Erik Chisholm - Later Years and Legacy

Later Years and Legacy

Sir Arnold Bax called Erik Chisholm "the most progressive composer that Scotland has ever produced." After 19 years at the South African College of Music, Dr. Chisholm composed an additional twelve operas drawing inspiration from "sources as varied as Hindustan, the Outer Hebrides, the neo-classical and baroque, pibroch, astrology and literature".

Chisholm died of a heart attack at age 61 and left all his music to the University of Cape Town. Although he composed over 100 works, only 17 were published, of which 14 were issued in printed score. As Scottish composers are few and the quality of his music is often good, his apologists have argued that his works should be heard more regularly. His style was called varied, eclectic, and challenging, but his music was also known to be harsh and often unattractive to audiences. Even so, a number of his works, including his pieces for piano and voice, have been revived and recorded.

He had a lifelong interest in Scottish music and published a collection of Celtic folk-songs in 1964. He was also interested in Czech music, and completed his book The Operas of Leoš Janáček shortly before his death. His services to Czech music were formally recognized in 1956, when he became one of the few non-Czech musicians to be awarded the Dvořák medal. The Manuscripts and Archives Library at the University of Cape Town holds the Chisholm collection of papers and manuscripts; his published scores are in the College of Music library and many copies have now been sent to the Scottish Music Information Centre in Glasgow. In his memory, the South African College of Music offers a memorial scholarship in his name and the Scottish International Piano Competition hosts the Erik Chisholm Memorial Prize.

The biography of Erik Chisholm, written by John Purser with the foreword by Sir Charles Mackerras, Chasing A Restless Muse: Erik Chisholm, Scottish Modernist (1904–1965), was published on 19 June 2009. An official launch was held at the Conservatoire of Music, Birmingham City University on 22 October 2009 which was attended by his widow, his daughter Morag, two of his grand-daughters and great-grandsons. His widow, Lillias, married the clarinettist John Forbes. Recently, many of his works have been released on CD, performed by pianist Murray McLachlan.