Thomas Attwood (composer) family name Attwood
Thomas Attwood (23 November 1765 – 24 March 1838) was an English composer and organist.Early life
The son of a musician in the royal band, Attwood was born in London, probably in Pimlico. At the age of nine he became a chorister in the Chapel Royal, where he received training in music from James Nares and Edmund Ayrton. In 1783 he was sent to study abroad at the expense of the Prince of Wales (afterwards King George IV), who had been favourably impressed by his skill at the harpsichord. After two years in Naples, Attwood proceeded to Vienna, where he became a favourite pupil of Mozart. On his return to London in 1787 he held for a short time an appointment as one of the chamber musicians to the Prince of Wales.Family life
In 1793, Thomas Attwood married Mary Denton, they had five sons and one daughter. The eldest son was a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers but was murdered in Seville in 1821. His second son, George Attwood, was the rector of Framlingham and his third son, a solicitor, predeceased his father in a riding accident. His fourth son was an estate manager in Jamaica and the fifth was also a clergyman.Attwood had heard Felix Mendelssohn play during a visit to London in 1829. Following a tour of Scotland and Wales, Mendelssohn returned to the capital but fell out of a carriage and suffered a leg injury; while he was recovering, he received a large hamper from Attwood and was invited to stay at the family home at Beulah Hill in Norwood as soon as he was able to travel. Mendelssohn composed a piece for harp and piano called The Evening Bell, suggested by the gate bell at Attwood's house. Following a second stay at Norwood in 1832, Mendelssohn dedicated his Three Preludes and Fugues for the Organ (Op. 37) to Attwood.
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