Alice Ehlers (April 16, 1887 – March 1, 1981), born Alice Pulay, was an Austrian-born American

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

and college professor.

Early life and education

Alice Pulay (or Pulai) was born in Vienna, the daughter of Ignaz Pulay and Karoline Pulay. Her family was Jewish. She studied piano with

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land ...

, music theory with

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

, and harpsichord with

Wanda Landowska Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in t ...

in Berlin.

Career

Ehlers was considered a skilled interpreter of

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

, especially the works of Bach. Despite the difficulties of touring with a harpsichord, she toured in Palestine, Russia, and South America; she moved to England in 1933, and then to the United States in 1938, to escape Nazi Germany. She appeared in the 1939 film adaptation of ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...

'', in which she plays "an acerbic rendition" of Mozart's ''

Rondo alla Turca The Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 / 300i, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a piano sonata in three movements. The sonata was published by Artaria in 1784, alongside Nos. 10 and 12 (K. 330 and K. 332). The third movement of this sonat ...

'' on a double-manual harpsichord during a party scene. She made a number of recordings on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

label in 1939. Beginning in 1941, Ehlers was a professor of harpsichord at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She founded the Southern California Junior Bach Festival. Malcolm Hamilton,

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Berneice Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient ...

Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the S ...

Carol Neblett Carol Lee Neblett (February 1, 1946 – November 23, 2017) was an American operatic soprano. Life and career Neblett was born in Modesto, California and raised in Redondo Beach. She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1969 ...

, and

Roger Wagner Roger Wagner, KCSG (January 16, 1914 – September 17, 1992) was an American choral musician, administrator and educator. In 1946 he founded the Roger Wagner Chorale, which became one of America's premier vocal ensembles. He also founded the ...

were among her students. In 1954, she was appointed the Walker-Ames Lecturer in Music at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. In 1961, she was named the Brittingham Professor of Music at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. She performed in concerts and recitals into her eighties. In 1948 and 1949, she performed with

Frieda Belinfante Frieda Belinfante (May 10, 1904 – March 5, 1995) was a Dutch cellist, philharmonic conductor, a prominent lesbian, and a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II. After the war, Belinfante emigrated to the United States and continued ...

and Virginia Majewski in Los Angeles. In 1952 she gave recitals with violinist Alex Murray. She toured in the American midwest in 1957. She gave concerts of baroque music with violist Eva Heinitz in 1949 and 1961. Ehlers was a friend and correspondent of

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...

. She gave benefit performances to raise funds for Schweitzer's medical work in Africa.

Personal life and legacy

Ehlers married Alfred Walter Georg Ehlers in Berlin in 1910; they had two daughters, Maria and Christina, and later divorced. Ehlers died in 1981, in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

, at the age of 93. Her grandson, environmentalist Peter M. Douglas, traced some of his worldview to Ehlers's reverence for life and pacifism. Recordings and transcripts of interviews she gave in 1965 and 1966 are held in special collections at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. Some of her letters from Albert Schweitzer were donated to

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

. They were translated and published in 1991. In 1997, a stage adaptation of her letters with Albert Schweitzer was produced at Chapman University.

References

External links

* * A 1939 recording of Ehlers playing a Loeillet gigue, on Internet Archive
A recording of Ehlers playing Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca"
in 1939, on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehlers, Alice 1887 births 1981 deaths Musicians from Vienna Austrian harpsichordists Women harpsichordists American harpsichordists University of Southern California faculty