He was born in 1846, the eldest of a middle-class family of twelve (one of whom was Sir Hildred Carlile) in Brixton, England. As a child, music was a great delight to him. Before he was three, his mother found him on tiptoe trying to play the family piano. He figured out some pleasing chords and persuaded his mother to help him learn more. From then on much of his time was spent on music. He was also good at languages. When he was sent to school in France at age fourteen, he quickly learned to speak French. In later life, he was also proficient at German and Italian.