Biography
Elias Parish Alvars earned recognition as an English harpist and composer who ranked among the earliest virtuosos on the instrument. His works for harp continue to rank among the most demanding in the entire repertoire.
Born in 1808 in Teignmouth, Devonshire, England, he grew up as one of ten children. His father, the church organist who also offered voice lessons, provided his earliest musical training. Parish Alvars made his first public appearance in 1818 at Totnes, the same year his father suffered bankruptcy. From 1820 onward he made regular journeys to London for lessons with Nicolas Charles Bochsa, financing his studies by performing at social gatherings and balls while also offering harp instruction of his own. Although Bochsa joined the faculty of the Royal Academy of Music in 1821, Parish Alvars lacked the means to enroll there; nevertheless, he maintained his lessons with Bochsa until 1828, when Lord Burghersh—founder of the Royal Academy of Music and English Ambassador to Florence—invited him to pursue further musical studies in that city.
He remained in Florence for a single year, during which he pursued singing and composition and adopted the given name Elias in place of Eli. Afterward he joined the harp-making firm Schwieso & Grosjean, staying until 1830, when he launched an extended series of concert tours. These took him first through northern Germany and then to Sweden, after which he proceeded to Moscow, where he stayed until the spring of 1832. Over the following four years he visited Constantinople, Hungary, and Switzerland before establishing himself in Vienna in 1836. There he appeared in joint recitals with Carl Czerny and Joseph Fahrbach while receiving composition instruction from Simon Sechter and Ignaz von Seyfried.
In 1842 he married pianist and harpist Melanie Lewy, sister of the two Lewy brothers, both noted French-horn players. Their daughter Aloisia was born the next year. In the years that followed, Parish Alvars and his wife performed regularly with the Lewy brothers at the Vienna Opera House and other leading German concert halls. While recovering in Naples from a minor fall sustained during a winter 1844 visit, he completed his Symphony in E minor and the Harp Concerto, Op. 98. The couple continued to relish the itinerant performer’s existence, and a son, Arthur, arrived in 1846. That same year Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria appointed him Imperial Virtuoso, and he also began teaching as professor of harp at the Wiener Musikverein. The Revolutions of 1848 abruptly ended this stability; his pupils dispersed abroad, the Musikverein shut its doors and withheld six months of salary, and severe financial hardship ensued. Parish Alvars died of pneumonia the following year.
Born in 1808 in Teignmouth, Devonshire, England, he grew up as one of ten children. His father, the church organist who also offered voice lessons, provided his earliest musical training. Parish Alvars made his first public appearance in 1818 at Totnes, the same year his father suffered bankruptcy. From 1820 onward he made regular journeys to London for lessons with Nicolas Charles Bochsa, financing his studies by performing at social gatherings and balls while also offering harp instruction of his own. Although Bochsa joined the faculty of the Royal Academy of Music in 1821, Parish Alvars lacked the means to enroll there; nevertheless, he maintained his lessons with Bochsa until 1828, when Lord Burghersh—founder of the Royal Academy of Music and English Ambassador to Florence—invited him to pursue further musical studies in that city.
He remained in Florence for a single year, during which he pursued singing and composition and adopted the given name Elias in place of Eli. Afterward he joined the harp-making firm Schwieso & Grosjean, staying until 1830, when he launched an extended series of concert tours. These took him first through northern Germany and then to Sweden, after which he proceeded to Moscow, where he stayed until the spring of 1832. Over the following four years he visited Constantinople, Hungary, and Switzerland before establishing himself in Vienna in 1836. There he appeared in joint recitals with Carl Czerny and Joseph Fahrbach while receiving composition instruction from Simon Sechter and Ignaz von Seyfried.
In 1842 he married pianist and harpist Melanie Lewy, sister of the two Lewy brothers, both noted French-horn players. Their daughter Aloisia was born the next year. In the years that followed, Parish Alvars and his wife performed regularly with the Lewy brothers at the Vienna Opera House and other leading German concert halls. While recovering in Naples from a minor fall sustained during a winter 1844 visit, he completed his Symphony in E minor and the Harp Concerto, Op. 98. The couple continued to relish the itinerant performer’s existence, and a son, Arthur, arrived in 1846. That same year Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria appointed him Imperial Virtuoso, and he also began teaching as professor of harp at the Wiener Musikverein. The Revolutions of 1848 abruptly ended this stability; his pupils dispersed abroad, the Musikverein shut its doors and withheld six months of salary, and severe financial hardship ensued. Parish Alvars died of pneumonia the following year.