Queer Places:
Harvard University (Ivy League), 2 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Immanuel Episcopal Churchyard, 50 Market St, New Castle, DE 19720, United States
Clayton Johns (November 24, 1857 - March 15, 1932) was an American pianist, teacher, and composer born on November 24, 1857, in New Castle, Delaware, and he passed away in
Boston on March 15, 1932. His formal education in music included studying composition with J.K. Paine and piano with W.H. Sherwood at Harvard University between 1879 and
1882, followed by further composition studies with Kiel at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik and private piano studies with Rummel in Berlin from 1882 to 1883.
In June 1884, Johns settled in Boston, establishing himself professionally as a composer and a teacher of piano and composition. He initiated a tradition of giving
annual recitals of his own compositions starting on April 25, 1885, ultimately performing more than twenty of such series. Alongside his local presence, he spent time in
London during the summer of 1895, where he accompanied prominent artists like Melba, Eames, and Bispham in public and private renditions of his songs. Later in his career,
he served as a piano teacher at the New England Conservatory from 1912 to 1928.
As a composer, Johns created numerous instrumental pieces and roughly 100 songs. His most widely recognized work was the Introduction and Fugue for Piano written in
1899, which was frequently performed by concert pianist Josef Hofmann. In addition to his musical compositions, he contributed to educational literature and publishing,
writing The Essentials of Pianoforte Playing in 1909, editing From Bach to Chopin in 1911, and publishing an autobiography titled Reminiscences of a Musician in 1929.
Within Boston's cultural sphere, Clayton Johns was one of Isabella Stewart Gardner's closest friends and a primary
beneficiary of her patronage. Gardner actively championed the reputations of local musicians, frequently engaging Johns for recitals held at her homes and her museum.
Although he did not achieve widespread fame outside of her immediate circle, he remained a vital element of her musical network. Reflecting the close social ties of this
era, Isabella Stewart Gardner surrounded herself with a large circle of LGBTQ friends, a group that included Clayton Johns during his tenure as a composer and teacher in
Boston.
References:
Other references:
- Johns, Clayton. Reminiscences of a Musician. Cambridge: Washburn & Thomas, 1929.
- Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
- The National Cyclopædia of American Biography, Vol. 13, 1906 (p. 421)
- WorldCat / OCLC Authorities (VIAF: 51564439, LCCN: nr93031481)
- International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) – Category: Clayton Johns
- Cultivating Music in America: Women Patrons and Activists since 1860 (University of California Press)
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