Philip Cipriani Hambly Potter (1792-1871)
- Symphony in g, No.10 (1832)
Performers: MiIton Keynes Chamber Orchestra; HiIary Davan Wetton (conductor)
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English composer, pianist and teacher, son of Richard Huddleston Potter
(1755-1821) and the most celebrated member of the family. Cipriani was
the family name of his godmother, who was said to have been a sister of
the painter Giovanni Baptista Cipriani, himself an intimate member of
musical circles through his friendship with J.C. Bach and C.F. Abel. The
name Philip was taken from a son of the painter, Edward Robert Philip
Cipriani, a clerk in the Treasury through the support of Lord Lansdowne.
‘Cip’ or ‘Little Chip’, as he was known throughout his life because of
his small size, was widely read, was a mathematician and spoke four
languages. After musical instruction from his father, he was given over
to a series of distinguished masters, and first studied counterpoint
with Thomas Attwood. He worked with Crotch in 1808-9 and may have had
lessons with John Wall Callcott. Potter, however, attributed his
greatest advances to a five-year period of lessons from May 1805 with
Joseph Woelfl. On attaining his majority he was named an associate of
the Philharmonic Society, and he became a member on 29 May 1815. Potter
made his début as a pianist at the Philharmonic Concerts at the
performance of his Sextet for piano, flute and strings op.11 on 29 April
1816. Despite acclaim as a pianist, the lack of success of the
commissioned works caused Potter to go to the Continent to study
composition. He left England towards the end of 1817 and was drawn to
Vienna by the presence of Beethoven, whose music he had admired despite
discouragement from it by his elders. Although he carried letters of
introduction, warnings that Beethoven was mad caused Potter to delay
approaching him until urged to do so by the piano maker Streicher.
Potter was well received at what was an especially troubled time for
Beethoven, and he made a good impression which Beethoven conveyed to
Ries in a letter of 5 May 1818: ‘Botter [sic] has visited me a few
times, he seems to be a good fellow and has talent for composition’. At
Beethoven's suggestion Potter studied counterpoint with Aloys Förster,
and Beethoven advised Potter on his scores. After about eight months in
Vienna and other Austrian and German cities and a sojourn of similar
length in Italy, Potter returned to England in the spring of 1819. From
that time until 1836 he appeared often as a soloist, giving the English
premières of many Mozart concertos, in which he embellished the printed
solo part, and of the First, Third and Fourth Concertos by Beethoven.
His piano playing was much admired for its brilliance. He appeared as a
conductor of the Philharmonic Concerts until 1844 and won considerable
acclaim, always conducting standing, and without a baton. He served as a
director of the society a number of times, though it was said that his
opinions were often passed over in favour of those of less knowledgeable
men. Potter's own concerts, given almost yearly between 1828 and 1846,
were among the finest of the season because of his insistence on a ‘full
band’ when others would skimp, and the substantial music played. In the
later concerts Potter included only a single work of his own, perhaps
evidence of a lessening interest in his own music. He was elected to the
Royal Society of Musicians in 1817, and served several times as an
officer and as accompanist or conductor. He was also a member of the
Society of British Musicians from its founding in 1834, and its concerts
included performances of his compositions. He was a member of the Bach
Society from its inception in 1849 and served as musical director of the
Madrigal Society from July 1854 until his death.
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