Gow, Niel

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Gow, Niel

Gow, Niel, Scottish violinist and composer, father of Nathaniel Gow; b. Strathbrand, Perthshire, March 22, 1727; d. Inver, near Dunkeld, March 1, 1807. He played Scottish reels on the violin, and as a young man earned his living by performing at social gatherings in Edinburgh and London. He publ. a number of “Strathspey Reels” however, many of them were not original compositions but arrangements of old dance tunes.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire