Renee Lees

1920 Talma & Co. postcard of Renee Lees

Renee Evelyn Mary Lees (1883 – 17 December 1966)[1] was an Australian pianist, hailed as a child prodigy, later known as a theatre organist.

History

Lees was born in Sydney late in 1883[2] to Mary Louisa Lees, née Shirley, (died 1915)[3] and George Edward Lees (died 1919),[4] both school teachers, who married in 1872.[5]

She was educated at the Blackfriars Superior Public Girls School, where in 1890 her musical aptitude was first revealed.[6] She received instruction in pianoforte from Sydney violinist Josef Kretschmann[7] (c. 1837 – 30 April 1918).[8] She gave her first public concert in Glebe, New South Wales in 1893.[9]

In 1894, when not yet 11, it was said that she played Bach and Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt " . . . with a refinement of intelligence and taste which cannot be regarded as other than an instinct."[10]

She undertook a three months' tour of New Zealand in 1899, as accompanist to juvenile violinist Ernest Toy.[11][12] before proceeding to London, accompanied by her mother, for further instruction with Georg Liebling.[13] She received good notices,[14] but returned to Australia before a year had elapsed,[15] a sure sign that she had not been accepted in the front rank of performers. She found favor in George Musgrove's troupe, as accompanist to important singers, such as Sylvia Blackston.[16]

She was hired to play the Wurlitzer organ at the Rialto Theatre, Sydney, when it opened in 1922,[17] and in 1928, when Melbourne's State Theatre's Wurlitzer organ (now in Moorabbin Town Hall) was opened by Frank D. Lanterman, Lees accompanied him at the minor console.[18]

In the 1940s and 1950s she performed regularly on radio, as soloist and accompanist, piano and organ, mostly on AM radio 2NA and 2FC. She died at Petersham, New South Wales.[1]

Family

Renee Lees had a brother Percy S(hirley) Lees (c. 1877 – 6 September 1959), a teacher,[19] and secretary of the N.S.W. Cyclists' Union 1903–1906. Her sister Elsie (died 23 August 1951) married Alfred Ernest Quinton.[4][20]

She married or otherwise changed her name to Renee Perry,[21] with which name she died,[1] but still known professionally as Lees.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Deaths". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 December 1966 – via Ryerson Index.
  2. ^ "Music and Musicians". Table Talk (newspaper). No. 480. Victoria, Australia. 8 September 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 24, 117. New South Wales, Australia. 26 April 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 14 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 25, 435. New South Wales, Australia. 14 July 1919. p. 8. Retrieved 14 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XIII, no. 618. New South Wales, Australia. 4 May 1872. p. 572. Retrieved 15 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Blackfriars School". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 3406. New South Wales, Australia. 30 May 1890. p. 7. Retrieved 14 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Events of the Week". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XLIX, no. 1559. New South Wales, Australia. 24 May 1890. p. 1136. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Death of Josef Kretschmann". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 25, 060. New South Wales, Australia. 1 May 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Advertising". The Methodist (Sydney). Vol. II, no. 43. New South Wales, Australia. 28 October 1893. p. 6. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "A Child Pianist". The Daily Telegraph. No. 4738. New South Wales, Australia. 31 August 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 14 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Theatre poster: Opera House [Wellington] :Ernest Toy Concert Company". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Stageland". The Evening News (Sydney). No. 9987. New South Wales, Australia. 10 June 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Sydney Social News". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. LIX, no. 1556. New South Wales, Australia. 2 December 1899. p. 45. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Last Night's Amusements". Sunday Times (Sydney). No. 760. New South Wales, Australia. 12 August 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Sydney Social News". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. LXI, no. 1607. New South Wales, Australia. 24 November 1900. p. 44. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Amusements". The Hebrew Standard of Australasia. Vol. 14, no. 48. New South Wales, Australia. 3 June 1910. p. 14. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Pitt Street Palatial Theatre". Sunday Times (Sydney). No. 1885. New South Wales, Australia. 12 March 1922. p. 10 (Social and Magazine Section). Retrieved 12 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ Greg Alabaster. "Kingston's Mighty Wurlitzer". City of Kingston. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Retirements". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 38. New South Wales, Australia. 21 March 1941. p. 1208. Retrieved 15 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 36, 280. New South Wales, Australia. 2 April 1954. p. 22. Retrieved 14 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 468. New South Wales, Australia. 25 August 1951. p. 44. Retrieved 14 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.