold-trowell-three-songs|url-status=live}}

Like Fritz Kreisler, Trowell forged in 1924 a version of Louis Francœur's cello/violin sonata in E (which is also often misattributed to Francœur's brother, François Francœur). Trowell replaced Francœur's second movement with his own Allegro Vivo movement and modified the final Gigue movement. There are several recordings of the forgery with this misattribution.Mizia, Urszula. 2020. The mimetic strand in the cello literature: Within the context of history, instrument design, iconography and cello performance. Peter Lang: Berlin.{{Cite web |title=Violin Sonata in E major (Francœur, Louis) |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata_in_E_major_(Franc%C5%93ur,_Louis) |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=imslp.org}}Francœur, L. 2016. Sonata IV in E Major. Radulovich, Nada (ed.).Ovation Press. (Original work published 1726.)Griffiths, M. 2012. Arnold Trowell: Violincellist, composer and pedagogue. Doctoral dissertation: The University of Waikato, New Zealand.

Selected works

Six morceaux pour violoncelle avec accomp. de piano (1908) - dedicated to Kathleen M. Beauchamp
Concerto for violoncelle avec accompagnement d'orchestre (ou piano) (c1909)
Quartet for two violins, viola and violoncello, G major (c1917)
Viola Sonata, E-flat major (c1922) - dedicated to Lionel Tertis
Technology of violoncello playing - Books 1–3 (1922–1925)
Suite for orchestra : the golden age : childhood (c1930)