Background
Johns was born on November 24, 1857, in New Castle, Delaware, the son of James McCalmont and Eliza (Hopkins) Johns, and a grandson of Kensey Johns.
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Wonder Songs: Op. 19, Being Six Selections From Artful Antics By O. Herford Clayton Johns, Oliver Herford Boston Music Co., 1895 Music; Genres & Styles; Classical; Music / Genres & Styles / Classical; Music / Instruction & Study / Voice; Music / Songbooks; Songs (Medium voice) with piano
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Johns was born on November 24, 1857, in New Castle, Delaware, the son of James McCalmont and Eliza (Hopkins) Johns, and a grandson of Kensey Johns.
Johns received his early education in public and private schools at New Castle and at the Rugby Academy in Wilmington. At first he intended to become an architect, and from the age of eighteen spent three years in Philadelphia studying architecture in the office of Theophilus P. Chanler (1875-1879). He then went to Boston to enter the Institute of Technology but, after hearing the Boston State Orchestra, decided to study music instead. As a special student at Harvard he studied composition with John Knowles Paine (1879-1881) and piano with William H. Sherwood.
In 1882 Johns went abroad, and in England he was given a letter of introduction to Joseph Joachim, the famous violinist. Joachim advised Johns to study composition with Friedrich Kiel in Berlin. He also worked with Franz Rummel, Oskar Raif, and Freidrich Grabau (piano). Although he did no actual studying with Joachim, he continued a friendship with the elder musician, who gave him a letter of introduction to Franz Liszt. Johns presented this letter at Weimar in July of 1883 and was granted an interview. Liszt asked Johns to play for him, but Johns's temperamental nervousness prevented his giving a complete performance. He always disliked playing in public.
Johns returned to America in June 1884 and settled in Boston as a composer and teacher. For many years he made summer visits to Europe, where he maintained the associations of his student days and formed new friendships. During one of these trips (1895) he spent six weeks in London, appearing at recitals in which he accompanied Emma Eames, Nellie Melba, David Bispham, and others in groups of his own songs. Sometimes he would take part in two or three different recitals in a single afternoon.
On April 25, 1885, he inaugurated a custom which he continued nearly every year for more than twenty years, by offering a Boston recital devoted exclusively to his compositions. At the first recital, Charles R. Adams, tenor, appeared as the vocal soloist.
Johns was prominent in music circles in Boston, an intimate of Mr. and Mrs. John Lowell Gardner and Wilhelm Gericke, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Tavern Club. When Josef Hofman offered a program of American works, the opening piece was Johns's Introduction and Fugue for piano. He also composed the music for a fourteenth-century mystery play. In 1929 he published his memoirs, Reminiscences of a Musician, which deal largely with his trips abroad and his associations with musicians, writers, and music-lovers.
Johns died in Boston, on March 5, 1932.
(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
From 1912 Johns was a faculty member of the New England Conservatory of Music.
Johns was unmarried, and continued his residence in Boston from 1884 until his death.