Rothschild Family

This Romance album contains a selection of popular tunes and encores that I am often asked to perform in my concerts. I have been incredibly lucky to perform all over the world, hence the inclusion of popular songs in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. My accompanist on this record is my soul-mate - the sensitive and excellent pianist Adrian Farmer - with whom I have shared many happy hours of music-making all over the world, including those we have experienced in the recording studio together. Some composers - Mendelssohn, Poulenc and Hahn - have particular connections to my family, as of course does my ancestor Mathilde de Rothschild.

Miriam Beatrice Hyde was born in Adelaide on 15 January, 1913 into a prodigious musical and artistic family that helped shape her own musical tastes. A child prodigy, Hyde's musical education began at an early age with her mother as her first teacher. After gaining the Bachelor of Music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide, she won the Elder Overseas Scholarship in 1931 for study at the Royal College of Music, London from 1932-35. Undoubtedly, Miriam Hyde is best known for her piano works for students ranging from beginner to advanced, such as Valley of Rocks, but what of her songs? Often overlooked these charming, often inspirational and personal works evoke Hyde's love of nature, of the landscape, of emotions, of life itself.