Raphael Terroni

British pianist and teacher Raphael Terroni was perhaps best known for his strong support of 20th century British music and musicians. He attended the London College of Music, where he studied piano with John Vallier, and he took private lessons for three years with Cyril Smith. He was the chair of the piano department at the London College of Music and Media at Thames Valley University (now the University of West London), and he participated at many music competitions and festivals. Terroni collaborated with Richard Baker in broadcasts of pieces for spoken word and piano, and he made several noteworthy recordings of music by British composers, including works by Frank Bridge, Lennox Berkeley, Cyril Scott, Eric Coates, Kenneth Leighton, William Wordsworth, William Busch, Josef Holbrooke, and Howard Ferguson. Terroni frequently performed and recorded with cellist Raphael Wallfisch, the Bingham String Quartet, and his own Terroni Piano Trio. Terroni was a founder of the Arts Festival in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, and he also chaired the British Music Society Charitable Trust. He recorded for Naxos, Beulah, ASV, and the British Music Society. ~ Blair Sanderson