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

Revision as of 11:20, 13 November 2018

This page presents a biography of the pianist and composer Marion Mahan Roberts.

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

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

In 1927 Roberts was the first of four artists to record for the Chicago Gramophone Society.

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 attended high school in the Chicago satellite of Oak Park, where she was born to prosperous middle-class parents.^[3] Her father, Francis Eugene Roberts Jr. (1875-1940), was then chief accountant for 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 her graduation from high school has not been ascertained.

By 1916, Marion Roberts was enrolled in the Children's Department of the American Conservatory of Music in the Kimball Hall Building, Chicago. In that year, at a concert of the Department's pupils, she performed a 'concerto' by Ernest Schelling, possibly the Suite Fantastique Op.7 (or a part of it), whether with or without orchestra is not known.^[5] The following year, now presumably 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]
  

Stella Roberts was an accomplished violinist and, like her sister, 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 are only patchily documented here. In July 1917, she played unspecified works by Chopin and Brahms, composers who clearly chimed with her perhaps already distinctive musical personality.^[11] In January 1920, she accompanied two fellow alumnae, one of them her sister Stella, in unknown repertoire, earning 'a special word of praise' in the press.^[12] That May, she and her sister appeared as composition pupils of Adolf Weidig, playing Stella's own Violin Sonata; Marion's work was not mentioned.^[13] 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 (one of no fewer than five concertos heard that evening).^[14] 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 her sister and a singer in four of Stella's songs.^[15] Until at least 1922, the sisters appeared together and separately in other Conservatory recitals, which were either cursorily reported^[16] 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.^[17] Nothing more is currently known of their association with the College, and perhaps membership of the sorority did not in fact imply any such.

Pupil of Godowsky?

A 1923 press report described Roberts as 'former holder of a Godowsky scholarship';^[18] the following year, a radio billing stated that she was 'a pupil of Leopold Godowsky'.^[19] As far as is known, Godowsky did not teach in Chicago while Roberts was studying there, except in June and July 1921, when he held a master class in the city, to which he offered one free scholarship.^[20] No report of the award has been located, leaving open the possibility that Roberts was indeed the recipient, although she is not mentioned in his surviving papers, held at the University of Maryland.^[21] In 1922, Godowsky announced he would give no further master classes, but would devote his spare time to composition.^[22]

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.^[23] 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,^[24] and it is not known with whom she studied. Later press reports stated that she was a pupil of Alfred Cortot;^[25] 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.^[26]

Career

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

Roberts' earliest documented public appearance outside the confines of the American Conservatory took place in May 1920, when she played alongside her sister Stella at the annual concert of their local MacDowell Club in Oak Park. The programme is not known, but it may have included both duos and piano solos, and probably a work by the composer after whom this nationwide network of clubs was named, and whose music Marion would later perform elsewhere.^[27] In December, the sisters took part in a concert devoted entirely to American composers and performers, put on for Chicago's Musicians' Club of Women. Marion's contribution consisted 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 the 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 work or performance is unclear.^[28]

In March 1921, in Kimball Hall (the same building as the Conservatory), Stella Roberts gave her debut solo recital, playing her Violin Sonata. Ruth Miller of the Chicago Daily Tribune judged it 'exceedingly well written', if 'conventional', and noted Marion's 'expert accompaniments'.^[29] (Stella opened the recital with her Sonata, following it with the first movement of Karl Goldmark's Violin Concerto; the remainder of the programme is not known.^[30]) 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.^[31] In November, they performed for the Lake View Musical Society, which they had both joined.^[32]

Some time in 1921, the Roberts sisters entered the world of the Lyceum circuit, reportedly performing in the Lyceum or 'lecture course' at Olivet College in Michigan. They had joined forces with a Michigan-born cellist, Genevieve Brown (1901-87), and Grayson Lewis, a tenor, to form the Roberts Concert Company. Their appearance at Olivet is known solely from a report of their return the following year;^[33] no details of either concert have been found, and the Company was not heard of again.^[34] As far as is known, this was Marion Roberts' only foray into the Lyceum or lecture course market.

In January 1922, Marion Roberts performed in the Sinai Temple and Center on 46th Street and Grand Boulevard, then one of Chicago's leading synagogues, at a concert of the Sinai Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the violinist Jacques Gordon; the programme is not known.^[35] (Recently appointed Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Frederick Stock, Gordon was professor of violin at the American Conservatory, where he taught Stella Roberts.^[36])

By 1922, both Stella and Marion Roberts had set themselves up as music teachers and were listed in a commercial directory as based at the family home in Oak Park.^[37] The same listings were published in 1923, and possibly in 1924, though the latter year's directory has not been located.^[38] 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, in 1921.^[39] The very varied programme opened with Marion Roberts' only billed solo, a concert etude not attributed to any composer but probably one of two in her repertoire, by MacDowell and Constantin Sternberg (see below). She must also have joined her sister for three short violin solos, the composers again not named.^[40] In September, Marion Roberts was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the cellist Genevieve Brown's native city (although Brown was by now living in Chicago), joining her for a concert with a singer.^[41] Two months later they performed together again, as members of the Roberts Concert Company, in the Olivet College Lyceum course.^[42]

In March 1923, 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.^[43] This won her a cash prize, reportedly of $100, donated by the Piano Club of Chicago;^[44] 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.^[45] (In October, she would entertain members of the Piano Club of Chicago at one of their luncheons.^[46])

In August 1923, Roberts was in Nashville, Tennessee, where she was reportedly 'teaching piano for teachers and advanced pupils' at the St. Cecilia Academy (a private school for girls); how long this assignment lasted is not known. Here she gave her first known non-competitive solo recital, whose 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.'^[47]

In September and October 1923, Stella and Marion Roberts took part in two broadcasts from WMAQ, the Chicago Daily News station in the LaSalle Hotel; on both occasions, they were joined by a married couple of singers, but nothing more is known of the latter or of the repertoire they or the Roberts sisters performed.^[48] In January 1924, the Roberts sisters broadcast again, from the Zenith Radio Corporation station WJAZ; details of their repertoire are likewise lacking.^[49]

Such broadcasts apparently helped spread the sisters' reputation. In February 1924, they performed in Freeport, Illinois, exciting some anticipation, according to a local newspaper:

'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."'[50]

In April, the sisters performed in Janesville, Wisconsin, under the auspices of the local MacDowell Club.^[51]

By 1924, Marion Roberts was pictured in a prospectus of the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, among a group

'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.'[52]

A later press report, as well as professional directories (see below), confirm that she taught at the Conservatory, although her exact employment status remains unclear.^[53]

Also by mid-1924, perhaps earlier, the Roberts sisters had formed the Roberts-Brown Trio, with the cellist of the short-lived Roberts Concert Company, now living with the Roberts family. 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 a well-known salon piece, Au bord d'un ruisseau ('By a Brook') by René de Boisdeffre. It also included 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; in their passport applications, the members stated that they intended to tour France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, England and Belgium.^[54] 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 solos included several pieces she had played in Nashville in August 1923.^[55] She also performed in Chicago with soprano Helen Hedges, a fellow prize-winner in the 1923 contests.^[56]

No notices of concerts given in Europe by the Roberts-Brown Trio or its 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.^[57]

By 1925, both sisters were listed in a Chicago business directory and a directory of musicians, with Marion's address given as that of the American Conservatory in Kimball Hall.^[58] In May that year, 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.'[59]

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.^[60]

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 the 'Aide aux femmes de professions libérales', seemingly for her work as a composer.^[61] She is known to have performed her own music in Paris at least once, at a tea concert held by the American Women's Club.^[62] On 28 July, she sailed for the USA from Le Havre.^[63] According to a later press report, she had fallen seriously ill with appendicitis and was returning home to convalesce.^[64] She had also met and become engaged to Julian Meredith, an American living in Paris, where he was studying singing privately, and seeking employment. Born in 1896 and a veteran of the World War, Meredith was recently married and a father, but he divorced his first wife for Marion, and reportedly nursed his fiancée before she left for home.^[65]

Such accounts should perhaps not be taken entirely at face value: on 19 August, just twelve days after landing in New York, Marion Roberts was well enough to join her sister Stella for a half-hour broadcast via Chicago's WMAQ, followed by another a week later.^[66] 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.^[67] The radio critic of the Chicago Daily Tribune, wrote that 'A reappearance in a longer and more ambitious program would be welcome.'^[68] 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.^[69] Later press reports stated that Marion Roberts 'attracted considerable note as a pianist for radio station WLS'.^[70] 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 in any case were often very sparse.

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^[71]), to be reunited with her fiancé Julian Meredith. During the night of 22 and 23 April, the De Grasse docked at Le Havre, where 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. On 23 April, early in the morning, a quarry worker found Meredith's car parked on a road near the village of Cernay-la-Ville. In it were Meredith and Roberts, 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. Robbery was ruled out, as a considerable sum of cash and a diamond ring - their engagement ring - had not been taken. Yet the ring was found not on Roberts' finger but in her handbag (or Meredith's wallet); while Meredith had only recently bought the pistol used, and was rumoured to have faced financial worries and unemployment. The case briefly became front page news in the French and US daily press; although differing in some details, reports broadly agreed that Meredith killed Roberts and then himself, apparently after she had broken off the engagement, which the couple was supposedly celebrating.^[72] Final reports, never confirmed or denied, relayed gossip to the effect that Roberts had started a new liaison during her Atlantic crossing.^[73]

According to the historian Judith Tick, Roberts' death 'shattered the community of teachers and students at the American Conservatory.'^[74] But she 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'.^[75]

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.^[76] 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.^[77]

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. As printed in The Phonograph Monthly Review, the text of Pollak's talk did not list the songs or name any arrangers, so perhaps Roberts incorporated the vocal parts ex tempore.^[78] It is not known exactly how Roberts came to be invited to this event. Pollak was an avowed admirer of her sister Stella,^[79] 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, 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, she would have met with willing assent from Fisher, who mentioned it in the January 1927 issue of The Phonograph Monthly Review as a work which should and would one day be recorded.^[80] So far, no notice of a concert performance by Roberts has been located, though it seems unlikely that she would have worked up so demanding a piece solely for this recording.

As an aside, it is interesting to note that Roberts had a work by John Alden Carpenter in her repertoire (see above) but did not record it for the Society. This perhaps confirms the hypothesis that she, not Pollak or Fisher, had the final say in the music she would record.

Marion Roberts sailed for New York 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 issued 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.'[81]

Compositions

The following compositions by Marion Roberts are mentioned in sources consulted for this page:

• Légende^[82]
• Passacaglia, Chorale, Canon and Fugue^[83]
• Prelude in f# minor^[84]
• Variations and Double Fugue^[85]

It is not known if these or any other compositions by Roberts survive.

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 (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, and even salon music. Unfortunately, the patchy character of available sources does not allow firm conclusions to be drawn.

Solo works for piano

Arensky Etude in F# major (probably No.13 of 24 Characteristic Pieces Op.36)^[86]

Bach, Johann Sebastian Prelude and Fugue in C# major BWV 848 or 872^[87]

Bergersen, Marie Three Silhouettes Op.1

• (unspecified)^[88]

Borodin Petite suite

• I. Au couvent (In the Convent). Andante religioso^[89]

Brahms Rhapsody (unspecified)^[90]

Brahms Unspecified works^[91]

Bull, Eyvind Hagerup Unspecified work^[92]

Carpenter, John Alden 2 Piano Pieces

• I.Polonaise américaine(?)^[93]

Chopin Etudes

• Op.10 No.5 in Gb major, No.12 in c minor^[94]
• (unspecified)^[95]

Chopin Impromptu in F# major Op.36^[96]

Chopin 2 Nocturnes Op.37

• No.2 Andantino in G major^[97]

Chopin Unspecified works^[98]

Debussy Children's Corner, suite

• VI. Golliwogg's cake-walk^[99]

Debussy Petite suite

• I. En bateau (Boating)^[100]

Debussy Preludes, Book I

• VII. (... Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest) (What the West Wind saw), VIII. (... La fille aux cheveux de lin) (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)^[101]
• XII. (... Minstrels)^[102]

Debussy Unspecified work^[103]

Dett, Nathaniel In the Bottoms, suite

• V. Juba Dance^[104]

Dohnányi, Ernő 4 Rhapsodies Op.11

• (unspecified)^[105]

Dukas Variations, Interlude and Finale on a theme by Rameau^[106]

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)^[107]

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)^[108]
• Book II, VIII. Pastorale (Angelus) in G major (after Corelli Concerto grosso in g minor Op.6 No.8, vi), Book IV, XIX. Concert-Allegro in A major (after Scarlatti, Domenico Sonata in A K.113)^[109]

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]^[110]

Liszt 2 Concert Etudes S.145

• Waldesrauschen. Vivace^[111]
• Gnomenreigen. Presto scherzando^[112]

Liszt Unspecified work^[113]

Lyadov Музыкальная табакерка (A Musical Snuffbox) Op.32^[114]

MacDowell Concert Etude (almost certainly Op.36)^[115]

MacDowell 10 Woodland Sketches Op.51

• No.7 From Uncle Remus^[116]

Mana-Zucca Fugato-humoresque on the theme of Dixie Op.21^[117]

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Sonata in A major K.331

• I. Tema con variazioni, *III. Alla Turca^[118]

Roberts, Marion Passacaglia, Chorale, Canon and Fugue^[119]

Roberts, Marion Prelude in F# major^[120]

Roberts, Marion Variations and Double Fugue^[121]

Rubinstein, Anton Valse-Caprice in Eb major^[122]

Sternberg, Constantin Concert Etude (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)^[123]

Whitfield, Katheryn Thomas (1898-1994) In an Irish Jaunting Car (version for solo piano)^[124]

Concerted works with piano

Boellmann, Léon Symphonic Variations Op.23

• version for cello and piano^[125]

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

• uncredited version or arrangement for piano trio^[126]

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

• I. Allegro non troppo^[127]

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

• Act I. No.4, Augustin's aria 'Du alter Stefansturm' arranged Kreisler as The Old Refrain (Viennese Popular Song) for violin and piano^[128]

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

• II. The Barefoot Boy^[129]
• VI. By the Fireside^[130]

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

• IV. Moto perpetuo (billed as 'Perpetual Motion')^[131]

Butler, Herbert Romance Op.3 for violin and piano^[132]

Campagnoli, Bartolomeo 7 Divertimenti Op.18 for solo violin

• No.3, to exercise third position - III. Allemande^[133]

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

• I. Le coucou, rondeau arranged Joan Manén for violin and piano^[134]

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^[135]

Gardner, Samuel From the Canebrake for violin and piano^[136]

Goldmark Violin Concerto in a minor Op.28

• I. Allegro moderato (reduction with piano)^[137]

Grasse, Edwin (billed as 'Edward') Waves at Play for violin and piano^[138]

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')^[139]

Kreisler Minuet for violin and piano (falsely attributed to Nicola Porpora)^[140]

Kreisler Preghiera (Prayer) for violin and piano (falsely attributed to Giovanni Battista Martini)^[141]

Mendelssohn, Felix Piano Trio in d Minor Op.49

• II. Andante con molto tranquillo, III. Scherzo. Leggiero e vivace^[142]

Popper 3 Pieces Op.62 for cello and piano

• II. Chanson villageoise (Village Song)^[143]

Roberts, Stella Violin Sonata^[144]

Roberts, Stella Tango for violin and piano^[145]

Roberts, Stella A Prayer, Beatitude, One Life, The Gainer (songs)^[146]

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

• (excerpt?)^[147]

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

• uncredited arrangement for cello and piano^[148]

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

• ?. Tempo di minuetto(?), uncredited arrangement for piano trio^[149]

Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

• Act III, scene v, 'Morgenlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein' (Walther's Prize Song), uncredited arrangement for piano trio^[150]

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

• V. Tempo di saltarella^[151]

Unknown composer Unknown work(s) for piano and orchestra(?)^[152]

Unknown composer Nocturne for violin and piano^[153]

Unknown composer Spinning Song for violin and piano^[154]

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.^[155] No other images have been located to date. A number have been posted on a genealogical website by a relation; they are not currently available for public viewing.

References

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, whole no.1878, Thursday 23 March 1916, pp.30-31 (on p.31)
6. ↑ 1918 1919 Catalogue of the American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, 1918(?), 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, whole 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, whole no.2074, Thursday 8 January 1920, p.34
11. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Conservatories And Studios Furnish Chicago Summer Items', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXV No.3, whole no.1947, Thursday 19 July 1917, p.8
12. ↑ Cox, Jeannette '"The Pleasure-Dome Of Kubla Khan," New Griffes Work For Orchestra, Wins Success In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXX No.4, whole no.2076, Thursday 22 January 1920, p.48
13. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Mischa Elman Gives Farewell Recital To Capacity Audience In Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXX No.19, whole 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)
14. ↑ Devries, Rene 'School And Conservatory Commencements Attract All Chicago's Attention As Summer Season Begins', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.1, whole no.2099, Thursday 1 July 1920, pp.30-31
15. ↑ Stella Roberts' songs were A Prayer, Beatitude, One Life and The Gainer; Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, whole no.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
16. ↑ 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, whole no.2118, Thursday 11 November 1920, pp.40-41; see also e.g. 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, whole no.2205, Thursday 13 July 1922, pp.44-45 (on p.45)
17. ↑ 'Initiates', Mu Phi Epsilon Triangle, Vol.XVI No.1, November 1921, pp.262-63
18. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
19. ↑ 'Radio Programs for Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 12 October 1924, part 10, p.12
20. ↑ 'Godowsky Chicago Master Class', Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, 27 March 1921, 'On Stage and Screen' Section, p.8
21. ↑ 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
22. ↑ 'Leopold Godowsky', Vancouver Daily World, Saturday 11 March 1922, p.12
23. ↑ Passport applications and an immigration record, accessed via ancestry.co.uk, show that all four travelled out and back together
24. ↑ 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
25. ↑ 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
26. ↑ 'Ecole normale de musique de Paris', Le Ménestrel, issue 4709, 88th Year No.31, Friday 30 July 1926, pp.343-44
27. ↑ 'McDowell Club Recital Today', Chicago Daily Tribune, Friday 21 May 1920, part 1, p.15
28. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
29. ↑ 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)
30. ↑ 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
31. ↑ '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
32. ↑ 'Glimpses of Music in Chicago', The Musical Monitor, Vol.XI No.3, December 1921, p.92
33. ↑ 'Past Masters Night Feature At Olivet', Lansing State Journal [Lansing, Michigan], Saturday 18 November 1922, p.5
    Details of Grayson Lewis's life and career have proved elusive; 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.
34. ↑ 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
35. ↑ 'Concerts and Recitals', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 22 January 1922, part 8, p.3
    Marion Roberts was reported earlier that season as performing at the Sinai Temple, but the report could have been looking forward, somewhat misleadingly, to the January 1922 concert, see 'Chapter Letters', Mu Phi Epsilon Triangle, Vol.XVI No.1, November 1921, pp.242-52 (on p.245)
36. ↑ 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
    Stella Roberts also performed with the Sinai Orchestra under Gordon, twice within the following month: 'Recitals and Concerts', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 5 February 1922, Part 8, p.14; 'Recitals and Concerts', ibid., 22 February 1922, Part 1, p.11
37. ↑ 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
38. ↑ 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
39. ↑ '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)
40. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
41. ↑ H.B.R. 'Grand Rapids Hears A Variety Of Concerts', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXV No.22, whole no.2225, Thursday 30 November 1922, p.58
42. ↑ 'Slight Hurt Now Alarming', The Enquirer and Evening News [Battle Creek, Michigan], Wednesday 22 November 1922, p.7
43. ↑ '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
44. ↑ 'Gives Donation for Music Clubs', The Music Trade Review, Vol.LXXVI No.16, 21 April 1923, p.38
45. ↑ 'Inaugural Concert By Symphony Orchestra To Be Heard Tonight', The Asheville Citizen [Asheville, North Carolina], Tuesday 12 June 1923, pp.1-2
46. ↑ 'Noted Golfer Talks To Piano Club Luncheoners', Presto, No.1941, 6 October 1923, p.5
47. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
48. ↑ '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
49. ↑ '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
50. ↑ 'Music', Freeport Journal-Standard [Freeport, Illinois], Wednesday 30 January 1924, p.6
51. ↑ 'Marion Roberts Pianist [...]', Janesville Daily Gazette [Janesville, Wisconsin], Friday 4 April 1924, p.3
52. ↑ 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
53. ↑ 'Slays Fiancee: Then Suicides', The Daily Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star [Mattoon, Illinois], Saturday 23 April 1927, p.[1]
54. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11; passport applications accessed via ancestry.co.uk
55. ↑ 'Programs Of Merit Announced For Today', Jacksonville Daily Journal [Jacksonville, Illinois], Sunday 25 May 1924, Section Two, p.4
56. ↑ Moore, Edward 'Long List of Operas on Ravinia Schedule', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 4 May 1924, part 9, pp.1, 6
57. ↑ '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
58. ↑ 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
59. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
60. ↑ 'De Lamarter Will Try His New Works at Philadelphia', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 31 May 1925, part 8, p.6
61. ↑ 'Nos Échos', Le Petit Parisien, Tuesday 8 June 1926, p.2
62. ↑ 'Nos Échos', Le Petit Parisien, Tuesday 8 June 1926, p.2; Dunning, H.W. 'Indiana People In Europe', The Indianapolis Sunday Star, 20 June 1926, part 7, p.4
63. ↑ Immigration document, accessed via ancestry.co.uk
64. ↑ 'Dernière heure', L'Echo d'Alger, Tuesday 26 April 1927, p.(4)
65. ↑ '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
66. ↑ 'Thursday, August 19', Radio Digest Illustrated, 15 August 1926, p.18; 'Thursday, August 26', ibid., p.23
67. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
68. ↑ Douglass, Elmer 'Elmer Heaps Praise on Two Noted Singers', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 22 November 1926, p.24
69. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
70. ↑ 'American Girl Slain in France', The Courier-Journal [Louisville, Kentucky], Sunday 24 April 1927, pp.1-2
71. ↑ 'Three Liners Sail, Two Arrive Today', New York Times, Wednesday 13 April 1927, Social News, p.19
72. ↑ '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)
73. ↑ '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
74. ↑ Tick, Judith Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p.88
75. ↑ Tick, Judith Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music, New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p.89
76. ↑ 'Current Music News', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 26 March 1939, part 7, p.3
77. ↑ 'Obituaries', Chicago Tribune, Monday 29 August 1988, Section 2, p.7
78. ↑ 'Chicago Gramophone Society', in 'Phonograph Society Reports', The Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.5, February 1927, pp.224-27
79. ↑ Pollak, Robert 'Musical Notes', The Chicagoan, Vol.3 No.2, 9 April 1927, pp.14-15
80. ↑ Fisher, Vories 'Is Your Favorite Work Recorded?', The Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.4, January 1927, pp.177-78
81. ↑ 'The First Recording by an American Phonograph Society', The [Music Lovers'] Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol.1 No.10, July 1927, p.442
82. ↑ 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]
83. ↑ 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]
84. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
85. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, whole no.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
86. ↑ '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
87. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
88. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
89. ↑ '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
90. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
91. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Conservatories And Studios Furnish Chicago Summer Items', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXV No.3, whole 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
92. ↑ 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)
93. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
94. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
95. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
96. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
97. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
98. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Conservatories And Studios Furnish Chicago Summer Items', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXV No.3, whole 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
99. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
100. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
101. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
102. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
103. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
104. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
105. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
106. ↑ 'Ecole normale de musique de Paris', Le Ménestrel, issue 4709, 88th Year No.31, Friday 30 July 1926, pp.343-44
107. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
108. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
109. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
110. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
111. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
112. ↑ ibid.; 'Programs Of Merit Announced For Today', Jacksonville Daily Journal [Jacksonville, Illinois], Sunday 25 May 1924, Section Two, p.4
113. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
114. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
115. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
116. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
117. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37
118. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
119. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
120. ↑ 'Chicago Pianist at Academy in Concert', The Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee], Friday 10 August 1923, p.16
121. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, whole no.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
122. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
123. ↑ E[dward].M[oore]. 'Miss Roberts Proves Self Pianist of Merit', Chicago Daily Tribune, Wednesday 6 May 1925, p.21
124. ↑ '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, 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
125. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
126. ↑ '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
127. ↑ Devries, Rene 'School And Conservatory Commencements Attract All Chicago's Attention As Summer Season Begins', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.1, whole no.2099, Thursday 1 July 1920, pp.30-31
128. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
129. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
130. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole 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
131. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist)
132. ↑ '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.'
133. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10; NB selection billed as 'Allemande, by Campagnoli'
134. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
135. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
136. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist)
137. ↑ 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
138. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole no.2124, Thursday 23 December 1920, pp.36-37 (although not named, Marion Roberts was almost certainly the pianist)
139. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Recitals Continue To Invade Chicago', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXI No.26, whole 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
140. ↑ Douglass, Elmer 'Elmer's Dials Locate Variety of Good Music', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 28 February 1927, p.28
141. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 November 1926, part 8, p.10
142. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
143. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
144. ↑ 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
145. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10
146. ↑ Cox, Jeannette 'Chicago Commencements Begin', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXXII No.23, whole no.2148, Thursday 9 June 1921, pp.40-41
147. ↑ 'Two Chicago Composers' Works Figure On Symphony Program', Musical Courier, Vol.LXXII No.12, whole no.1878, Thursday 23 March 1916, pp.30-31 (on p.31)
148. ↑ '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)
149. ↑ '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?
150. ↑ 'Today's Radio Programs', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924, part 9, p.11
151. ↑ 'Radio Programs For Today', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 27 February 1927, part 7, p.10; NB selection billed as 'Saltarella Caprice'
152. ↑ Roberts is currently known to have played with an orchestra only once; unfortunately, the relevant newspaper billing does not include a programme: 'Concerts and Recitals', Chicago Sunday Tribune, 22 January 1922, part 8, p.3
153. ↑ 'The program of Station KYW [...]', Chicago Daily Tribune, Monday 8 May 1922, p.12
154. ↑ '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
155. ↑ 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