From the Archives: John Tiplady Carrodus
John Tiplady Carrodus (Braithwaite, 20 January 1836 – London, 13 July 1895, RSM Member A542)
A child prodigy who played until the day before he died.
The violinist John Carrodus was the son of John, a barber and amateur musician. A child prodigy, who had played in public by the age of twelve, he went on to study with the violinist Bernhard Molique (1802-1869) in Germany and in London, during which time he greatly impressed the celebrated violinist Louis Spohr (1784-1859). The compositions of both these violinist-composers are rarely heard nowadays.
On 2 September 1857 Carrodus married Charlotte Mary Latham in St Philip’s Church, Liverpool, and within two years they had their sons Ernest Alexander (b. 1 July 1858, St Pancras, London) and Charles Henry (b. 28 August 1859, Hulme). By 1862 the Carrodus family had settled at Princess Terrace, St Mark’s Square, London, when he applied to and joined RSM, having been engaged by the conductor Michael Costa to play in the Covent Garden Orchestra in 1861 – Carrodus became principal violinist from 1869 until the day before he died.
In addition to his extremely heavy schedule he performed in many concerts in London and elsewhere, playing concertos, leading orchestras, and taking part in chamber music with Arabella Goddard (1836-1922) and Alfredo Piatti (1822-1901) among others, as well as teaching at the National Training School for Music. In his RSM file a doctor’s letter reveals, on 19 January 1886, the exhaustion from the violinist’s timetable:
“Carrodus must get away at once. He cannot improve without a change & he is so depressed that he may do violence to himself if he does not get away”.
Photograph of Solomon; 1938
On 5 February 1895 he was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Keighley which was presented in a jubilee concert. The Town Clerk read the motion of the Finance Committee which was then folded and placed in a silver gilt casket, the whole presented to the violinist.
Borough of Keighley. Presented by Fellow Townsmen & Friends to John Tiplady Carrodus, Esquire 1895
