Eleanor Spencer (November 30, 1890 – October 12, 1973) was an American concert pianist.
Eleanor Spencer | |
|---|---|
 Eleanor Spencer, from a 1914 publication | |
| Born | November 30, 1890 |
| Died | October 12, 1973 |
| Occupation | Pianist |
Early life
editEleanor Spencer was born in Chicago. She studied piano there, was soon identified as a child musical prodigy,[1] and started performing at age 10.[2] At age 14 she went to Europe to continue her musical education in Paris, Vienna, and Berlin, studying with Harold Bauer and Theodor Leschetizky.[3][4]
Career
editSpencer gave her first professional recital in London at Bechstein Hall in 1910. In 1912, while living in Berlin with a Russian princess, she made news as a passenger in a "Wright machine" airplane in Germany with pilot Vsevolod Abramovich.[5]
She made her American professional debut at Carnegie Hall in 1913.[6] She lived in Berlin and Paris, and performed mostly in Europe until the beginning of World War II.[3] In August 1919, she was a soloist at the Kurhaus Concerts in Scheveningen, and was described as the first American musician to appear on Dutch concert programs after World War I.[7][8] She played at New York's Town Hall venue in 1930[9] and 1936.[10][11] She also taught piano.[12]
Her critical reception was generally positive.[13] Spencer was considered technically strong, and an expert on the works of Robert Schumann. She played at Aeolian Hall in 1919, displaying her "original taste and ample technique".[14] Of her 1930 performance at Carnegie Hall, the New York Times critic noted "a general effect of monotony in the lengthy movements of the Brahms and Schumann works", and cited a "prevailing lack of imagination" as the cause.[15]
By the time she moved back to the United States in the late 1930s, she was becoming deaf. She retrained herself as a deaf musician, and returned to a performing career after the war.[3] In 1946, she played again in New York, introduced by Edwine Behre.[16]
Personal life
editSpencer died in Locarno, Switzerland, in 1973 aged 81 years (her obituary in The New York Times gave her age as 84 years).[17] Her papers, including diaries, letters, and promotional materials, are in the New York Public Library.[3]
References
edit- ^ Birkhead, May (1927-11-06). "Chicago Makes Its Mark in French City". Chicago Tribune. p. 66. Retrieved 2020-06-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Brower, Harriette (November 1916). "Talks with American Pianists and Teachers". The Musical Observer. 14: 49.
- ^ a b c d "Eleanor Spencer papers". New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ Brower, Harriette (1915). Piano Mastery: Talks with Master Pianists and Teachers, and an Account of a Von Bülow Class, Hints on Interpretation, by Two American Teachers (Dr. William Mason and William H. Sherwood) and a Summary by the Author. Frederick A. Stokes Company. pp. 147–153.
- ^ "Pianist a Bird-Woman; Eleanor Spencer Takes a Flight in Berlin Without Hysterics". The New York Times. March 3, 1912. p. C3 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Event: Eleanor Spencer, Piano". Carnegie Hall Database. November 11, 1913. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer First American on Dutch Programs Since War". Musical America. 31: 85. November 15, 1919.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer's Well Earned Vacation". The Musical Leader. 34: 187. August 23, 1917 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer Heard; Pianist Plays Scarlatti with Much Charm and Spirit". The New York Times. February 11, 1930. p. 34 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer in Piano Recital". The Daily Record. 1936-01-24. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-06-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer Gives Recital". The New York Times. January 29, 1936. p. 15 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer Introduces Artist Pupil". The Music News. 11: 27. June 13, 1919.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer's Engagements". Musical Courier. 69: 41. November 18, 1914 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer, Pianist, Plays". The New York Times. 1919-02-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer Heard; American Pianist Long Resident in Europe Shows Brilliant Technique". The New York Times. January 19, 1930. p. 30 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer Heard; Pupil of Leschetizky Gives Her First Recital Here in Years". The New York Times. November 11, 1946. p. 50 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Eleanor Spencer". The New York Times. October 16, 1973. p. 46 – via ProQuest.
