Kathleen Parlow
Kathleen Parlow | |
|---|---|
Fort Calgary, Alberta | |
| Origin | Canadian |
| Died | August 19, 1963 (aged 72) |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Violin |
Kathleen Parlow (September 20, 1890 – August 19, 1963) was a violinist known for her outstanding technique, which earned her the nickname "The lady of the golden bow".[1] Although she left Canada at the age of four and did not permanently return until 1940, Parlow was sometimes billed as "The Canadian Violinist".[2]
Childhood
Parlow's mother, Minnie, took her to live in San Francisco when Kathleen was four years old.[2] Minnie Parlow bought her daughter a half-sized violin in San Francisco, and Parlow began receiving lessons from a cousin of hers who was a professional violin teacher, Conrad Coward. Her progress was very rapid with the instrument, and she soon began to receive lessons from a violin professor, Henry Holmes.
To become a top professional violinist and to begin a concert career, Parlow followed the normal route for North Americans and moved to Europe. Parlow and her mother arrived in
Concert career
At 17, having spent a year at the conservatory, Parlow began to put on public performances.
Parlow travelled Europe with her mother performing for five years. Auer remained a strong influence on Parlow, who referred to him as "Papa Auer". Her mother and Auer arranged concerts and opportunities for Kathleen, including concerts with famed conductors such as Thomas Beecham and Bruno Walter.
In November 1910, Parlow returned to North America for a tour. Parlow performed in
. Her performances were lauded by provincial premiers, and both mother and daughter Parlow were pleased by her positive reception in western Canada.Parlow returned to England with her mother in 1911 for further concerts. Her mother would remain her constant travelling companion, well into adulthood. She performed in the
Until 1912, Parlow had performed primarily as a solo artist, but after meeting Ernesto Consolo, an Italian pianist, she began to perform chamber music.[3]
The Parlows were in England when
Parlow began her fifth tour of North American in December 1920, and she gave her first radio performance in
Parlow continued touring, returning to Europe, but in 1926 she took a break. Motivated by the stress of traveling or perhaps a broken relationship, she stopped performing for a year. To renew her career, she traveled to Mexico for concerts. There she was praised by critics, but her financial situation remained poor. Her tour of Mexico in 1929 was her first without her mother.
Later years
With her concert career not particularly profitable, Parlow looked for other career options. In 1929, she was appointed to the faculty of
In 1936, Parlow accepted a position at the
She became a regular performer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as well, bringing additional income.
The Canadian Trio was earning as much as $750 per performance.[5] Inspired by this success, Parlow started her third string quartet in 1942, called the Parlow String Quartet.[7] The quartet also included Isaac Mamott on cello, Samuel Hersenhoren as second violin and violist John Dembeck. Parlow did all the administrative work for the quartet. The quartet gave concerts in Canada, both live and on radio, but did not travel to any other countries. Their first performance was broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1943, and they remained together for 15 years. During this time, Parlow remained the head of the quartet, but the other performers were occasionally replaced.
As Parlow's career began to decline, her financial situation became progressively worse, and Godfrey Ridout and other friends of hers established a fund to support her.[7] In October 1959, she was appointed head of the College of Music of the University of Western Ontario, which provided much needed income. She died on August 19, 1963, and her will set up the Kathleen Parlow Scholarship for stringed instrument players at the University of Toronto, with the money from her estate and $40,000[8] from the sale of her violin.[5]
A biography written by her cousin, Maida Parlow French, appeared in 1967.[9]
Students of Parlow
- Andrew Benac
- Charles Dobias
- Marilyn Doty
- Marjorie Edwards
- Victor Feldbrill
- Sydney Humphreys
- Gerhard Kander
- Morry Kernerman
- Emanuel Leplin
- Jack Montague
- Joseph Pach
- Rowland Pack
- Marianne Moreland Pashler
- James Pataki
- Clara Schranz
- Miriam Solovieff
- Erica Zentner
References
- ^ a b Godfrey Ridout and Susan Spier (March 10, 2013). "Kathleen Parlow". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ a b c "Kathleen Parlow – Childhood and Education". Collections Canada. 28 March 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Kathleen Parlow – Early Career and Concert Tours". Collections Canada. 28 March 2012.
- JSTOR 903014.
- ^ a b c d "Kathleen Parlow – Teaching and Chamber Music". Collections Canada. 28 March 2012.
- ISBN 0-8020-2849-7.
- ^ a b "Kathleen Parlow – The Parlow String Quartet". Collections Canada. 28 March 2012.
- ^ Soby, Trudy (1975). Be it ever so humble. Calgary: Century Calgary Publications. p. Photo 94. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013.
- ^ French, Maida (née Parlow). Kathleen Parlow, a Portrait. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1967.
External links
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| How to use archival material |
- Works by Kathleen Parlow at Project Gutenberg (audio)
- Works by or about Kathleen Parlow at Internet Archive
- Archival papers at University of Toronto Music Library
- Digital collection at University of Toronto Music Library
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