Moore's musical flair

Moore's talents were not just in comedy

Dudley Moore, who has lost his battle against a degenerative brain disease, is best-known for his movies, but his first love was always music.

He started to play the piano at the age of six and his forceful mother, Ada, always wanted him to be a concert pianist.

His gift for music took him to the Guildhall School of Music in London. He taught himself to play the organ at his local church in Dagenham, east of London and won a scholarship to Oxford's Magdalen College.

At university, Moore explored musical talents by forming a jazz band and after graduating he went on tour with the John Dankworth Orchestra.

Music was Moore's first love and remained so

In 1965 the budding star got together with his comic partner Peter Cook for a television comedy series Not Only But Also.

As well as introducing viewers to Pete and Dud, the show also brought Moore's talents as a musician to a mass audience for the first time.

"We had no idea it was really going to work. I was able to do parodies of classical music I wouldn't normally be able to do," he once said in a BBC interview.

But as his acting career grew, Moore did not neglect his first love of music.

He wrote scores for film and stage, gave concert appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, made a jazz album with Cleo Laine and released his own album, Songs with Words.

In 1993 Moore presented two series on British television - Orchestra and Concerto on Channel 4, which showcased his talents as a classical musician.