Miriam Hyde
Miriam Hyde (1913–2005) was an Australian composer, pianist and teacher whose lyrical, post-romantic voice is especially known through her piano music and works for students.
Born in Adelaide, she trained at the Elder Conservatorium and won an overseas scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London (1932–1935), where she studied composition and piano and performed her own concertos.
Back in Australia she worked for decades as a composer, recitalist, examiner and lecturer, contributing extensively to the Australian Music Examinations Board. Her catalogue includes orchestral works, chamber music, songs and many piano solos, among them the well-known Valley of Rocks. Recordings preserve her flute and clarinet sonatas, harp piece Sunlit Waterfall, and shorter character works written with young players in mind.
She was appointed OBE in 1981 and AO in 1991.
Compositions by Miriam Hyde appear on
Lift Off: Australian Piano Music for Children
An engaging collection of piano music by Australian composers written to spark young imaginations. Elpis Liossatos, an Australian pianist then living in Greece, brings charm and enthusiasm to these performances.
Songs of Sea and Sky
Nigel Westlake and David Bollard present Australian music for clarinet and piano by Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards, Mark Isaacs, Miriam Hyde, Margaret Sutherland and Don Banks.