Dagmar de Corval Rybner Barclay (9 September 1890 – 22 July 1965) was a Swiss-German composer, pianist, and teacher who worked and corresponded with
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
. She published and performed under the name Dagmar Rybner.
Biography
Rybner was born in
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Ba ...
to Claudine Pezet de Corval and Dr. Cornelius Rybner, a Danish composer and pianist who eventually chaired the music department at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. Cornelius changed the family name from “Rubner” to “Rybner.” Dagmar married the singer John Barclay. They had one daughter and later divorced.
Rybner studied music in Karlsruhe, Germany; Neuchatel, Switzerland; and New York. She made her European debut as a pianist playing the Schumann piano concerto under conductor
Felix Mottl
right
Felix Josef von Mottl (between 29 July/29 August 1856 – 2 July 1911) was an Austrian conductor and composer. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant conductors of his day. He composed three operas, of which ''Agnes Bernauer'' (Weima ...
. After moving to New York, she played a Tchaikovsky piano concerto under conductor Adolf Rothmeyer. Rybner toured as a pianist throughout the United States, appearing at the White House and with the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra, as well as with orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Russia. She also presented duo piano recitals with her father.
Rybner worked as Rachmaninoff’s assistant and taught at
Barnard College
Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
, Columbia University and the
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...
. Eventually, she stopped touring as a pianist to spend more time composing. Her songs were performed by
Mary Garden
Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...
and Claude Cunningham. Her correspondence is archived in the Serge Koussevitzky Archive at the Library of Congress. Rybner’s works were published by
Breitkopf & Hartel Breitkopf may refer to:
* Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, (1695-1777) founder of Breitkopf & Härtel
* Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf, (1719-1794) son of Bernhard Cristoph Breitkopf
* Michael Breitkopf, member of German band Die Toten Hosen
* Breit ...
,
Carl Fischer Music
Carl Fischer Music is an American sheet music publisher. It was founded in 1872 in the East Village neighborhood of New York City as a musical instrument repair shop. Except for a brief period in the early 1930s, it has always been the family- ...
,
Oliver Ditson
Oliver Ditson (October 20, 1811 – December 21, 1888) was an American businessman and founder of Oliver Ditson and Company, one of the major music publishing houses of the late 19th century.
Early life and career
Oliver Ditson was born in Bos ...
Clinton Scollard
Clinton Scollard (1860–1932) was an American poet and writer of fiction. He was a Professor of English at Hamilton College.
Professional career
Scollard was born at Clinton, Oneida County, New York on September 18, 1860, son of James Isaac ...
)
*“America” (text by Rollin John Wells)
*“Au Piano” (text by Jean Lahor; English translation by
Theodore Baker
Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)
*“Bid Me to Live” (text by Robert Herrick)
*“Chanson de Grandpere” (text by
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
)
*“Chinoiserie” (text by Pierre Jules Theophile Gautier)
*“Cyprian Woman” (Greek folksong; text by Margaret Widdemer)
*“Gavotte”
*''God Knows Bes''t (for mixed chorus)
*“In the Desert” (text by Louise Ayres Garnett)
*“O Rose of All Shiraz”
*“Pastorale” (text by
Sara Teasdale
Sara Trevor Teasdale (later Filsinger; August 8, 1884January 29, 1933) was an American lyric poet. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and used the name Filsinger after her 1914 marriage. In 1918, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her 1917 poetry ...
)
*“Pierrot” (text by Sara Teasdale)
*“Slav Cradle Song” (text by
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
)
*“Swans” (text by Sara Teasdale)
*“Te souvient il” (text by
Jean Richepin
Jean Richepin (; 4 February 1849 – 12 December 1926) was a French poet, novelist and dramatist.
Biography
Born on 4 February 1849 at Médéa, French Algeria, Jean Richepin was the son of an army doctor.
At school and at the École Normale ...