Thelma Mary Given Verdi (March 9, 1896 — December 25, 1977) was an American violinist and child musical prodigy.

Early life

Thelma Mary Given was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and raised in

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, the daughter of James Frederick Given and Emma Jones Given. Her musical abilities were recognized by age 5. She studied with Leopold Auer in Russia."Thelma Given Verdi, 81, Violinist Who Was a Renowned Child Prodigy"
''New York Times'' (December 28, 1977): 35. She toured Europe with Auer as a teenager, and was caught in the tumult of war and the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

for almost a year before she and her mother were able to return to the United States.

Career

Given made her American debut at

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 1918. She returned to the Carnegie Hall stage several times. She toured in the United States and Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, given recitals and as guest soloist with orchestras. She played a Guarneri violin made in 1738.

Personal life

Given lived much of her adult life living with her mother and brother Eben Given (a painter), at Saranac Lake, and in the arts colony at

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

, in social circles that included playwright

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

. She married in 1943, as the third wife of Minturn de Suzzara Verdi, a New York lawyer. Thelma Given Verdi was widowed in 1970, and she died on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

, 1977, aged 81 years, in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, after a stroke. Papers associated with Thelma Given, including concert programs, letters, and a clippings album of reviews, are archived by the Provincetown History Preservation Project.Thelma Given Collection
Provincetown History Preservation Project, Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Given, Thelma 1896 births 1977 deaths American classical violinists American women in World War I American expatriates in the Russian Empire American women classical violinists