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Myrtle Elvyn (born circa 1887 — died February 1975), later Myrtle Elvyn-Bloch, was an American pianist and composer.
performed
Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major with the New York Philharmonic on November 21, 1909. She lived in Chicago and concentrated her performing schedule especially in the American midwest. She played with the symphony orchestras of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Detroit, and Cincinnati, and toured with the
Myrtle Elvyn (born circa 1887 — died February 1975), later Myrtle Elvyn-Bloch, was an American pianist and composer.
Early life
Myrtle Elvyn was born inSherman, Texas
Sherman is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and it is part of the Texoma region o ...
and raised in Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, the daughter of Edward Elvyn and Fannie M. Goldsmith Elvyn. Her parents were from Arkansas and Kentucky. Theatrical manager Sid Grauman
Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American showman who created two of Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre.
Biography
Early years
Grauman was the so ...
was her first cousin; their mothers were sisters. She studied music with Carl Wolfsohn in Chicago, and in Europe with Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concernin ...
. She also studied composition with Hugo Kaun
Hugo Wilhelm Ludwig Kaun (21 March 1863 – 2 April 1932) was a German composer, conductor, and music teacher.
Biography
Kaun was born in Berlin, Germany and completed his musical training in his native city. In 1886 (or 1887), he left Germany fo ...
.
Career
Elvyn made her debut as a pianist in Berlin in 1904, and played in Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, and Great Britain from 1905 to 1907. She was described as one of the three great American women pianists in 1908, along with Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler and Julie Rivé-King. "Myrtle Elvyn is wholly unexcelled in power, brilliance and endurance in the playing of strictly 'show pieces'", declared one music writer in 1914. Elvyn toured nationally in the United States from 1909 to 1914. Shperformed
Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major with the New York Philharmonic on November 21, 1909. She lived in Chicago and concentrated her performing schedule especially in the American midwest. She played with the symphony orchestras of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Detroit, and Cincinnati, and toured with the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...
. She gave the closing performance at the Iowa State Music Teachers' Convention in 1914.
Despite her announced retirement in 1917, returned briefly to the stage in 1918 and 1919, after marriage and motherhood, as Myrtle Elvyn-Bloch. In 1918 she gave a recital to benefit the Mother's Aid organization of the Chicago Lying-in Hospital. She gave another benefit performance for Mother's Aid in 1921.
Compositions by Elvyn included "Serenade" (1911) and "Novelette" (1911).
Personal life
Myrtle Elvyn married Harry L. Bloch (1882-1967) in February 1917, in a ceremony performed by Chicago rabbi Gerson B. Levi. They had sons Harry (1917-1973) and Edward. She was widowed when Harry L. Bloch died in Switzerland in 1967. She died in February 1975, aged about 88 years."Deaths" ''New York Times'' (February 19, 1975): 35. viaProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elvyn, Myrtle 1880s births 1975 deaths People from Sherman, Texas American women composers 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists