Frances Nash Watson (July 8, 1890 – December 20, 1971) was an American concert pianist and composer. In the 1920s, she was part of a musical trio with

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians Elisabeth of Bavaria (Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie; 25 July 187623 November 1965) was Queen of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 to 17 February 1934 as the wife of King Albert I, and a duchess in Bavaria by birth. She was the mother of ...

, and

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

. Later in life she was prominent in social and musical circles in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early life

Frances Nash was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

and raised in New York City, the daughter of Edward Watrous Nash and Catherine Barbeau Nash. Her father was a wealthy manufacturer. She graduated from Mount Vernon Seminary, and studied piano in New York City with Bruno Oscar Klein, in Boston with

Georges Longy Georges Longy (1868 – 1930) was a French-born oboist, conductor and composer. He is the founder of Longy School of Music. Personal life Longy was born in Abbeville, France on August 29, 1868.Jeskalian, Barbar"Georges Longy" retrieved on 24 Octob ...

, and in Europe with several musicians as a young woman.

Career

Nash made her concert debut in 1914, playing Chopin with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

. Her American debut came in 1915,in Omaha, before she toured with tenor George Hamlin in the central and western states that year. She played recitals at New York's

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

in 1916, and at Aeolian Hall in 1919 and 1923. She also played in a string trio with cellist May Mukle and violist and composer Rebecca Clarke. When 1918 concert dates were postponed because of the

Spanish flu epidemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest document ...

, she played outdoor patriotic programs at

Camp Upton Camp Upton was a port of embarkation of the United States Army during World War I. During World War II, it was used as an Army induction center, an internment camp for enemy aliens, and a hospital. It was located in Yaphank, New York, in Suffo ...

and elsewhere. While her husband was serving as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in Europe, she befriended Queen Elizabeth of Belgium; the two women shared a love of playing music, and they formed a trio with physicist Albert Einstein, playing for hours together. Back in the United States after 1933, she played at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

during the Roosevelt administration, and appeared as a soloist with the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

. In her later years, she remained active in supporting musical organizations and events in Washington. Nash wrote “Canzonetta, d’Ambrosia" for piano, and played for the piano roll recording of that work and several others, for the

American Piano Company American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, Marshall & Wendell, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their ...

(Ampico).

Personal life

In 1920, in Paris, Nash married Edwin Martin "Pa" Watson, who became a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

general and military attaché. The Watsons lived at Kenwood, on land once owned by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, in a house designed by

William Adams Delano William Adams Delano (January 21, 1874 – January 12, 1960) was an American architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection wi ...

. Her husband died in 1945, and she died in 1971, aged 81, in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

. Her grave is with her husband's grave, in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. The Watsons' papers are in the

University of Virginia Library The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original governin ...

. Scrapbooks belonging to the Watsons are in the

Thomas Jefferson Foundation The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, originally known as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in 1923 to purchase and maintain Monticello, the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third ...

Archives at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

References

External links

A 1922 recording of Frances Nash
playing Saint-Saëns, "Etude en Forme de Valse", on an Ampico piano roll, at SoundCloud
A recording of Frances Nash
playing Sapellnikoff, "Elfin Dance" Op. 3, on an Ampico piano roll, on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Frances Nash 1890 births 1971 deaths Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Mount Vernon Seminary and College alumni 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists Musicians from New York City American women composers People from Albemarle County, Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery