COWEN, SIR FREDERIC HYMEN com poser, was born at Kingston, Jamaica, on Jan. 29, 1852. At the age of four he was brought to England, where his father became treasurer to the opera at Her Majesty's theatre and private secre tary to the earl of Dudley. His first teacher was Henry Russell, and his first published composition appeared when he was but six years old. He studied the piano with Benedict, and composi tion with Goss; in 1865 he was at Leipzig under Hauptmann, Moscheles, Reinecke and Plaidy. Returning home on the out break of the Austro-Prussian War, he had an overture played at the Promenade Concerts at Covent Garden in September 1866. In the following autumn he went to Berlin, where he was under Kiel, at Stern's conservatorium. A symphony and a piano con certo were given in St. James's Hall in 1869, and thenceforward his claims as a composer were generally recognized. His cantata, The Rose Maiden, which enjoyed great popularity in its day, was given in London in 187o, his second symphony by the Liver pool Philharmonic Society in 1872, and his first festival work, The Corsair, in 1876 at Birmingham. In that year his opera. Pauline, was given by the Carl Rosa Company, but with only moderate success. In 1884 he conducted five concerts of the Philharmonic Society, and in 1888, on the resignation of Arthur Sullivan, he became, till 1892, the regular conductor of the society, this being one of many posts which he subsequently occupied. He received a knighthood in 1911.
Cowen's works include:-Operettas: Garibaldi (186o) and One Too Many (1874) ; operas: Pauline (1876), Thorgrim (189o), Signa (Milan, 1893) , and Harold (1895) ; oratorios: The Deluge (1878) , St. Ursula (1881), Ruth (1887), Song of Thanksgiving (1888), The Trans figuration (1895) ; choral works: The Rose Maiden (187o), The Corsair (1876), The Sleeping Beauty (1885), St. John's Eve (1889), The Water Lily (1893), Ode to the Passions (1898), The Veil (191o), besides short cantatas for female voices; a large number of songs, ranging from the popular "ballad" to more artistic lyrics, anthems, part-songs, duets, etc.; six symphonies, among which No. 3, the "Scandinavian," has had the greatest success; four overtures; suites, The Language of Flowers (188o), In the Olden Times (1883), In Fairyland (1896) ; four English dances (1896) ; a concerto for piano and orchestra, and a fantasia for the same played by M. Paderewski (1900) ; a quartet in C minor, and a trio in A minor, both early works ; pianoforte pieces, etc.