he remarried and wrote some of his best work. In 1899 he made his first cylinder recordings. In 1903, he wrote one of his best known tunes, Hector the Hero, a lament for Scottish Major-General Hector MacDonald, a friend of Skinner's who committed suicide following accusations of homosexuality. In 1904, Skinner published The Harp & Claymore Collection, his biggest collection of music, edited by Gavin Greig. In the period from 1906 to 1909 he lived a settled life in Monikie but had so little money that he could not afford to publish his work. He sent manuscripts to friends who copied them out and played them to create a market. Those precious scraps of paper, the backs of envelopes and hand-bills are now in museums. Skinner frequently used the word "genius" to describe himself. This might explain the fact that in 1909 his wife "resigned" and moved to Rhodesia. He threw himself into another round of concert tours. Several of his 1910 recordings for Columbia in London are available on a CD on the Temple label. These include traditional tunes as well as his own works, presenting a unique window into early twentieth century fiddle playing and probably back to the 1850s. In 1925 he was still top of the bill on five tours of the UK. Skinner entered a reel and jig competition in the United States in 1926. He immediately had musical differences with the pianist and strode off stage without completing his test pieces. He died on 17 March 1927 without giving another public performance. His body was buried in Aberdeen, where his marble memorial gravestone was unveiled by Sir Harry Lauder. Publications Over 600 of his compositions were published, among the best known being "The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord," "Cradle Song," "Bovaglie's Plaid," "The Music o' Spey," and "Hector the Hero." He made over 80 recordings. References Alburger, Mary Anne (1983), Scottish Fiddlers And Their Music, Victor Gollancz Ltd., . Emmerson, George S. (1971), Rantin' Pipe And Tremblin' String, McGill-Queen's University Press, . External links The Music of James Scott Skinner (Aberdeen University) Visit Banchory – Birthplace of Scott Skinner James Scott Skinner: The Miller O'Hirn Collection University of Glasgow (library), Book of the Month June 2000 by Lynne Dent 1843 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Scottish people British male violinists Composers for fiddle People from Banchory Scottish composers Scottish country dance Scottish fiddlers Scottish male