Scotsman Obituaries: Elaine Gould, acclaimed concert pianist who also loved trains, planes and Great Danes

Although not herself a native of the capital of Scotland, she was descended from a well-known Edinburgh musical dynasty, her grandfather having been for many years the organist at Liberton Kirk, with three of his children becoming gold medal winners at the Edinburgh Festival of Music. Her father, Morton Gould, was a renowned harpsichord builder and her mother was the composer Janetta Gould. Elaine’s uncle Bryce Gould was a renowned organist and pianist – partnering his wife, the violinist and orchestra leader Edna Arthur. Against that background Elaine and her two sisters, Valerie and Carol, all went on to train professionally as musicians. Elaine had been a first study clarinettist but quickly switched to piano as her preferred instrument.

In her early career she supplemented her meagre earnings with work as a technical editor, and seeing a future in IT she obtained a second qualification in computing. This led to a full-time career in IT, with Elaine rising to become IT Manager of an international company.

Marriage to Peter, a full-time lawyer but also a trained bass-baritone with whom she performed on several occasions, and the arrival of her daughter, Amanda Jane, a few years down the line led Elaine to return to her musical career. This culminated in her being appointed President of the prestigious Edinburgh Society of Musicians – where her uncle, Bryce, had been an office bearer in his time.

Her career almost came to a calamitous end in June 2007 when a freak accident at home shattered her right wrist and she was advised that she might never be able to play again. After surgery, however, with extensive physiotherapy and sheer bloody-minded determination, she made a triumphant return to the concert platform in February of the following year – and never looked back.

Somewhere in the middle of all this she obtained a degree in Pure Mathematics as well as her M.Mus, become a skilled falconer who flew raptors in public display, learned to drive a stream train, flew a plane, showed Great Danes, steered a powerful motor launch, climbed the occasional mountain and tramped the length and breadth of Mull (as well as a few other islands, including Barra).

She slowed down a little when her beloved granddaughter Abigail Rachel-Lily, Abi for short, entered her life but it was a life sadly cut short by cancer and she passed away within a few short months of her diagnosis.

Although primarily a soloist – specialising in the works of Franz Liszt but with a broad repertoire ranging from Beethoven and Bartok to Schubert and Schumann – Elaine partnered several clarinettists (having played most of the standard works herself as a clarinettist she was a sensitive and supportive partner) and had a successful playing and recording partnership in Lieder with the late Lewis Allan (their performance of Dichterliebe being a particular joy). Her husband Peter always maintained that he was a much better singer when accompanied by his wife – even though musical theatre was not altogether to her taste.

In a tribute by the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, the Governing Council noted, with deep regret, the news that their President, Elaine Gould, died on Friday 2 May after a short but severe illness, bravely borne. Their Company Secretary reported that “Elaine’s Presidency, which began in 2017, has seen the Society grow and thrive with remarkable vigour, in a number of ways: in membership, in its programmes of recitals, in its reputation among young musicians as an important showcase for their talents, and in its service to music teachers and musical societies using its facilities. The crowning achievement of her term of office has perhaps been the accolade of royal patronage, bestowed through acceptance by the Duke of Edinburgh of the role of Patron of the Society.

“Elaine brought enormous energy and commitment to the discharge of her Presidential tasks, to which she applied her unusual combination of talents developed in a double career as both a senior business executive and an accomplished piano recitalist and teacher. With her husband Peter Scott, also a member of Council who for several years took on the heavy burden of combining the Treasurership and the Secretaryship of the Society, she travelled through to Edinburgh from their home west of Glasgow every Saturday in our recital season to introduce our performers and lead our brief post-recital conversations. Her leadership also brought the Society, unharmed, through the major interruption of all its activities occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic."

Membership was kept alive by a weekly series of living room recitals posted on YouTube and the performance salon was repurposed as a streaming venue for musicians struggling to keep their careers alive. Where other music societies were in danger of going to the wall, the Society, which has never relied on public funding but rather had, under Elaine’s stewardship, been run as a successful small business, was not only able to maintain a healthy bank balance but even able to donate a five-figure sum to the Musician’s Benevolent Fund for the relief of Scottish musicians who had lost their livelihoods.

Elaine leaves behind her husband of 43 years, her daughter, her granddaughter, two step-daughters, three step-grandchildren and her two sisters.

She also leaves behind a legacy of high achievement and a wealth of fond memories held by all who knew her.

Obituaries

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