ETHEL LEGINSKA (1886-1970)The Complete Columbia Masters (1926-1928)

Franz SCHUBERT: Four Impromptus, Opus 142 (D.935)Issued in 1928 as Columbia Masterworks Set No.93

Impromptu No.1 in F minor (Allegro moderato) 8:10Columbia 9476 (Side 1 - 98483, Take 2) and (Side 2 - 98484, Take 1) Recorded on March 9, 1928

Impromptu No.2 in A flat Major (Allegretto) 4:00Columbia 9478 (98468, Take 2) Recorded on February 20, 1928

Impromptu No.3 in B flat Major (Andante) 6:52Columbia 9477 (Side 1 - 98469, Take 1) and (Side 2 - 98470, Take 1) Recorded on February 20, 1928

Impromptu No.4 in F minor (Allegro scherzando) 3:50Columbia 9478 (98514, Take 3) Recorded on April 5, 1928

Franz SCHUBERT: Six Moments Musicaux, Opus 94 (D.780)Issued in 1928 as Columbia Masterworks Set No.94

Moments Musicaux No.1 in C Major (Moderato) 3:17Columbia 17013-D (145657, Take 1-B-3) Recorded on March 8, 1928

Moments Musicaux No.2 in A flat Major (Andantino) 5:20Columbia 17013-D (145734, Take 2-A-1) and 17014-D (145735, Take 2-B-1)Recorded on March 8, 1928

Moments Musicaux No.3 in F minor (Allegretto moderato) 1:37Columbia 17015-D (145659, Take 2-A-5) Recorded on March 8, 1928

Moments Musicaux No.4 in C sharp minor (Moderato) 3:58Columbia 17014-D (145658, Take 2-B-1) and 17015-D (145659, Take 2-A-5)Recorded on March 8, 1928

Moments Musicaux No.5 in F minor (Allegro vivace) 2:42Columbia 17015-D (145736, Take 2-B-3) Recorded on March 8, 1928

Moments Musicaux No.6 in A flat Major (Allegretto) 5:25Columbia 17016-D (145737, Take 2-B-3) and (145738, Take 2-B-2)Recorded on March 8, 1928

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

– 2 –

Franz SCHUBERT/Carl TAUSIG:Marche Militaire in D Major, Opus 51, No.1 (D.773)

Allegro vivace 6:19Columbia 5086-M (98512, Take 3-A-1) and (98513, Take 3-B-7) Recorded on April 5, 1928

Fryderyk CHOPIN: Polonaise in A Major, Opus 40, No.1Allegro con brio 3:53

Columbia 5074-M (98360, Take 1-B-1) Recorded on June 3, 1927

Fryderyk CHOPIN: Prelude in D flat Major, Opus 28, No.15Sostenuto 4:01

Columbia 5074-M (98361, Take 1-A-1) Recorded on June 3, 1927

Sergei RACHMANINOV: Prelude in G minor, Opus 23, No.5Alla marcia – Un poco meno mosso – Tempo I 3:59

Columbia 5068-M (98304, Take 3-A-2) Recorded on December 21, 1926

Sergei RACHMANINOV: Prelude in C sharp minor, Opus 3, No.2Lento – Agitato – Tempo I 3:42

Columbia 5068-M (98303, Take 3-C-8) Recorded on December 21, 1926

Franz LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No.8 in F sharp minor (S244/R106)

Lento a capriccio – Sempre lento malinconico assai – 5:37Allegretto con grazia – Presto giocoso assaiColumbia 5072-M (98285, Take 5-A-2) and (98286, Take 2-C-2) Recorded on June 19, 1926

Total Playing Time: 72:44

16

15

14

13

12

11

– 3 –

ETHEL LEGINSKA

Ethel Leginska was an extraordinary musical personality. She was a pianist of great distinction,dubbed by the New York Herald Tribune “The Paderewski of women pianists,” a pioneering con-ductor who broke down gender barriers in concert halls around the world, a composer of origi-nality and power, and also a formidable teacher who inspired in her Los Angeles studio a new gen-eration of pianists.

Ethel Leginska was born on April 13th 1886 at Hull, Yorkshire, England to Thomas and Annie(Peck) Liggins. Having appeared as a child prodigy pianist at the age of six, she attracted the atten-tion of a Hull shipping magnate and his wife, who sponsored Leginska’s education at the HochConservatory of Music in Frankfurt, Germany, graduating in 1896. Lady Maud Warender, underthe illusion that a Polish-looking name might help Ethel’s career, suggested that she change her lastname from Liggins to Leginska. She kept that name for the rest of her life. Her prodigious pianis-tic talents did not go unnoticed by the eminent pedagogue, Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna, andshe studied with him for three years. In an interview with Harriette Brower, Leginska rememberedher early years: “Yes, I have played a great deal in public – all my life, in fact – ever since I was six.I began my musical studies at Hull, where we lived; my first teacher was a pupil of McFarren. LaterI was taken to London, where some rich people did a great deal for me. Afterward I went toLeschetizky, and was with him several years, until I was sixteen; I also studied in Berlin. Then Ibegan my career, and concertized all over Europe.”

The reviews she garnered at the turn of the century in Europe propelled her career. Londonpapers included her “among the poets of the piano” and German publications extolled her “profound and individual musicianship.” Sir Henry J. Wood, who conducted the sixteen year oldLeginska in the Henselt concerto, remembered her in his memoirs, My Life of Music (1938), as “a pianist of considerable power,” and “an artistic person and undoubtedly talented.”

In August of 1907 in London she married Emerson Whithorne, the American composer, fromwhom she was divorced in 1916. Leginska’s notoriety at that time in New York, prompted muchattention in the press on the divorce and the custody of her son, Frederick Whithorne. The presshounded Leginska and Whithorne for explanations and details, eventually forcing Leginska toprovide the following statement published on August 11, 1915: “It is true that I am attempting toobtain a divorce from my husband, Emerson Whithorne... I was married seven years ago, when Iwas nineteen years old and my husband was twenty-one. I had met him in Vienna and Berlin andLondon. He was a student and was doing splendid work. Later I played some of his songs, andhe has composed quartets and orchestral music. You see, we were both very young, and being

– 4 –

musicians I presume each of us pos-sessed an extra share of what is calledtemperament. But temperament doesnot excuse everything, you know.Well, the baby came, and – oh, well,you see how difficult it is to tell of dis-agreements. Let me say briefly that inthe action for a divorce I am charginghim with desertion and non-support.The truth is that while we were livingtogether I supported him. Now, awoman is not supposed to be themainstay of the family, and yet I was.And I stopped it, and we separated –that was three years ago, and we haveremained apart.”

During that period of her life, asomewhat sensational and bizarre setof newspaper reports were printed inNew York Times surroundingLeginska’s peculiar disappearanceprior to her Carnegie Hall recital onJanuary 26th 1925. The generaldetails were as follows: “EthelLeginska is still missing after she dis-appeared on her way to give a concertat Carnegie Hall two days earlier...Various friends insist that she did notdisappear for the sake of publicity.”[January 28th] and “Reports indicate that Ethel Leginska has been found... The pianist and herfriends are keeping all details secret. A statement from the Bureau of Missing Persons attributesLeginska’s disappearance to a ‘nervous breakdown caused by overwork.’ ”[February 2nd]

By 1912, Leginska was in the United States, studying music theory with Rubin Goldmarkin New York City. On January 20th 1913 she made her debut in New York. Returning to NewYork’s Aeolian Hall and Carnegie Hall several times a year for the next four seasons, Leginska

– 5 –

Ethel Leginska (in the 1920s)

quickly became a favorite with thepublic. Her demanding programs andher innovations, such as playing anentire Chopin program without anintermission, drew raves from critics:“Leginska played like the master sheis and won an ovation from a crowd-ed audience (The Evening World (NewYork City)), “Few men have thepower to move audiences as she does.Yesterday she took her hearers bystorm (New York Herald), and“Technical and tonal splendor, poeticfire, romantic exaltation and strokeupon stroke of beauty or of power...as for the plaudits, none such havebeen heard except when Paderewskiplayed.” (Horatio T. Parker, BostonTranscript).

In 1914 Leginska began to com-pose. She studied composition withErnest Bloch at New York City in1918. Most of her significant worksdate from the period of her lessonswith Bloch in the 1920s, althoughher three operas (Gale, The Rose andthe Ring, and Joan of Arc) date fromthe 1930s. In 1920 she won a prize inthe Berkshire Chamber Music

Festival Competition for her Four Poems for String Quartet After Tagore. Other works from the1920s included From a Life (1922, for chamber ensemble), Two Short Pieces for orchestra (1924,first performed by Pierre Monteux and the Boston Symphony), and Quatres Sujets Barbares (1924),an orchestral suite inspired by the paintings of Gauguin. According to biographer Carol Neuls-Bates, “It is to her credit that Leginska was able to secure performances of her larger works at a timewhen women’s compositions were rarely heard in public.”

– 6 –

Ethel Leginska (circa 1925)

In the midst of her career as pianist,Leginska developed a great interest in con-ducting. She took private lessons fromEugene Goossens in London (1923), studiedoperatic conducting with Professor RobertHeger in Munich (1922) and also withMaestro Genaro Papi at Chicago (1927). Apioneering feminist, Leginska stated herviews in a 1917 interview: “Just becausewomen haven’t done anything in the past issupposed to be reason enough why theyshouldn’t do it in the future. We are alwayshearing about the ‘traditional woman.’ Whynot for a change about the ‘traditional man?’Why are we always being generalized about?And why, why are we so docile and obedientin abiding by our traditions? If only wewomen would sometimes rebel,... break loosefrom traditions and go our own way!... Wewill never be original, do great work, until weget some courage and daring and trust ourown way instead of the eternal beaten pathson which we are always asked to poke along.”From 1925 (when she made her United Statesdebut with the New York SymphonyOrchestra, followed by appearances with theBoston People’s Orchestra and a triumphantperformance at the Hollywood Bowl, whereshe appeared as a piano soloist and conductorand received nine curtain calls from a large, enthusiastic audience) until 1957 Ethel Leginska madenumerous appearances as a conductor, being probably the first woman in musical history to beguest conductor of most of the world’s major orchestras, and the first of her gender to be engagedas a grand opera conductor. In the latter capacity she conducted such operas as Madame Butterfly,Tosca, Rigoletto, Carmen, Louise, Thais, and Werther in London, Salzburg, New York City, Boston,and elsewhere, and was engaged during the 1932-33 season as regular conductor of the Montreal

– 7 –

Ethel Leginska (circa 1924)

– 8 –

Ethel Leginska in the late 1920s

(Canada) Opera Company. On 23November 1935 she conducted theworld premiere of her opera Gale,with an all-American cast includingJohn Charles Thomas, at the CivicOpera House in Chicago. Among hernotable appearances as a guest con-ductor were performances of theBeethoven Ninth Symphony in 1933with both the Dallas SymphonyOrchestra and the PhilharmonicOrchestra of Havana, Cuba.

From her very first months in theUnited States, Leginska maintainedprivate piano studios in New YorkCity. In 1939 she permanently movedto Los Angeles, where she continuedher teaching activities. With concertmanager Mary-V Holloway, EthelLeginska founded the New Venture inMusic in 1943 at Los Angeles, a seriesof programs and recitals in which tal-ented students were presented. Withthe support of important musical personalities such as Bruno Walter, Serge Koussevitzky, PierreMonteux, Walter Damrosch, Albert Coates, Fritz Reiner, Otto Klemperer, Artur Rubinstein,Alexandre Tansman, John Alden Carpenter and Darius Milhaud, the series of concerts attractedenormous public attention. The first season presented twenty pianists each playing one or more ofthe preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, by Bach. The second series pre-sented thirty-seven pianists in ten concerts, performing Book II of Well-Tempered Clavier, and all32 Sonatas and 21 sets of Variations by Beethoven. The third season was devoted to the entireworks of Chopin, the fourth season to the entire piano works of Robert Schumann. In subse-quent seasons she programmed most of the significant music by Schubert, Liszt, Mozart,Debussy and MacDowell. The scope of these programs were unprecedented in Los Angeles. Inaddition, from 1941 she presented an annual series of orchestra concerts with soloists at theWilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, featuring the Leginska Little Symphony Orchestra, with her

1928 Columbia Recording by Ethel Leginska

– 9 –

students as vocal and piano soloists.In her interview with Harriette

Brower, Leginska provided somethoughts on teaching piano students:

“You ask how I would begin witha young pupil who never has hadlessons. I use the principle of relax-ation first of all, loosening arms andwrists. This principle can be taught tothe youngest pupil. The wrist is ele-vated and lowered, as the hand isformed on the keys in its five fingerposition, with arched knuckles. Itdoes not take long to acquire thisrelaxed condition; then come the fin-ger movements. I do not believe inlifting the fingers high above the keys;this takes time and interferes withvelocity and power. I lift my fingersbut little above the keys, yet I have plenty of power, all the criticsagree on that. In chords and octaves I get all the power I need by graspingthe keys with weight and pressure. I do not even prepare the fingers inthe air, before taking the chord; I donot find it necessary.

“To return to the beginningpupil. As for a book to start with, Ioften use the one by Damm, thoughany foundational work may beemployed, so long as correct prin-ciples are taught. It is said byLeschetizky that he has no method.That may be understood to mean a

– 10 –

Ethel Leginska (from her 1930s publicity brochure)

book, for he certainly has what otherswould call a method. There are prin-ciples and various sets of exercises tobe learned; but it is quite true thatnone of the Vorbereiters use a book.

“In teaching the piano, as youknow, every pupil is different; eachhas his or her own peculiar hand, anda different degree of intelligence. Soeach pupil must be treated differently.This is really an advantage to theteacher; for it would be very monoto-nous if all pupils were alike.

“The piano is such a revealer ofcharacter; I need only to hear a per-son play to know what sort of char-acter he has. If one is inclined tomuch careful detail in everything, itcomes out in the playing. If one isindolent and indifferent, it is seen themoment one touches the keys; or ifone is built on broad, generous lines,and sees the dramatic point in lifeand things, all this is revealed at thepiano.”

She taught numerous pianistsduring her tenure in Los Angeles,including Daniel Pollack, LucilleOliver, Ralph Pierce, Gloria Greene,George Cassady, Jon Robertson, Marilyn Dickie, Viana Bey, Marilyn Neeley, Richard Ellis, MaryAnne Bullock, Josephine Rodriguez, Ron McFarland and Bruce Sutherland.

According to her own biographic notes, Ethel Leginska had gray eyes, brown hair, weighedaround 100 lbs., and was 5′1″ in height. A Protestant, and politically non-partisan, she was amember of Mu Phi Epsilon. Leginska’s recreations included gardening and reading poetry. By thetime she passed away in Los Angeles on February 26th 1970, Leginska’s musical legacy had largely

Ethel Leginska in 1917

– 11 –

been forgotten. Her last years weredifficult, as those closest to her haveclaimed, some have even gone so faras to suggest that she may have beenan undiagnosed Alzheimer’s sufferer.

What remains of her piano legacyare a series of fifty Artrio-Angeles/Duo-Art/Ampico pianorolls, and recordings she made for theActuelle, Pathé, Duo-Art, andColumbia Records companies. ThisIvory Classics release is the first timethat all of Ethel Leginska’s Columbiarecordings (made between 1926 and1928, and released in 1928 and1929) have ever been reissued.

Boston critic Philip Hale calledLeginska “one of the greatest pianistsof the day.” As a disciple of the leg-endary teacher, Theodor Leschetizky,Ethel Leginska learned the art oftouch, interpretation, use of pedal,and the production of beautiful musi-cal tone. In her conversation withHarriette Brower, Leginska stated herviews on piano technique and perfor-mance:

“The piano is such a wonderfulinstrument to me; I feel we are only

beginning to fathom its possibilities; not in a technical sense, but as a big avenue for expression. Forme the piano is capable of reflecting every mood, every feeling; all pathos, joy, sorrow – the good andthe evil too – all there is in life, all that one has lived.”

“As for the technic of the piano, I think of it only as the material – only as a means to an end.In fact I endeavor to get away from the thought of the technical material, in order that I may getat the meaning of the music I wish to interpret. I am convinced there is a great future for the piano

– 12 –

Ethel Leginska (circa 1913)

and its music. Even now weare taking piano music veryseriously, and are trying tointerpret it in a far deeper andbroader sense than thepianists of, say, fifty years agoever thought of doing. I fancyif Clara Schumann, forinstance, could return andplay to us, or even Liszt him-self, we should not find theirplaying suited to this age atall. Some of us yet rememberthe hand position Mme.Schumann had, the lack offreedom in fingers and arms.It was not the fashion of hertime to play with the relaxedfreedom, with the breadthand depth of style which wedemand of artists today. Inthose days relaxation had notreceived the attention itdeserved, therefore we shouldprobably find the playing ofthe greatest artists of a formergeneration stiff and angular,in spite of all we have heard oftheir wonderful perfor-mances.

“Relaxation is a hobbywith me; I believe in absolutefreedom in every part of thearm anatomy, from theshoulder down to the finger Signed Program from 1924 Sacramento, California Recital

– 13 –

tips. Stiffness seems to me the most reprehensible thing in piano playing, as well as the most com-mon fault with all kinds of players. When people come to play for me, that is the thing I see first inthem, the stiffness. While living in Berlin, I saw much of Mme. Teresa Carreno, and she feels thesame as I do about relaxation, not only at the keyboard, but when sitting, moving about or walking.She has thought along this line so constantly, that sometimes, if carrying something in hand, she willinadvertently let it drop, without realizing it – from sheer force of the habit of relaxation.”

For this release, the Leginska recordings were restored from original American ColumbiaRecords discs issued in 1928 and 1929. The detailed side, matrix and label information, along withthe recording date details are provided in this booklet. A near-mint set of these discs were provid-ed for this release by Donald Manildi, Curator of the International Piano Archives at Maryland(IPAM), and combined with alternate copies of the same discs available in the Encore Archives andfrom the private collection of Richard Wahlberg.

This Ivory Classics release consists of all known released Columbia recordings made by EthelLeginska between 1926 and 1928 at the Columbia studios in Union Square, Manhattan, New YorkCity. The Schubert works were recorded for the Columbia Musical Masterworks series issued for theSchubert Centennial in 1928. Leginska’s remaining piano recordings were part of Columbia Records“Celebrity” series of discs. In addition to the released discs, Leginska made several other recordingsfor Columbia Records. These included two earlier takes of the Schubert-Tausig Marche Militaire (onDecember 21, 1926 and February 18, 1927), a later remake of the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodie No.8(on December 21, 1926), Paderewski’s Minuet (on June 3, 1927), Mendelssohn’s Rondo Capriccioso(on February 18, 1927), and three encore pieces on June 18, 1926: The Hurdy-Gurdy Man byEugene Goossens, and two of Leginska’s own compositions Cradle Song and Dance of a Puppet.Unfortunately, none of these were ever issued and the masters are now lost, having been melted downfor scrap during the Second World War. As was often the case in the early days of the gramophone,Leginska’s performances do not always include all of the repeats, and in some cases, such as the LisztHungarian Rhapsody No.8, are abbreviated to fit the 78rpm sides. These annoying inconveniencesaside, her tone is rich and warm, surprisingly so for the period considering the limitations of therecording technology of the time. We hope that this comprehensive aural document of one of thegreat musical personalities of the early 20th century is enjoyable and enlightening.

– Program Notes by Marina A. Ledin, ©2001

– 14 –

To place an order or to be included on mailing list:

Ivory Classics®

P.O. Box 341068 • Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799

e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: http://www.IvoryClassics.com

CREDITS

Executive and Remastering Producer: Michael Rolland Davis

Transfer and Remastering Engineers: Ed Thompson and Victor Ledin

Liner Notes: Marina A. Ledin

Design: Communication Graphics

Cover Photograph: Leginska circa 1928, courtesy of IPAM

Source Materials Provided By:Donald Manildi, Curator, IPAM, University of Maryland.

Additional recordings, photographs and concert programs provided byRichard Wahlberg and Encore Archives.

Special thanks to Lance Bowling for providing source materials,biographic details, scrapbooks and research.

– 15 –

®

- SCHUBERT: Four Impromptus, Opus 142 (D.935) 22:42- SCHUBERT: Six Moments Musicaux, Opus 94 (D.780) 22:19SCHUBERT/TAUSIG: Marche Militaire in D Major, 6:19Opus 51, No.1 (D.773)

CHOPIN: Polonaise in A Major, Opus 40, No.1 3:53CHOPIN: Prelude in D flat Major, Opus 28, No.15 4:01RACHMANINOV: Prelude in G minor, Opus 23, No.5 3:59RACHMANINOV: Prelude in C sharp minor, Opus 3, No.2 3:42

LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No.8 in F sharp minor (S244/R106) 5:37

Total Playing Time: 72:44

16

15

14

13

12

11

105

41

2001 Ivory Classics® • All Rights Reserved.Ivory Classics® • P.O. Box 341068

Columbus, Ohio 43234-1068 U.S.A. Phone: 888-40-IVORY or 614-761-8709 • Fax: 614-761-9799e-mail@ivoryclassics.com • Website: www.IvoryClassics.com

64405-72002MONO

Remastering Producer: Michael Rolland Davis

Transfer and Remastering Engineers: Ed Thompson and Victor Ledin

ETHEL LEGINSKA1886-1970

The Complete Columbia Masters (1926-1928)