Difference between revisions of "Roberts, Marion Mahan (piano)"

Latest revision as of 08:53, 28 November 2023

This page presents a biography of the pianist and composer Marion Mahan Roberts, the first of four artists to record for the Chicago Gramophone Society.

It is part of the site Classical 'Society' Records by Nick Morgan.

Trained in Chicago and Paris, Roberts began making a career for herself as a performer and teacher in mid-1920s Chicago.

In 1927, shortly before her recording was distributed, Roberts was murdered on a country road near Paris.

For dates of creation and latest update, please see 'Page information' in left sidebar.

Life

Born 9 January 1901, Oak Park, Illinois, USA^[1]

Died 23 April 1927, hamlet of La Barre, near Senlisse, Yvelines, France^[2]

Studies

Roberts was born to prosperous middle-class parents in the Chicago satellite community of Oak Park, where she attended high school.^[3] Her father was Francis Eugene Roberts Jr. (1875-1940), chief accountant of the retailer Sears, Roebuck & Co., and President of the Apollo Musical Club, a well-known Chicago choral society.^[4] Her mother was Nellie Pauline Roberts, née McLean (1873-1948). Marion had several siblings, including Stella Pauline Roberts (1899-1988), also a musician. The date of Marion's graduation from high school has not been ascertained.

By 1916 Roberts, probably still at high school, was enrolled in the Children's Department of the American Conservatory of Music in the Kimball Hall Building, Chicago. That year, at a concert of the Department's pupils, she performed a 'concerto' by Ernest Schelling, possibly the Suite Fantastique Op.7 (or an excerpt from it), whether with orchestra or without is not known.^[5] The following year, now apparently a full student, she was awarded the Beethoven Gold Medal in the Conservatory's Teachers' Certificate Class, and an Honourable Mention in the Normal Department; she also held a Piano and Harmony Certificate in the Associate Teachers' Department.^[6] As a pupil in the Normal Department, Marion Roberts studied with:

• Louise Robyn (1878-1949), for piano^[7]
  
• Adolph Weidig (1867-1931), for composition^[8]
  

Marion's older sister Stella was an accomplished violinist and, like her, a composer and student at the American Conservatory. Weidig reportedly considered the sisters to 'have the biggest talent of them all', while the Conservatory's founder and president, John Hattstaedt, claimed that Marion was 'on the threshold of an extraordinary musical career'.^[9] Again, the date of her graduation has not been ascertained (the archives of the American Conservatory of Music do not survive). At any rate, by 1920 she was employed there, leading the children's classes in Dalcroze eurhythmics.^[10]

The vagaries of reporting and access to sources mean that Marion Roberts' performances at the Conservatory can only be patchily documented at present. In July 1917, she played unspecified works by Chopin and Brahms, composers who clearly chimed with her perhaps already distinctive musical personality.^[11] In May 1918, a 'public contest of piano' saw her selected to perform at the Conservatory's forthcoming commencement concert,^[12] but it seems she did not appear.^[13] In January 1920, she accompanied her sister Stella and another fellow-pupil in unknown repertoire, earning 'a special word of praise' in the press.^[14] That May, Stella appeared as a composition pupil of Adolf Weidig, playing her own Violin Sonata with Marion at the piano (no work by Marion herself was programmed).^[15] On 22 June 1920, Marion was one of several student performers at an ambitious concert for the Conservatory's annual commencement, playing the first movement of Brahms's Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major Op.83 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Weidig, who also conducted her peers in excerpts from six other concertos.^[16] A year later, the sisters again performed in a concert showcasing the Conservatory's composition students, when Marion played her own Variations and Double Fugue, and accompanied a singer and her sister in four of Stella's songs.^[17] Until at least 1922, the sisters appeared together and separately in other Conservatory recitals, which were reported either cursorily^[18] or not at all.

In November 1921, the Roberts sisters were reported as having been initiated into the Mu Phi Epsilon musical sorority, Iota Alpha chapter, Chicago Musical College.^[19] Nothing more is currently known of their association with the College, and perhaps membership of the sorority did not in fact imply or entail any.

Pupil of Godowsky?

A 1923 press report described Roberts as a 'former holder of a Godowsky scholarship';^[20] another stated that she 'won the scholarship given by Godowsky when he taught a master class in Chicago two years ago.'^[21] The following year, a radio billing stated that she was 'a pupil of Leopold Godowsky'.^[22] Leopold Godowsky did indeed offer one free scholarship to the five-week master class he held in Chicago from 13 June to 19 July 1921.^[23] The series was widely advertised, promoted and previewed,^[24] but it does not seem to have been reported in any detail, and no notice of the scholarship award has been located. It is possible that Marion Roberts was indeed the recipient, but she is not named in his surviving papers, held at the University of Maryland.^[25] (In 1922, Godowsky announced he would give no further master classes, but would devote his spare time to composition.^[26])

Pupil of Cortot?

By May 1924, Roberts had formed a professional piano trio (see below). That summer, the group toured Europe, accompanied by Louise Robyn.^[27] It is possible that Robyn effected an introduction to the Ecole normale de musique, in Paris, where Marion pursued her study of the piano. The Ecole normale retains no documentation from this period,^[28] and it is not known exactly when she attended or with whom she studied. Later press reports stated that she was a pupil of Alfred Cortot;^[29] no evidence has been found to support this claim, which may have been based on a conflation of Cortot with the Ecole normale, founded by him in 1919. In July 1926, Marion Roberts obtained the Ecole normale's highest performance diploma, the licence de concert, with the top grade of très bien, after performing the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a theme by Rameau by Paul Dukas before a jury which included Dukas himself and the pianists Aline van Barentzen and Auguste de Radwan, among others.^[30] These were the last formal studies she is known to have undertaken.

Career

The following account of Marion Roberts' short career is incomplete; further notices and listings of her performances and broadcasts surely remain to be unearthed in sources not yet consulted.

1917

Roberts' first documented public appearance not organized by the American Conservatory took place as early as April 1917, when, aged just 16, she played alongside her sister Stella at the annual spring concert of the Chicago Lutheran congregation's Teachers' Choir. Held in Chicago's Auditorium Theatre and conducted by an amateur, Hans Biedermann (1875-1961), the concert was both previewed^[31] and reviewed in a local German-language newspaper; unfortunately, amidst a wealth of detail about the works performed by the Choir, tenor soloist and organist, neither article stated what the sisters played. Still, the reviewer singled them out for high praise, noting that Marion showed 'astonishing skill and discretion in the difficult art of piano accompaniment.'^[32]

1920

No further appearances by Marion Roberts as a freelance performer are documented until May 1920, when she joined Stella at the annual concert of their local MacDowell Club in Oak Park. The programme is again not known, but it probably included both duos and piano solos, and possibly a work by the composer after whom this nationwide network of clubs was named, and whose music Marion would later perform elsewhere.^[33] In December, the sisters took part in a concert devoted entirely to American composers and performers, put on by Chicago's Musicians' Club of Women. Marion's contribution was substantial, consisting of a polonaise by John Alden Carpenter (presumably the Polonaise américaine from his 2 Piano Pieces), the Juba Dance from Nathaniel Dett's suite In the Bottoms, one of Three Silhouettes Op.1 by Marie Bergersen, and the Fugato-humoresque on the theme of Dixie Op.21 by Mana-Zucca, described by one critic as 'the best number in the group', whether as music or for Marion's performance is unclear.^[34]

1921

In early March 1921, Stella Roberts gave her debut solo recital, at Chicago's Kimball Hall. She opened with her own Violin Sonata, which Ruth Miller of the Chicago Daily Tribune judged 'exceedingly well written' if 'conventional', noting Marion's 'expert accompaniments'.^[35] (It was followed by the first movement of Karl Goldmark's Violin Concerto; the remainder of the programme is not known.^[36]) In June, the sisters took Stella's Sonata to Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, for the closing concert of the 12th biennial Convention of the National Federation of Music Clubs;^[37] one local critic found it 'perhaps a little long'.^[38]

1921 also saw the sisters trying their hands at the Lyceum or 'lecture course' circuit. The first to do so was seemingly Marion herself, as early as mid-March, when she appeared alongside Chicago circuit lecturer Mary Hight (1885-1937)^[39] at a depot of the Santa Fe Railway in Waynoka, a railroad town in Oklahoma. As the local newspaper recounted, the pair presented their entertainment twice:

'Santa Fe employees and their families were given a genuine treat last Friday evening [18 March] [...] The entertainment was very much out of the ordinary. Miss Roberts opened the program with a trio of piano numbers, which were artistically rendered. She, tho [sic] young in years, plays with the tecnique [sic] of a finished artist, and by her faultless interpretation shows herself to be a master of her instrument.
The lecture, with its musical embellisment [sic] was given in the afternoon, for the benefit of the employes [sic] [...] who have been prevented from enjoying the previous entertainments, on account of serving the late trains.
[The] employees, as well as the public school teachers who attended, deeply appreciated the kindness of the two entertainers, and are loud in their praise of the genuine good-fellowship which prompted them to voluntarily assume the task of an additional performance.'[40]

Only one further joint appearance by Marion Roberts and Mrs. Hight is currently documented, in another Santa Fe Railway town, Vaughn, New Mexico, some days later; the exact date is not clear from the sole known press report, which also gave no details of Marion's contribution.^[41] It seems unlikely the Sante Fe Railway booked her and Mrs. Hight for only two performances; others may yet come to light. On the other hand, none of several notices of Mrs. Hight's subsequent lecture in California mention a pianist,^[42] so it seems safe to assume Marion did not travel there with her.

Perhaps encouraged by this first venture, at some point the Roberts sisters joined forces with a Michigan-born cellist, Genevieve Brown (1901-87), and a tenor, Grayston Lewis (1891-1958),^[43] to form the Roberts Concert Company. Their first appearance, in the lecture course of Olivet College in Michigan, is known solely from a report of their return the following year,^[44] after which the Company was not heard of again.^[45] As far as is known, these were Marion Roberts' only forays into the Lyceum market. In November 1921, the sisters were on more familiar terrain, performing for Chicago's Lake View Musical Society, of which they were both members,^[46] but their contributions to the mixed vocal and instrumental programme were not noticed.^[47]

1922

By 1922, both Marion and Stella were listed in a commercial directory as music teachers based at the family home in Oak Park;^[48] similar listings were published from 1923 to 1925.^[49] This activity was probably combined with teaching at the American Conservatory, and is less well documented than their continued concert-giving.

In January 1922, Marion Roberts gave her first and, to date, only known professional performance with an orchestra. The Sinai Symphony, based at the Sinai Temple and Center, then one of Chicago's leading synagogues, had been in existence for some years.^[50] In early 1922 it launched a new series of ten concerts conducted by the violinist Jacques Gordon, recently appointed Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and professor of violin at the American Conservatory, where he taught Stella Roberts.^[51] The second concert consisted of popular works by Nicolai and Saint-Saëns, an excerpt from Mozart's Symphony No.41 in C major K.551, one of Grieg's Peer Gynt suites and his Piano Concerto in a minor Op.16, with Marion as soloist;^[52] regrettably, no review has been located. The following month she took part in another significant concert put on by Chicago's Musicians' Club of Women in the city's Fine Arts Hall. The programme included a work of her own, the Theme and Double Fugue, described as 'presenting numerous difficulties which Miss Roberts ably overcame.'^[53] This may have been the similarly titled work she had performed at a showcase for American Conservatory students the previous June (see above); it is also the first of her own compositions she is known to have played in public as a freelance musician, a sign of her ambition and growing acceptance as a composer. In April, Marion Roberts and her sister Stella took part in an concert of unusual repertoire, vocal music in Hebrew sung by the soprano Mary Joyce Powelankey (later Bretton, 1898-1977); the proceeds were destined 'to aid the Jewish students of all foreign countries to continue their schooling.'^[54] Whether they performed any instrumental numbers is not known.

In May 1922, the sisters took part in an hour-long musical broadcast on Chicago's pioneering radio telephone station KYW, jointly operated by Westinghouse and Commonwealth Edison (and claimed as the first US station to broadcast live opera, the year before^[55]). The very varied programme opened with Marion Roberts' only billed solo, a concert etude not attributed to any composer but possibly by MacDowell or Constantin Sternberg (see below). She must also have joined her sister for three short violin pieces, the composers again not named^[56] (it was not uncommon for contemporary broadcast billings and press notices to omit all mention of the works or composers performed). Also in May, the cellist Genevieve Brown joined the sisters for 'a complimentary concert in honor of the Misses Roberts' in a church minutes from their Oak Park home,^[57] which may well have included some of their own music. Nothing is known of the repertoire Brown and Marion performed in September in Brown's native city of Grand Rapids, Michigan,^[58] or of what they played with Stella, as members of the Roberts Concert Company, in the Olivet College Lyceum course two months later.^[59] The choral numbers sung in Orchestra Hall the same month by a male voice choir drawn from Chicago's Sunday schools were all listed in a review, as was the organist's solo, but the items played by Stella and Marion Roberts were not.^[60] Quite often, a violinist or cellist would, in the parlance of the day, 'assist' a singer, whose numbers received preferential treatment in the press; somewhat less common was a joint recital, such as that given in July 1922 by the soprano Marie Sidenius Zendt and violinist Ruth Ray, some of whose solos, performed with Marion Roberts, were mentioned in Musical America - but not all.^[61] It seems miraculous that a programme log survives for the Roberts sisters' second known broadcast, this time for WMAQ, the Chicago Daily News station in the LaSalle Hotel: besides eight violin items, mostly arrangements, the programme included piano solos by Arensky and Chopin - an etude each - and Katheryn Whitfield's In an Irish Jaunting Car.^[62]

1923

In February 1923, the Musicians' Club of Women marked yet another milestone in Marion Roberts' career. During a concert of compositions by some eight Club members, Marion, her sister and three others played the only chamber music currently known from Marion's pen, a Piano Quintet in f sharp minor - surely a homage to two composers she clearly drew inspiration from and emulated, Brahms and Franck; it was also the sole item to be singled out in a notice in Musical America.^[63] In March, at the University of Illinois at Urbana, Marion Roberts was awarded first prize in the piano class of a young artists' contest held by the Illinois State Federation of Music Clubs.^[64] This won her a cash prize, reportedly of $100, donated by the Piano Club of Chicago;^[65] it also enabled her to go forward to the country-wide contest of the National Federation of Music Clubs, held in June in Asheville, North Carolina, where she was runner-up to Nellie M. Miller, of Oklahoma City.^[66] (In October, she would entertain members of the Piano Club of Chicago at one of their luncheons.^[67])

Roberts did not go home after her success in Asheville but went on to Nashville, Tennessee, where she would be employed for six weeks by the St. Cecilia Academy (a private school for girls), as a teacher of piano, harmony and counterpoint - and, specifically, as one who exemplified the methods of her own teachers Adolf Weidig and Louise Robyn.^[68] Before her summer class began, a local musician held an informal gathering 'limited to professional musicians interested in Miss Roberts' especial line of work', for whom the new arrival played some of her own compositions (unfortunately not named).^[69] Three weeks later, she gave her first known non-competitive solo recital at the Academy; the ambitious programme, published in full, consisted of short and virtuoso works by Arensky, Bach, Borodin, Chopin (and Chopin-Godowsky), Debussy, Dohnányi, Liszt, MacDowell, Rameau-Godowsky and Sternberg, as well as Roberts' own Prelude in F sharp minor, 'an original composition by the soloist, which leaned somewhat toward the more modern school of composition.'^[70] Before leaving Tennessee after her summer employment, Roberts once again entertained local music-lovers at an informal private musicale in Chattanooga.^[71] One report noted that she was intrigued by the folk music of Tennessee, and regretted missing Professor Cadek, who was away during her visit^[72] - presumably, a reference to the Chattanooga-born violinist Ottokar T. Čadek (1897-1956), leader of the New York String Quartet; this raises the possibility that they had previously met or even collaborated, although no evidence for this has yet surfaced.

In September and October 1923, Stella and Marion Roberts took part in two further broadcasts from WMAQ, but nothing is known of the singers they shared the studio with or of the repertoire programmed.^[73] At the start of the 1923-24 academic year, Marion was again named as director of Dalcroze classes in the Children's Department,^[74] a role she was already performing in 1920 (see above).

1924

In January 1924, the Roberts sisters broadcast from the Zenith Radio Corporation station WJAZ; details of their repertoire are, again, lacking.^[75] For all these lacunae, there is evidence that such broadcasts helped spread the sisters' reputation. According to a local newspaper, it preceded them to Freeport, Illinois, where they performed the following month:

'One woman, a good judge of music in Freeport, who has heard these talented musicians in Chicago, has said: "I do not believe Freeport really knows what marvels they are going to hear, they are prodigies, wonderful performers, and such young girls." Another who has listened to them over radio said: "They are artists."'[76]

In March, the sisters performed at a gala in honour of the principal of their former High School in Oak Park; curiously, no graduation year was noted for Marion.^[77] Meanwhile, the Children's Department of the American Conservatory was reported to be 'having the largest enrollment in its history.'^[78] In April, Stella and Marion travelled to Janesville, Wisconsin, to appear at the local MacDowell Club.^[79] The programme has not been traced; perhaps it included compositions by Marion? In May, some of her songs were performed during a recital of works by Weidig's pupils at the Conservatory; no titles are known.^[80] By this time - perhaps earlier - the sisters had formed the Roberts-Brown Trio with Genevieve Brown, cellist of the short-lived Roberts Concert Company, who was now living with the Roberts family in Oak Park. In May, the Trio broadcast over the Chicago Tribune-Zenith station WGN. Their programme ranged from Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in d minor Op.49 to the popular salon piece Au bord d'un ruisseau ('By a Brook') by René de Boisdeffre. There were solos for all three members, with Marion playing pieces by Brahms, Debussy, Lyadov, Rubinstein and Scarlatti-Godowsky. A newspaper billing for this broadcast announced that the Trio was shortly to sail for Europe;^[81] in their passport applications, the members stated that they intended to tour France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, England and Belgium,^[82] but a later report shortened the list to France and England.^[83] Before leaving, Marion Roberts appeared in three concerts in Jacksonville, Illinois, a result of her success in the 1923 Illinois State Federation of Music Clubs contests; her programmes included several pieces she had played in Nashville in August 1923.^[84] She also performed in Chicago with soprano Helen Hedges, prize-winner in the vocal contests in 1923.^[85]

No notices of concerts or broadcasts given in Europe by the Roberts-Brown Trio or its individual members have been located. On their return, the Roberts sisters resumed broadcasting for WGN, once in a series entitled 'The Tribune Master Artist Concerts', and once in the Lyon & Healy Artist Series, sponsored by the prominent Chicago musical manufacturer and retailer; regrettably, as so often, the programmes remain unknown.^[86] The Roberts-Brown Trio's activities came to an abrupt end in October 1924, when Genevieve Brown eloped with a music-loving Chicago lawyer and businessman; in August the following year, they had their first child, named Marion (whether in honour of her mother's friend is not known).^[87]

In the American Conservatory's catalogue for the academic year 1924-25, Marion Roberts had two new roles: in addition to her 'Children’s Work', she was now listed as teaching 'Harmony, counterfeit, composition', alongside Adolf Weidig himself,^[88], and 'Piano', in which capacity she was pictured among a group of teachers

'selected as instructors of the piano from among the most accomplished alumni of the conservatory. They are strongly recommended by the management as able and experienced teachers as well as brilliant pianists.'[89]

Once classes began, it was again reported that the Children's Department had enjoyed a record intake; Marion was named as one of Louise Robyn's five assistants.^[90]

1925 to March 1927

By 1925, both sisters were listed in a Chicago business directory and in a directory of musicians, with Marion's address given as that of the American Conservatory in Kimball Hall.^[91] In March, they were among the Conservatory staff assisting at a concert given by Weidig's ensemble class, when Marion appears to have joined an unnamed pupil in a Beethoven sonata, possibly Op.24.^[92] In May, she gave a solo recital in Kimball Hall, prompting Edward Moore, critic of the Chicago Daily Tribune, to write:

'she has that indefinable quality called style and the still more elusive quality called personality. She did rather well in her program construction on several counts [...] beginning her program with a new Godowsky transcription of a Bach suite – that for the cello in C minor – and continuing with a group of hitherto unheard works by Weidig-Brinkman, E.H. Bull, and herself. For Miss Roberts is a composer as well as pianist, the difference being that she is a better pianist. As a composer she is highly learned, as an elaborate modernistic treatment of a Passacaglia, Chorale, Canon, and Fugue testified. It was no small feat of composition, but with the difference that the sparkle and likable persuasiveness which is always in her playing did not extend to her musical invention.'[93]

Towards the end of the month, the Roberts sisters were among several artists who performed for officers and delegates of the National Federation of Music Clubs in Chicago's Fullerton Hall.^[94]

Thereafter, no reports have been found of concert or broadcast performances given by Marion Roberts until August 1926. For much of this period, she was probably in Paris, where she obtained her licence de concert in July 1926 (see above). She was also awarded a prize by an association named 'Aide aux femmes de professions libérales', seemingly for her work as a composer.^[95] She is known to have performed there several times: in mid-May, she played Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata during a Rachmaninoff Festival at the Salle Gaveau and, a few days later, at a gathering for expatriate American students.^[96] Shortly after, at a tea concert held by the American Women's Club, she gave a mixed programme including one of her own pieces, The Cat.^[97] On 28 July, she sailed for the USA from Le Havre.^[98] According to a later press report, she had been seriously ill with appendicitis and was returning home to convalesce.^[99] She had also met and become engaged to Julian Meredith, an American living in Paris, studying singing privately and seeking employment. Born in 1896 and a veteran of the World War, Meredith was himself recently married and a father, but he divorced his first wife for Marion, and reportedly nursed his fiancée before she left for home.^[100]

If this account is to be taken at face value, it seems the Atlantic crossing and homecoming did Marion Roberts much good. On 19 August, twelve days after landing in New York, she was well enough to join her sister Stella for a half-hour broadcast via Chicago's WMAQ, followed by another a week later.^[101] In November 1926, the sisters gave another broadcast, billed as 'the American Conservatory of Music program', this time on WLIB (not to be confused with the later WLIB AM of New York), a station owned by the weekly magazine Liberty. Marion's items consisted of the two outer movements of Mozart's Sonata in A major K.331, and three unspecified etudes by Chopin.^[102] The radio critic of the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that 'A reappearance in a longer and more ambitious program would be welcome.'^[103] His wish was not entirely granted in February 1927, when the Roberts sisters again broadcast the 'American Conservatory of Music program' over WLIB: Marion played mostly short pieces by Borodin, Chopin and Debussy, the most substantial being Chopin's Impromptu in F sharp major Op.36, while Stella's lighter fare included a Tango of her own composition.^[104] Later press reports stated that Marion Roberts 'attracted considerable note as a pianist for radio station WLS'.^[105] To date, no billings for or notices of broadcasts by her from this Chicago station have been located; but if she was station pianist, her name may have been routinely omitted from billings, which were often very sparse.

Meanwhile, in December 1926, Marion had performed before the Chicago Gramophone Society, possibly the engagement which ensured that her playing was preserved on disc (see below).

Marion Roberts' last public performance documented to date appears to have been at a meeting of the Woman's Club of Highland Park, a North Shore municipality some 20 miles north of her own home in Oak Park. Her first name was, as often, given as Marian in the local press, which also, as often, gave no details of the programme; but it is highly likely that she was the pianist who performed alongside a soprano likewise incorrectly billed as Fannie Cole Semple^[106] on 29 March 1927.^[107]

April 1927

On 11 April 1927, at a New York studio of the Columbia company, Marion Roberts made her first and only recording (see below), the gramophone premiere of the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue by César Franck.

On 13 April 1927, Roberts sailed from New York for France, on the French liner De Grasse (also on board was the harpsichordist Wanda Landowska^[108]). During the night of 21 and 22 April, the De Grasse docked at Le Havre,^[109] where her fiancé Julian Meredith met Roberts with his new car. He drove her back to his lodgings in Paris, and almost immediately away again, into the countryside of the Chevreuse Valley, south west of the capital. They were last seen having refreshments at an inn in the small town of Cernay-la-Ville, from which they set off back towards Paris. Early the next morning, 23 April, a quarry worker found Meredith's car parked not far from Cernay, in the neighbouring hamlet of La Barre. In it were Meredith and Roberts, both drenched in blood from gunshot wounds. Roberts was dead; Meredith died soon after, leaving the exact course of events, and the motive for the killings, unclear to this day. The case briefly became front page news in the French and US daily press. Robbery was ruled out, as a considerable sum of cash and a diamond ring - Roberts' engagement ring - had not been taken. Yet the ring was found not on her finger but, as variously reported, in her handbag or in Meredith's wallet; while Meredith had only recently bought the pistol used, and was rumoured to have faced financial worries and unemployment. Despite differing in these and other details, contemporary accounts broadly agreed that Meredith killed Roberts and then himself, apparently after she had broken off the engagement, which the couple was supposedly celebrating.^[110] Final reports, never confirmed or denied, relayed gossip to the effect that Roberts had started a new liaison during her Atlantic crossing.^[111]

According to the historian Judith Tick, Roberts' death 'shattered the community of teachers and students at the American Conservatory.'^[112] But the fledgling composer would soon be forgotten by the wider world. She appears in no historical, reference or academic works, besides Professor Tick's biography of the composer Ruth Crawford, an almost exact contemporary and fellow-student at the Conservatory. In awe of the Roberts sisters, Crawford felt Marion's death very keenly: for all Marion's gifts, as a woman composer she was in the same predicament as Crawford herself, who mourned 'what great beautiful work Marion might have accomplished'.^[113]

Stella Roberts continued to enjoy a career as a performer for some years, moving from the violin to the viola; in March 1939, she gave the Chicago premiere of William Walton's Viola Concerto.^[114] She also became a respected professor of composition and theory at the American Conservatory, teaching there for 55 years until she retired in 1978. She died in 1988.^[115]

Chicago Gramophone Society

In December 1926, at the second meeting of the Chicago Gramophone Society, Robert Pollak, one of the sponsors of the Society's recordings, gave a talk on Hugo Wolf. Pollak claimed that, in composing their lieder, Schubert used 'certain tricks' and Brahms 'numerous musical gestures that are as irrelevant and as unimportant as a man's trick of fumbling with his watch-chain'. But, Pollak continued, 'in Wolf there are no formulae. The music is welded to the word'. To illustrate this, Pollak had Marion Roberts play one song each by Schubert, Brahms and Wolf. These were not listed in the text of Pollak's talk printed in The Phonograph Monthly Review; nor did it name a singer or any arrangers, leaving it unclear whether Roberts was joined by a vocalist, played the songs as keyboard solos arranged either by herself or others, or even incorporated the vocal parts ex tempore.^[116] It is not known exactly how Roberts came to be invited to this event. Pollak was an avowed admirer of her sister Stella,^[117] and he may well have heard Marion perform in concert or on air. Either he engaged her solely to play at the December 1926 meeting, when she impressed him and Vories Fisher, Pollak's co-sponsor, enough to be chosen for the Society's first issue; or Pollak already felt she would make a suitable recording artist, and invited her to the meeting to convince the Fishers and other fellow-members.

On 11 April 1927, in New York, Roberts made the first recording to be published by the Society, César Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. Again, how this work came to be chosen is not known. It was just the sort of repertoire Roberts might have studied at the Ecole normale in Paris, and it is perhaps significant that she herself composed a Passacaglia, Chorale, Canon, and Fugue (see below), which may have been inspired by or modelled on the Franck. If she was invited by Fisher and Pollak to suggest something to record for the Society, and proposed the Franck, that chimed happily with Fisher's aspirations for the future of the recorded repertoire: the work was one of several mentioned by Fisher in one of his reports on the progress of a recording 'contest' he was overseeing in The Phonograph Monthly Review.^[118] So far, no notice of a concert performance by Roberts of the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue has been located, though it seems unlikely that she would have worked up so demanding a piece solely for this recording; perhaps she had played it in France in 1926, or was hoping to do so on her imminent return.

Marion Roberts sailed for France two days after making her recording; there would not have been time for her to hear test pressings. Instead, she may have nominated the takes to be issued at the session itself, since the published sides contained noises off which might ordinarily have caused them to be rejected; this scenario is discussed at greater length on the page devoted to the Society. The finished records were distributed to members of the Chicago Gramophone Society by mid-June 1927. The only substantial review appeared in The Music Lovers' Phonograph Monthly Review. Highly favourable, it quoted a tribute to Roberts, possibly also written by Pollak, and printed in a leaflet accompanying the set:

'Marion Mahan Roberts, who made the records you find here enclosed, met her death under most tragic circumstances [...] It is both curious and touching that they and certain highly promising compositions should be the only tangible memorials to a consummate young musical genius; that some quirk of fate prompted us to catch on the wax the last beautiful manifestations of her musicianship before she went away from us. For ourselves, we find, and hope you will too, these discs mechanically and artistically well-nigh perfect, and we are bound to love them forever because they represent virtually all that Marion Roberts might have been.'[119]

As an aside, it is interesting to note that Roberts had a work by John Alden Carpenter in her repertoire (see below); if she had lived, perhaps she might have recorded it for the Society's second issue, or played in the songs by Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss which it also included, and for which another pianist was engaged but not credited on the labels.

Compositions

The following compositions by Marion Roberts are mentioned in sources consulted for this page. No indications have been found that any were published. It is not known if these or other works by Roberts survive.

Solo compositions

• The Cat^[120]
• Légende^[121]
• Passacaglia, Chorale, Canon and Fugue^[122]
• Prelude in f# minor^[123]
• Theme and Double Fugue (possibly identical with following work?)^[124]
• Variations and Double Fugue (possibly identical with preceding work?)^[125]

Concerted compositions

• [Titles unknown] (songs)^[126]
• Quintet in f sharp minor for piano and strings^[127]

Repertoire

Below are listed all composers and works Roberts was billed and/or reported in the press as performing in concert, on air, in a recording studio or during her studies (although works billed may not have been performed). Roberts' solo repertoire might be described as 'highbrow-poetic-virtuosic', in contrast to the documented repertoires of her sister Stella and the Roberts-Brown Trio, which, with some exceptions (Boëllmann, Stella Roberts' Sonata, Mendelssohn) tended towards lighter, more popular fare. Unfortunately, the patchy character of available sources does not allow firm conclusions to be drawn.

Solo repertoire

Arensky Etude in F# major (probably No.13 of 24 Characteristic Pieces Op.36)^[128]

Bach, Johann Sebastian Prelude and Fugue in C# major BWV 848 or 872^[129]

Bergersen, Marie Three Silhouettes Op.1

• (unspecified)^[130]

Borodin Petite suite

• I. Au couvent (In the Convent). Andante religioso^[131]

Brahms 4 Pieces Op.119

• IV. Rhapsody in Eb^[132]

Brahms Rhapsody (unspecified)^[133]

Brahms Unspecified works^[134]

Bull, Eyvind Hagerup Unspecified work^[135]

Carpenter, John Alden 2 Piano Pieces

• I.Polonaise américaine(?)^[136]

Chopin Etudes Op.10

• No.5 in Gb major^[137]
• No.12 in c minor^[138]

Chopin Etude (unspecified)^[139]

Chopin Impromptu in F# major Op.36^[140]

Chopin 2 Nocturnes Op.37

• No.2 Andantino in G major^[141]

Chopin Unspecified works^[142]

Debussy Children's Corner, suite

• V. The little shepherd^[143]
• VI. Golliwogg's cake-walk^[144]

Debussy L'isle joyeuse^[145]

Debussy Petite suite

• I. En bateau (Boating)^[146]

Debussy Preludes, Book I

• VII. (... Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest) (What the West Wind saw)^[147]
• VIII. (... La fille aux cheveux de lin) (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)^[148]
• XII. (... Minstrels)^[149]

Debussy Unspecified work^[150]

Dett, Nathaniel In the Bottoms, suite

• V. Juba Dance^[151]

Dohnányi, Ernő 4 Rhapsodies Op.11

• (unspecified)^[152]

Dukas Variations, Interlude and Finale on a theme by Rameau^[153]

Franck, César Prelude, Chorale and Fugue (see Recordings)

Godowsky, Leopold 53 Etudes after Chopin

• in Gb major after Op.10 No.5 (Inversion; unspecified version)^[154]

Godowsky, Leopold Renaissance. Free Transcriptions of Old Masterpieces for Piano

• Book I: Jean Philippe Rameau, VI. Tambourin (after Rameau Pièces de clavecin avec une méthode, 1724 / rev. 1731, Suite in e minor, viii)^[155]
• Book II, VIII. Pastorale (Angelus) in G major (after Corelli Concerto grosso in g minor Op.6 No.8, V. Pastorale ad libitum. Largo)^[156]
• Book IV, XIX. Concert-Allegro in A major (after Scarlatti, Domenico Sonata in A K.113)^[157]

Godowsky, Leopold Sonatas & Suites for Violin Solo & Violoncello Solo (unaccompanied) / Johann Sebastian Bach. Freely transcribed & adapted for the Pianoforte

• Suite No.5 in c minor [BWV 1011]^[158]

Liszt 2 Concert Etudes S.145

• Waldesrauschen. Vivace^[159]
• Gnomenreigen. Presto scherzando^[160]

Liszt Unspecified work^[161]

Lyadov Музыкальная табакерка (A Musical Snuffbox) Op.32^[162]

MacDowell Concert Etude (almost certainly Op.36)^[163]

MacDowell 10 Woodland Sketches Op.51

• No.7 From Uncle Remus^[164]

Mana-Zucca Fugato-humoresque on the theme of Dixie Op.21^[165]

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Sonata in A major K.331

• I. Tema con variazioni, III. Alla Turca^[166]

Rameau Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin

• Suite in a minor, IV. Les trois mains, arranged Edward MacDowell as From the 18th Century, I. Les trois mains (The Three Hands), Courante for Clavecin^[167]

Roberts, Marion See above

Rubinstein, Anton Valse-Caprice in Eb major^[168]

Sternberg, Constantin Concert Etude (unspecified; probably No.3 Op.103)

Weidig-Brinkman Unspecified work (almost certainly Adolf Weidig Bourrée, from Suite for violin and piano in g minor Op.21, transcribed for piano by Joseph Brinkman)^[169]

Whitfield, Katheryn Thomas (1898-1994) In an Irish Jaunting Car (version for solo piano)^[170]

Concerted repertoire

Beethoven Sonata for unknown instrument and piano in F major^[171]

Boellmann, Léon Symphonic Variations Op.23, version for cello and piano^[172]

de Boisdeffre, René Au bord d'un ruisseau (By a Brook) Op.52 for piano

• uncredited version or arrangement for piano trio^[173]

Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat major Op.83

• I. Allegro non troppo^[174]

Brandl, Johann Der liebe Augustin (operetta), text by Hugo Klein

• Act I. No.4, Augustin's aria 'Du alter Stefansturm', arranged Fritz Kreisler as The Old Refrain (Viennese Popular Song) for violin and piano^[175]

Burleigh, Cecil 12 Short Poems Op.18 for violin and piano

• II. The Barefoot Boy^[176]
• VI. By the Fireside^[177]

Burleigh, Cecil 4 Small Concert Pieces, Op.21 for violin and piano

• IV. Moto perpetuo (billed as 'Perpetual Motion')^[178]

Butler, Herbert Romance Op.3 for violin and piano^[179]

Daquin, Louis-Claude 1er livre de pièces de clavecin (1735), Suite No.3

• I. Le coucou, rondeau, arranged Joan Manén for violin and piano^[180]

Dvořák Cigánské melodie Op.55 for voice and piano

• IV. 'Když mne stará matka zpívat učívala' ('Songs my mother taught me'), arranged Maud Powell for violin and piano^[181]

Dvořák Slavische Tänze Op.46 or Op.72 for piano four hands or orchestra

• (unspecified), arranged Mischa Elman for violin and piano^[182]

Fauré Trois mélodies Op.7 for voice and piano

• I. Après un rêve, arranged Mischa Elman for violin and piano^[183]

Gardner, Samuel From the Canebrake for violin and piano^[184]

Gluck Orphée et Eurydice (1774)

• Act II, sc.ii, Ballet des ombres heureuses, arranged Fritz Kreisler for violin and piano as Mélodie^[185]

Goldmark Violin Concerto in a minor Op.28

• I. Allegro moderato (reduction with piano)^[186]

Grasse, Edwin (billed as 'Edward') Waves at Play for violin and piano^[187]

Grieg Piano Concerto in a minor Op.16^[188]

Kramer, Arthur Walter Eclogue Op.41 No.1 for cello and piano, reworked as Op.41 No.1a for violin and piano (billed as 'Eklog')^[189]

Kreisler La Chasse for violin and piano (falsely attributed to Jean-Baptiste Cartier)^[190]

Kreisler Minuet for violin and piano (falsely attributed to Nicola Porpora)^[191]

Kreisler Preghiera for violin and piano (falsely attributed to Giovanni Battista G.B. Martini)^[192]

Kreisler Praeludium & Allegro for violin and piano (falsely attributed to Gaetano Pugnani)^[193]

Kreisler Sicilienne & Rigaudon for violin and piano (falsely attributed to François Francoeur)^[194]

Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata in g minor Op.19^[195]

Mendelssohn, Felix Piano Trio in d Minor Op.49

• II. Andante con moto tranquillo, III. Scherzo. Leggiero e vivace^[196]

Rimsky Korsakov Sadko

• Scene IV, 'Не счесть алмазов в каменных пещерах' (Song of the Indian Guest), arranged Fritz Kreisler as Chanson indoue (Hindoo Song) for violin and piano^[197]

Popper 3 Pieces Op.62 for cello and piano

• II. Chanson villageoise (Village Song)^[198]

Roberts, Marion See above

Roberts, Stella Violin Sonata^[199]

Roberts, Stella Tango for violin and piano^[200] (probably movement II. of Mediterranean Sketches Op.12, published in 1927^[201])

Roberts, Stella A Prayer, Beatitude, One Life, The Gainer for voice, violin and piano^[202]

Sarasate Spanische Tänze Opp.21, 22, 23, 26 for violin and piano

• (unspecified)^[203]

Scarlatti, Domenico Sonata in d minor K.9 or in D major K.513

• arranged Sam Franko for violin and piano^[204]

Schelling, Ernest Unspecified concerto, possibly Suite Fantastique Op.7

• (excerpt?)^[205]

Scott, Cyril Lullaby Op.57 No.2 for voice and piano

• uncredited arrangement for cello and piano^[206]

Tod Boyd, Harold Samoan Lullaby for violin and piano^[207]

Valensin, Giorgio Symphony No.1(?) in G major

• ?. Tempo di minuetto(?), uncredited arrangement for piano trio^[208]

Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

• Act III, scene v, 'Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein' (Walther's Prize Song), uncredited arrangement for piano trio^[209]

Wieniawski Unspecified concerto (reduction with piano)^[210]

Wieniawski 8 Etudes-Caprices Op.18 for violin and piano

• V. Tempo di saltarella^[211]

Unknown composer Nocturne for violin and piano^[212]

Unknown composer Spinning Song for violin and piano^[213]

Recordings

Only one recording by Marion Roberts is known:

Images

A small number of images of Marion Roberts have been seen in the course of research for this page. Most are small photographic portraits, usually of poor quality, illustrating press reports of her death in April 1927. One was published in a prospectus of the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, listing Roberts as a piano teacher.^[214] No other images have been located to date.

References

Note The Phonograph Monthly Review underwent various name changes, detailed here, but on this page and elsewhere on this site, the magazine is referred to in the text and footnotes as The Phonograph Monthly Review or, where appropriate, the Review.

1. ↑ Biographical data for Marion Roberts and her family retrieved from birth, death, census, travel and other documents, accessed via ancestry.co.uk, except where noted
2. ↑ Gaulin, A. (Consul-General, USA) Report of the Death of an American Citizen (file 330 Roberts), American Consular Service, Paris, 2 May 1927, accessed via ancestry.co.uk
3. ↑ 'Slays Fiancee: Then Suicides', The Daily Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star [Mattoon, Illinois], Saturday 23 April 1927, p.[1]
4. ↑ 'Kills Chicago Girl and Self in Paris Tryst', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 24 April 1927, p.1
5. ↑ 'Two Chicago Composers' Works Figure On Symphony Program', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXII No.12, No.1878, Thursday 23 March 1916, pp.30-31 (on p.31)
6. ↑ 1918 1919 Catalogue of the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, n.d., pp.74, 77, 78
7. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Five Concerts On One Sunday An Early Season Record In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXIII No.22, Thursday 1 December 1921, pp.44-45; 'Radio Programs for Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 12 October 1924, part 10, p.12; Tick, Judith Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p.33
8. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Mischa Elman Gives Farewell Recital To Capacity Audience In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXX No.19, No.2091, Thursday 6 May 1920, pp.40-41; 'Special', The Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.5, February 1927, p.224
9. ↑ Tick, Judith Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, pp.37, 88
10. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Symphony Honors Theodore Thomas', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXX No.2, No.2074, Thursday 8 January 1920, p.34
11. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Conservatories And Studios Furnish Chicago Summer Items', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXV No.3, No.1947, Thursday 19 July 1917, p.8
12. ↑ 'Notes of the Chicago Studio', Musical America, Vol.XXX No.7, 14 June 1919, p.38
13. ↑ Rosenfeld, Maurice 'Chicago Institutions Hold Attractive Commencements', Musical America, Vol.XXX No.9, 28 June 1919, p.39
14. ↑ Cox, Jeannette '"The Pleasure-Dome Of Kubla Khan," New Griffes Work For Orchestra, Wins Success In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXX No.4, No.2076, Thursday 22 January 1920, p.48
15. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Mischa Elman Gives Farewell Recital To Capacity Audience In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXX No.19, No.2091, Thursday 6 May 1920, pp.40-41
    This is the first notice of Stella Roberts' Violin Sonata located so far; it is not currently known when the Sonata was composed or first performed publicly, nor whether it survives in any form (it does not appear to have been published)
16. ↑ Devries, Rene 'School And Conservatory Commencements Attract All Chicago's Attention As Summer Season Begins', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.1, No.2099, Thursday 1 July 1920, pp.30-31; Rosenfeld, Maurice 'Chicago's "Commencement Week"', Musical America, Vol.XXXII No.10, 3 July 1920, p.37
17. ↑ Stella Roberts' songs were A Prayer, Beatitude, One Life and The Gainer; Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, No.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
18. ↑ Garbled typesetting means that the Roberts sisters' contribution to an interesting concert on 6 November 1920 is unknown, see Devries, Rene 'Chicago Hears First of Great List of Artists Booked for the Windy City's Busiest Season', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.20, No.2118, Thursday 11 November 1920, pp.40-41; see also e.g. 'Chicago Studio Notes', Musical America, Vol.XXXII No.8, 19 June 1920, p.22; Cox, Jeannette 'Five Concerts On One Sunday An Early Season Record In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXIII No.22, Thursday 1 December 1921, pp.44-45; ead. 'Chicago Opera Engages Richard Hageman', ibid., Vol.LXXXV No.2, No.2205, Thursday 13 July 1922, pp.44-45 (on p.45)
19. ↑ 'Initiates', Mu Phi Epsilon Triangle, Vol.XVI No.1, November 1921, pp.262-63
20. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
21. ↑ 'Miss Roberts Honored by Miss Valkenburgh', Nashville Banner [Nashville, Tennessee], Monday 16 July 1923, p.5
22. ↑ 'Radio Programs for Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 12 October 1924, part 10, p.12
23. ↑ 'Chicago the Mecca of the Summer Music Student', Musical America, Vol.XXXIV No.16, 13 August 1921, p.19
24. ↑ e.g. 'Godowsky Chicago Master Class', Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, 27 March 1921, 'On Stage and Screen' Section, p.8; 'Godowsky Chicago Master Class', Musical Observer, Vol.XX No.5, May 1921, p.1; 'Godowsky Chicago Master Class', Musical America, Vol.XXXIV No.5, 28 May 1921, p.16; Hinderer, J.G. 'The Godowsky Chicago Master Class', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.18, no.2143, Thursday 5 May 1921, p.24; J.H[inderer?]. 'The Godowsky Chicago Master Class', ibid., Vol.LXXXII No.21, no.2146, Thursday 26 May 1921, p.46
25. ↑ I am grateful to Maxwell Brown, Project Manager, International Piano Archives, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland, for kindly confirming that Roberts' name does not occur in the Godowsky papers or any other documents held, personal communication, 8 June 2017
26. ↑ 'Leopold Godowsky', Vancouver Daily World, Saturday 11 March 1922, p.12
27. ↑ Passport applications and an immigration record, accessed via ancestry.co.uk, show that all four travelled out and back together
28. ↑ Jean-Louis Mansart, Dean of Studies, Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris / A. Cortot, personal communication, 8 September 2015
    I am greatly indebted to M. Mansart for kindly taking the trouble to respond to my enquiry
29. ↑ e.g. 'Couple Found Slain In Car Near Paris; Both Americans', New York Times, Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.1, 5; 'Un Américain frappe son amie, Américaine, de trois balles dans la tête et se suicide', Le Journal, Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.1, 3
30. ↑ 'Ecole normale de musique de Paris', Le Ménestrel, issue 4709, 88th Year No.31, Friday 30 July 1926, pp.343-44
31. ↑ 'Lehrerchor-Konzert', Abendpost [Chicago, Illinois], Saturday 28 April 1917, p.3
32. ↑ 'Chicago Lehrerchor', Abendpost [Chicago, Illinois], Monday 30 April 1917, p.7
33. ↑ 'McDowell Club Recital Today', Chicago Daily Tribune, Friday 21 May 1920, part 1, p.15
34. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
35. ↑ R[uth].M[iller]. 'Stella Roberts Earns Unstinted Praise in Debut at Violinist', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 9 March 1921, p.19; see also 'Fiddle Strings', The Violinist, Vol.XXVIII No.1, January 1921, pp.124-126(?) (on p.124) (N.B. a portion of this rubric may be missing)
36. ↑ E.C.M. (Moore, Edward C.?) 'Chicago Bows to Stock as Composer', Musical America, VolXXXIII No.21, 19 March 1921, p.52; Rosenfeld, Maurice [Title unknown], Chicago Daily News, date unknown, quoted in 'Music', Freeport Journal-Standard [Freeport, Illinois], Wednesday 30 January 1924, p.6
37. ↑ 'Last Concert of Monday Evening is Twenty-second Musical Event of Biennial', The Davenport Democrat and Leader [Davenport, Iowa], Tuesday 14 June 1921, p.3
38. ↑ 'Texas Woman Is Named President of Music Clubs', Moline Daily Dispatch [Moline, Illinois], Tuesday 14 June 1921, p.10
39. ↑ Born Mary Smith in Chicago, Mrs. Hight was an actress, lecturer, political speaker and broadcaster; widowed in 1927, she remarried in 1935 and moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she died suddenly less than two years later, see 'Mrs. Carl Puhl Dead; Formerly Mrs. Mary Hight', Chicago Daily Tribune, Thursday 29 April 1937, p.27, ancestry.com and
40. ↑ 'Lecture at Reading Room', Woods County Enterprise [Waynoka, Oklahoma], Friday 25 March 1921, p.4
41. ↑ 'Vaughn', Albuquerque Morning Journal [Albuquerque, New Mexico], Sunday 27 March 1921, New Mexico State News / Arizona State News section, p.4
42. ↑ See e.g. 'Monday Calendar', Los Angeles Evening Express, Saturday 9 April, Magazine and Special Features section, p.4; 'Society', Evening Vanguard [Venice, California], Tuesday 12 April, p.3
43. ↑ Details of Lewis's life and career can be elusive, as his first name was not infrequently spelled Grayson, see e.g. 'Brief News Notes of The Week', Loup Valley Queen [Callaway, Nebraska], Friday 15 September 1922, p.[1] ('Grayson') and [untitled], ibid., Friday 22 September 1922, p.[1] ('Grayston'); not a professional musician, he appears briefly to have led an eponymous concert party of his own, see 'Hope Chautauqua Program', The Hope Dispatch [Hope, Kansas], Thursday 1 June 1916, p.[3], 'The Norcatur Chautauqua', Norcatur Dispatch [Norcatur, Kansas], Thursday 19 April 1917, p.[1], etc.
44. ↑ 'Past Masters Night Feature At Olivet', Lansing State Journal [Lansing, Michigan], Saturday 18 November 1922, p.5
45. ↑ Known in full as the Roberts Concert Company of Oak Park, Ill., it should not be confused with another Roberts Concert Company active in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and other states, and led by cellist Katherine Roberts, see 'Many Expected At Chautauqua', Moline Daily Dispatch [Moline, Illinois], Saturday 7 August 1926, p.16
46. ↑ 'Glimpses of Music in Chicago', The Musical Monitor, Vol.XI No.3, December 1921, p.92
47. ↑ Raymond, Emil 'Chicago Hails Recitalists', Musical America, Vol.XXXV No.5, 26 November 1921, pp.2, 42 (on p.42)
48. ↑ The McCoy's Directory Co. (compilers) McCoy's Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park Directory 1922, Pioneer Publishing Co., Oak Park, Illinois, 1922, pp.402, 686
49. ↑ The McCoy's Directory Co. (compilers) McCoy's Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park Directory 1923, Pioneer Publishing Co., Oak Park, Illinois, 1923, pp.459, 673, and McCoy's Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park Directory 1925, p.358; NB the 1924 directory has not been located
50. ↑ See e.g. 'Club Women Observe Mothers' Day Tomorrow', Chicago Daily Tribune, Saturday 10 May 1913, p.7
51. ↑ Moore, Edward 'Jacques Gordon Adds Tang to Chicago Symphony's Opening', Chicago Daily Tribune, Saturday 15 October 1921, p.11; 'Radio Programs for Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 12 October 1924, part 10, p.12
52. ↑ 'Concerts and Recitals', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 22 January 1922, part 8, p.3; 'Gordon Orchestra Gives Second Concert', Musical America, Vol.XXXV No.15, 4 February 1922, p.37
    Stella Roberts also performed with the Sinai Symphony under Gordon, twice within the following month, see 'Recitals and Concerts', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 5 February 1922, Part 8, p.14; 'Recitals and Concerts', ibid., 22 February 1922, Part 1, p.11
53. ↑ 'Musicians Club Presents Composers in Own Works', Musical America, Vol.XXXV No.17, 18 February 1922, p.37
54. ↑ 'Menorah to Give Musicale at Mandel Hall', The Sentinel [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.XLVI No.1, Saturday 7 April 1922, p.25
55. ↑ 'Radio Men Tap Air for Opera Concerts', Des Moines Sunday Register [Des Moines, Iowa], 13 November 1921, Iowa Section, p.4 I; 'Grand Opera Free Via The Wireless', St Joseph Herald-Press [Saint Joseph, Michigan], Monday 21 November 1921, p.8; 'Scenes at KYW', Lebanon Daily News [Lebanon, Pennsylvania], Thursday 20 July 1922, p.6(?; NB capture very poor)
56. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
57. ↑ 'In Chicago Studios', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.4, 20 May 1922, p.47; 'Artist Students of Hans Hess Are Much in Demand', Musical Observer, Vol.XXI No.6, June 1922, p.60
58. ↑ Henderson, Victor 'Support Band Series', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.24, 7 October 1922, p.27; H.B.R. 'Grand Rapids Hears A Variety Of Concerts', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXV No.22, No.2225, Thursday 30 November 1922, p.58;
59. ↑ 'Slight Hurt Now Alarming', The Enquirer and Evening News [Battle Creek, Michigan], Wednesday 22 November 1922, p.7
60. ↑ 'Choral Union Appears in Concert', Musical America, Vol.XXXVII No.6, 2 December 1922, pp.20, 43 (on p.43)
61. ↑ C.Q. 'Joint-Recital Attracts', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.14, 29 July 1922, p.20
62. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
63. ↑ 'Chicago Composers Present Program', Musical America, Vol.XXXVII No.19, 3 March 1923, p.26; the string players were Stella Roberts, Catherine W. Smith, Mildred Brown and Anne Slack
64. ↑ 'Social Happenings', The Davenport Democrat and Leader [Davenport, Iowa], Wednesday 25 April 1923, p.4; 'Music Honors Go To Oak Park And Chicago Artists', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 11 March 1923, part 1, p.4
65. ↑ 'Gives Donation for Music Clubs', The Music Trade Review, Vol.LXXVI No.16, 21 April 1923, p.38
66. ↑ 'Inaugural Concert By Symphony Orchestra To Be Heard Tonight', The Asheville Citizen [Asheville, North Carolina], Tuesday 12 June 1923, pp.1-2
67. ↑ 'Noted Golfer Talks To Piano Club Luncheoners', Presto, No.1941, 6 October 1923, p.5
68. ↑ 'Extend Welcome to Pleasing Musician', Nashville Banner [Nashville, Tennessee], Sunday 23 July 1923, p.5
69. ↑ 'Miss Roberts Honored by Miss Valkenburgh', Nashville Banner [Nashville, Tennessee], Monday 16 July 1923, p.5
70. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
71. ↑ 'Informal Musicale', The Chattanooga News [Chattanooga, Tennessee], Wednesday 15 August 1923, p.6
72. ↑ 'Musician Visitor', Chattanooga News [Chattanooga, Tennessee], Saturday 18 August 1923, p.6
73. ↑ 'Radio Programs For The Week', Pittsburgh Post [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania], Wednesday 26 September 1923, pp.5-6; 'Wednesday, October 3', Radio Digest Illustrated, 6 October 1923, p.12
74. ↑ 'In Chicago Studios', Musical America, Vol.XXXVIII No.25, 13 October 1923, p.25
75. ↑ 'Today's Program', New York Times, Sunday 13 January 1924, p.X12; 'Radio Programs', The Brooklyn Daily Eagle [Brooklyn, New York], Sunday 13 January 1924, p.8 B
76. ↑ 'Music', Freeport Journal-Standard [Freeport, Illinois], Wednesday 30 January 1924, p.6
77. ↑ 'Tribute Paid To M.R. M'Daniel By Oak Park High School Patrons', The Daily Republican [Rushville, Indiana], Tuesday 18 March 1924, pp.1, 3
78. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXVII No.7, 15 March 1924, p.210-11
79. ↑ 'Marion Roberts Pianist [...]', Janesville Daily Gazette [Janesville, Wisconsin], Friday 4 April 1924, p.3
80. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXVII No.14, 3 May 1924, p.434
81. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
82. ↑ Passport applications accessed via ancestry.co.uk
83. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXVIII No.1, 2 August 1924, pp.18-19
84. ↑ 'Programs Of Merit Announced For Today', Jacksonville Daily Journal [Jacksonville, Illinois], Sunday 25 May 1924, Section Two, p.4
85. ↑ Moore, Edward 'Long List of Operas on Ravinia Schedule', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 4 May 1924, part 9, pp.1, 6
86. ↑ 'Radio Programs for Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 12 October 1924, part 10, p.12; 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 24 November 1924, p.12
87. ↑ 'Alumni Notes', Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Vol.XXVIII No.11, 10 December 1925, p.338-44 (on pp.331-32); The Ralph and Genevieve B. Horween Foundation 'The Founders', n.d.
88. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXVIII No.5, 30 August 1924, pp.146-47
89. ↑ 1924 1925 Catalogue of the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago: n.d. (1924?)
    My thanks to Trenton Carls of the Chicago History Museum's Research Center for alerting me to this source and kindly providing images of relevant pages, personal communication, 12 August 2016
90. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXVIII No.12, 18 October 1924, p.410
91. ↑ Chicago Central Business and Office Building Directory 1925, The Winters Publishing Co., June 1925, p.642; Mid-west Concert Management, Inc. Third Annual Chicago and Midwest Musicians' and Allied Artists' Directory, Season 1925-26, Chicago, 1925, p.46
92. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXIX No.9, 28 March 1925, p.274
93. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
94. ↑ 'De Lamarter Will Try His New Works at Philadelphia', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 31 May 1925, part 8, p.6
95. ↑ 'Nos Échos', Le Petit Parisien, Tuesday 8 June 1926, p.2
96. ↑ Shinkman, Paul 'Latin Quarter Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Friday 21 May 1926, European Edition, p.5; 'Coming Paris Events', The Paris Times, Saturday 22 May 1926, p.3
    NB no other notice of Marion Roberts' performance at the Salle Gaveau has yet been located
97. ↑ 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4; Dunning, H.W. 'Indiana People In Europe', The Indianapolis Sunday Star, 20 June 1926, part 7, p.4
98. ↑ Immigration document, accessed via ancestry.co.uk
99. ↑ 'Dernière heure', L'Echo d'Alger, Tuesday 26 April 1927, p.(4)
100. ↑ 'Julian Merideth [sic], Buffalo, Slays Girl, Self, Near Paris', Buffalo Courier Express, Sunday 24 April 1927, Section Seven, pp.1, 11; 'Un drame mystérieux à Cernay-la-Ville', La Lanterne, Sunday 24 April 1927, p.2
101. ↑ 'Thursday, August 19', Radio Digest Illustrated, 15 August 1926, p.18; 'Thursday, August 26', ibid., p.23
102. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
103. ↑ Douglass, Elmer 'Elmer Heaps Praise on Two Noted Singers', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 22 November 1926, p.24
104. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
105. ↑ 'American Girl Slain in France', The Courier-Journal [Louisville, Kentucky], Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.1-2
106. ↑ Fanny Cole Sample (1890-1961) was born in Indiana and enjoyed a career as a recitalist, operatic soprano and voice teacher; she died in Louisville, Kentucky, see 'Fanny Cole Sample, Ex-Opera Star, Dies', The Courier-Journal [Louisville, Kentucky], Monday 22 May 1961, Section 2, p.[1]
107. ↑ 'Deerfield', Lake County Register [Libertyville, Illinois], Wednesday 30 March 1927, p.3
108. ↑ 'Three Liners Sail, Two Arrive Today', New York Times, Wednesday 13 April 1927, Social News, p.19
109. ↑ 'Marine de Commerce', L'Ouest-Éclair, Thursday 21 April 1927, p.6
110. ↑ 'American Girl And Sweetheart Shot To Death In Automobile', The Chicago Tribune and The Daily News, New York [Paris], Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.[1], 7; 'Couple Found Slain In Car Near Paris; Both Americans', New York Times, Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.1, 5; 'Meredith Had Just Bought Pistol', New York Times, Sunday 24 April 1927, p.5; 'Un drame mystérieux à Cernay-la-Ville', La Lanterne, Sunday 24 April 1927, p.2; 'Dans une auto, au coté de sa fiancée morte gisait un Américain agonisant', Le Matin, Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.1, 3; Wales, Henry 'Lay Murder Of Oak Park Girl To Broken Troth', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 25 April 1927, p.5; 'Meredith Shooting Laid To A Quarrel', New York Times, Monday 25 April 1927, p.2
     (The press coverage in France and the USA was extensive; the above references represent a small selection from the many English- and French-language reports consulted)
111. ↑ 'Jealousy Seen As Motive For Double American Killing', The Chicago Tribune and The Daily News, New York [Paris], Tuesday 26 April 1927, p.1; 'Marion Roberts Gay On Voyage Ending In Death', Chicago Daily Tribune, Tuesday 26 April 1927, p.2
112. ↑ Tick, Judith Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p.88
113. ↑ Tick, Judith Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p.89
114. ↑ 'Current Music News', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 26 March 1939, part 7, p.3
115. ↑ 'Obituaries', Chicago Tribune, Monday 29 August 1988, Section 2, p.7
116. ↑ 'Chicago Gramophone Society', in 'Phonograph Society Reports', The Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.5, February 1927, pp.224-27
117. ↑ Pollak, Robert 'Musical Notes', The Chicagoan, Vol.3 No.2, 9 April 1927, pp.14-15
118. ↑ Fisher, Vories 'Is Your Favorite Work Recorded?', The Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.4, January 1927, pp.177-78
119. ↑ 'The First Recording by an American Phonograph Society', The [Music Lovers'] Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.10, July 1927, p.442
120. ↑ 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
121. ↑ Named, clearly in error, as 'Legendre' in 'Slays Fiancee: Then Suicides', The Daily Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star [Mattoon, Illinois], Saturday 23 April 1927, p.[1]
122. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21; 'Slays Fiancee: Then Suicides', The Daily Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star [Mattoon, Illinois], Saturday 23 April 1927, p.[1]
123. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
124. ↑ 'Musicians Club Presents Composers in Own Works', Musical America, Vol.XXXV No.17, 18 February 1922, p.37
125. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, No.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
126. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXVII No.14, 3 May 1924, p.434
127. ↑ 'Chicago Composers Present Program', Musical America, Vol.XXXVII No.19, 3 March 1923, p.26
128. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922; 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16; 'Programs Of Merit Announced For Today', Jacksonville Daily Journal [Jacksonville, Illinois], Sunday 25 May 1924, Section Two, p.4; 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
129. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
130. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
131. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16; 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
132. ↑ 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
133. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
134. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Conservatories And Studios Furnish Chicago Summer Items', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXV No.3, No.1947, Thursday 19 July 1917, p.8; E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
135. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
     E.H. Bull (1882-1949), a great-nephew of the Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer Ole Bull, was a consulting mechanical engineer by profession but also an amateur composer and music critic of the Chicago Music News, see 'Eyvind Hagerup Bull' (obituary), Wisconsin State Journal [Madison, Wisconsin], Saturday 12 February 1949, p.4; born in Madison, Wisconsin, at the time of Roberts' recital Bull was living in Chicago. His son was the composer Storm Bull (1913-2007)
136. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
137. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
138. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922; 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
139. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
140. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
141. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
142. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Conservatories And Studios Furnish Chicago Summer Items', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXV No.3, No.1947, Thursday 19 July 1917, p.8; E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
143. ↑ 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
144. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
145. ↑ 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
146. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
147. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
148. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
149. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
150. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
151. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
152. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
153. ↑ 'Ecole normale de musique de Paris', Le Ménestrel, issue 4709, 88th Year No.31, Friday 30 July 1926, pp.343-44
154. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
155. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
156. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
157. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11; 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
158. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
159. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
160. ↑ ibid.; 'Programs Of Merit Announced For Today', Jacksonville Daily Journal [Jacksonville, Illinois], Sunday 25 May 1924, Section Two, p.4
161. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
162. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
163. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
164. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
165. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
166. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
167. ↑ 'Camille' 'Club Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Saturday 29 May 1926, European Edition, p.4
168. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
169. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
170. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922; 'Programs Of Merit Announced For Today', Jacksonville Daily Journal [Jacksonville, Illinois], Sunday 25 May 1924, Section Two, p.4
     Little seems to be known of the composer (whose first name was often spelled Kathryn), despite the popularity of her piece, published in 1920 but already played in concert in 1919, see 'Of Social Interest', The Catholic Tribune [St. Joseph, Missouri], Saturday 29 March 1919, p.8; it was still being performed as late as 1959, see 'Teachers' Tea Sponsored by Lutheran Women', Appleton Post-Crescent [Appleton, Wisconsin], Wednesday 21 October 1959, [Section B], p.B2; Whitfield apparently became Mrs. Katheryn Whitfield Ford, and was performing under her married name until at least 1949, see 'Granville Luncheon And Program End Music Week', The Newark Advocate and American Tribune [Newark, Ohio], Thursday 5 May 1949, p.11
171. ↑ 'News and Gossip of the Musicians', The Reform Advocate [Chicago, Illinois], Vol.LXIX No.9, 28 March 1925, p.274
172. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
173. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
     Au bord d'un ruisseau was published in Paris by Hamelle in the original scoring for solo piano and in uncredited versions for violin and piano, cello and piano, trio (2 violins and piano or violin, cello and piano) and orchestra; a version for the same two optional trios, edited by Jules Centano, was published in New York by Carl Fischer in 1915
174. ↑ Devries, Rene 'School And Conservatory Commencements Attract All Chicago's Attention As Summer Season Begins', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.1, No.2099, Thursday 1 July 1920, pp.30-31
175. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
176. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
177. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist); 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
178. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist)
179. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
     NB only the composer's surname is given in this billing but there can be no doubt as to his identity, see 'The Final Curtain', The Billboard, Vo.58 No.42, 19 October 1946, p.49: 'BUTLER — Herbert [b.1873], violinist, composer and head of the violin department of the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, for the past 40 years, October 6 in Chicago. Former concert master of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, he was soloist later with the Chicago Symphony. His widow, Lulu Glesecke Butler; a daughter, Emily, and son, Herbert Jr., survive.'
180. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
181. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
182. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
183. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
184. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist)
185. ↑ C.Q. 'Joint-Recital Attracts', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.14, 29 July 1922, p.20
186. ↑ Maurice Rosenfeld, review of recital of 8 March 1921 in Chicago Daily News, quoted in 'Music', Freeport Journal-Standard [Freeport, Illinois], Wednesday 30 January 1924, p.6
187. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist); The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
188. ↑ 'Gordon Orchestra Gives Second Concert', Musical America, Vol.XXXV No.15, 4 February 1922, p.37
189. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, No.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist)
     The title of Kramer's Op.41 collection has not been ascertained, if indeed it existed; only No.1 can be located in online library catalogues, in these two versions and a third, arranged for organ by Pietro A. Yon
190. ↑ C.Q. 'Joint-Recital Attracts', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.14, 29 July 1922, p.20
191. ↑ Douglass, Elmer 'Elmer's Dials Locate Variety of Good Music', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 28 February 1927, p.28
192. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
193. ↑ C.Q. 'Joint-Recital Attracts', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.14, 29 July 1922, p.20
194. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
195. ↑ Shinkman, Paul 'Latin Quarter Notes', The Chicago Tribune, Daily News New York, Friday 21 May 1926, European Edition, p.5; 'Coming Paris Events', The Paris Times, Saturday 22 May 1926, p.3
196. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
197. ↑ Billed as Song of India in The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
198. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
199. ↑ R[uth].M[iller]. 'Stella Roberts Earns Unstinted Praise in Debut at Violinist', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 9 March 1921, p.19; 'Texas Woman Is Named President of Music Clubs', Moline Daily Dispatch [Moline, Illinois], Tuesday 14 June 1921, p.10; 'Last Concert of Monday Evening is Twenty-second Musical Event of Biennial', The Davenport Democrat and Leader [Davenport, Iowa], Tuesday 14 June 1921, p.3
200. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
201. ↑ See 'Mediterranean sketches : suite for violin with piano accompaniment, op. 12', WorldCat; the entire suite was played by Jacques Gordon at Kimball Hall in April 1927, see Moore, Edward 'Gordon, Reuter Play New Goossens Sonata', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 April 1927, p.39
202. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, No.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
203. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
204. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
205. ↑ 'Two Chicago Composers' Works Figure On Symphony Program', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXII No.12, No.1878, Thursday 23 March 1916, pp.30-31 (on p.31)
206. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11; NB only the composer's surname is given in this billing but there is little doubt as to his identity; arrangements of Lullaby are known by
     • Charles Warwick Evans (1885-1974)
     • Ethel Barns (1874-1948)
207. ↑ The [Chicago] Daily News Radio Service 'Daily Program' (log), Monday 4 December 1922
208. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
     Valensin is still a somewhat mysterious figure, as is his supposed 'Symphony No.1', despite the enormous popularity of its Minuet in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Supposedly born in 1844, Valensin died in late 1889 or early 1890, see Heugel, Henri 'Nécrologie', Le Ménestrel, issue 3067, 56th Year No.2, Sunday 12 January 1890, p.16; he was apparently not a professional musician but a banker, see 'Review of Amusements', Chicago Daily Tribune, Sunday 1 March 1874, part 7, p.6. The Minuet was seemingly first popularised in France, in a transcription by the violinist and conductor Jules Danbé (1840-1905); this transcription was available in eight different scorings, including one for string quintet, whose cover advertises a ninth version, for piano trio, credited to Claude Fiévet (1865-1938); was he the composer of the version performed by the Roberts-Brown Trio?
209. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
210. ↑ C.Q. 'Joint-Recital Attracts', Musical America, Vol.XXXVI No.14, 29 July 1922, p.20
211. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10; NB selection billed as 'Saltarella Caprice'
212. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
213. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
     Possible candidate works include
     • Gustav Holländer Spinning Song Op.3 for violin and piano
     • Felix Mendelssohn Songs without Words Op.67 for piano IV. Presto (La fileuse or Spinnerlied), arranged Emile Belloc, Ernst Heim and others for violin and piano
     • David Popper Concert Etudes Op.55 for cello and piano I. Spinnlied, arranged Leopold Auer for violin and piano
214. ↑ 1924 1925 Catalogue of the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago: n.d. (1924?)
     My thanks again to Trenton Carls of the Chicago History Museum's Research Center for alerting me to this source, personal communication, 12 August 2016