My father, Patrick Eire, who has died aged 100, was the unique viola participant with the Allegri Quartet, a British chamber music ensemble.
He joined the quartet in 1953 with its founding members William Pleeth, Eli Goren and James Barton. By 1956 the Allegri had develop into the chosen quartet for John Barbirolli’s notable recording of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, with the Sinfonia of London. From then on they went from energy to energy, growing a global profession and giving world premieres of dozens of latest items over time.
Patrick left the Allegri in 1977, after which he grew to become assistant head of strings on the Royal Northern School of Music in Manchester till his retirement.
Born in Helston, Cornwall, to William, a dentist, and Eileen (nee Dale), an artist, Patrick went to Wellington school in Berkshire and likewise grew to become a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral, singing on the jubilee of George V and the coronation of George VI.
He joined the RAF throughout the second world struggle in 1942, aged 19, however by the point he had been educated as a bomber pilot it was happily too late for him to drop any bombs. After hostilities ceased he was capable of be part of the Royal School of Music as a violin scholar in 1946. There he met the pianist Peggy Grey, and so they married in 1948.
That yr he additionally joined the Peter Gibbs Quartet as second violinist, however switched to viola after the unique violist left, and thus discovered his true musical voice. When the quartet disbanded in 1953, he had selected a change of profession to develop into a museum curator, so when Pleeth approached him to hitch the Allegri Quartet he was initially minded to say “no”.
Patrick’s status grew together with that of the quartet, and throughout the late Fifties he performed with Yehudi Menuhin within the Bathtub Pageant Orchestra, which Menuhin directed. With Menuhin he additionally recorded Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 6, which has two solo violas, and was chosen by Menuhin to show viola at his newly based specialist music college.
After leaving the Allegri Quartet and becoming a member of the Royal Northern School, his focus turned extra absolutely to instructing, although he continued to play into his 70s and took the function of second viola in numerous quintet performances with lots of the best-known UK quartets, together with with the Lindsay Quartet.
He remained as assistant head of strings on the Royal Northern School till he took early retirement in his late 50s, though he continued to show privately for a few years afterwards.
Outdoors music he was a maker of hand-crafted furnishings, of which he constructed about 100 magnificent items. He was nonetheless woodworking till the age of 95.
Peggy died in 2021. He’s survived by their 4 youngsters, Simon, Jennifer, Richard and me, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
