Moura: Her Autobiography tells the story of the English concert pianist, Moura Lympany (1916-2005). Written in partnership with her cousin, Margot Strickland, the book covers the career of a stylish and resilient artist who endured many personal hardships.
Born Mary Johnstone, Moura Lympany changed her name at the suggestion of the conductor, Basil Cameron, with whom she made her debut at Harrogate in a performance of the Mendelssohn G-minor Piano Concerto in 1929. Cameron had thought that “Moura” (the Russian version of “Mary”) might lend itself well to a concert career, particularly when combined with an old spelling of her mother’s maiden name, “Limpenny.”
A brief synopsis of Lympany’s life begins with her early piano studies given by her mother. Her father had served in the First World War. Having been sent to a convent school in Belgium, Lympany later went on to study with Paul Weingarten, Mathilde Verne (a pupil of Clara Schumann) and Tobias Matthay, whose spirit and teaching legacy live on in the book as witnessed by numerous stories and anecdotes.
Having made her London debut at Wigmore Hall in 1935, Lympany placed second to Emil Gilels in the Ysaÿe Piano Competition of 1938. Married in 1944 to Colin Defries, a man thirty-two years older than Lympany, the two divorced in 1950, the marriage not having been without complications. A second marriage occurred in 1951 to the American television executive, Bennet Korn. The two divorced in 1961. Lympany had longed for children and speaks about this in her book. Unfortunately, she suffered two miscarriages, as well as a son who died shortly after birth.
Having performed around the world, Lympany’s career picked up considerable momentum after the Second World War. Of notable interest is the Steinway Centenary Concert that Lympany performed at, along with a host of other great pianists, including my piano teacher, Constance Keene. This concert took place in October of 1953 and was apparently broadcast on the television show, Toast of the Town.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1969, Lympany had a mastectomy, followed later by a second one. In 1979, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Two years later, Lympany established the Rasiguères Festival of Music and Wine in France. From the mid-1980s and on, she was based in Monaco, having helped Prince Louis de Polignac to establish the Festival des Sept Chapelles in Brittany. Lympany was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1992 and served as a juror for the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1993.
Throughout her autobiography, one gets a sense of the degree to which Lympany loved living the good life, both in terms of her flair for fine fashion, food, wine, as well as travel, parties and society. Her contacts included many notable individuals, including figures of royalty. The archive of Lympany’s musical career is located at the International Piano Archive at the University of Maryland (IPAM).