Kendall Taylor

Edgar Kendall Taylor
Portrait of Edgar Kendall Taylor
Born	(1905-07-27)27 July 1905 Sheffield, UK
Died	5 December 1999(1999-12-05) (aged 94) Wimbledon, London, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Pianist Teacher Pedagogue
Known for	Concertos Broadcast on the BBC
Spouse(s)	Mirjana Nikolic (m. 1950–99)

Edgar Kendall Taylor CBE, FRCM, Hon FRAM (27 July 1905 – 5 December 1999) was a British pianist, who had an international career as a solo concert pianist. In the United Kingdom, he was well known for his concerts, which were broadcast on the BBC. He was also known for his recitals and broadcasts to the troops during World War II through the Entertainments National Service Association. He also had a career as a teacher and pedagogue.

Kendall Taylor was born in Sheffield, England. He made his concert début at the age of 6 accompanying his father, Maurice Taylor, a well-known cellist. His debut with a professional orchestra was at the age of 12 with a rendition of Mozart's D minor concerto, K.466. He was a pupil of Vera Dawson, who in turn was a pupil of Iwan Knorr, who studied with Johannes Brahms. In 1923, he won an open scholarship to the Royal College of Music (RCM). There he studied piano with Herbert Fryer (a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni), composition with Gustav Holst, and conducting with Adrian Boult and Malcolm Sargent.

While a student at the RCM, he performed concertos with leading British orchestras which were broadcast on the BBC.

In 1926, he made his first professional performance at a Promenade Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood. This was the first of 26 appearances as a solo pianist at a Promenade concert—in two of which he was soloist for the 'Last Night of the Proms.' Later in 1929 he was appointed Professor of Piano at the RCM where he continued teaching there for a record 63 years until his retirement in 1993.