Alma Stencel (June 28, 1888 – July 22, 1933) was an American pianist and musical prodigy.
Alma Stencel | |
|---|---|
 Alma Stencel, from a 1902 publication | |
| Born | June 28, 1888 Colfax, Washington |
| Died | July 22, 1933 (aged 45) Scarsdale, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Alma Stencel Weed, Alma Weed |
| Occupation | Pianist |
Early life edit
Stencel was born in Colfax, Washington, and raised in San Francisco, the daughter of Sigmund Stencel and Martha Stencel.[1][2] She was a piano student of Hugo Mansfeldt,[3] Emil Sauer in Vienna, and Leopold Godowsky in Berlin.[2]
Career edit
Stencel was considered a child prodigy in San Francisco.[4][5] She studied in Vienna and Berlin in 1900 and 1901,[6][7] and made her London debut in 1902, at age 14, at St. James' Hall.[8]
In 1904 she toured in eastern Europe and Russia with Czech violinist Jan Kubelik.[1][9][10] She played for Czar Nicholas II, Emperor Franz Josef, King Edward VII, and William Howard Taft during her concert career.[2]
Personal life edit
Stencel married mining geologist Walter Harvey Weed in 1914.[11] Their wedding took place a few months after Weed's first wife, suffragist Helena Hill, divorced him on grounds of infidelity.[12] They had a daughter, Almita Patricia Weed, born 1919.[13] Alma Stencel Weed died in 1933, in Scarsdale, New York, aged 45 years.[14][2]
References edit
- ^ a b "A San Francisco Girl's Success Abroad". Town Talk. 12: 28. January 16, 1904.
- ^ a b c d "Mrs. Alma Weed, Once Pianist, Dead". The New York Times. July 25, 1933. p. 19 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Christiane Tewinkel, A Californian Liszt Legacy: The Pianist Hugo Mansfeldt and his Pupils Alma Stencel and Else Cellarius (Studiopunkt-Verlag 2016). ISBN 978-3895641770
- ^ "Mere Child Startles World of Music with her Recitals". San Francisco Call. October 27, 1901. p. 27. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Alma Stencel, Whose Talent Has Been Applauded". San Francisco Call. April 14, 1900. p. 9. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ "Alma Stencel Charms Europe". Oakland Tribune. April 8, 1901. p. 5. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fair Californian Plays in Berlin". The San Francisco Examiner. October 27, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alma Stencel's London Debut" Musical Courier 44(May 28, 1902): 31.
- ^ "Vienna Praises Miss Stencel". The New York Times. January 8, 1904. p. 7 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Alma Stencel Again Appears with Kubelik". San Francisco Chronicle. January 10, 1904. p. 29. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Leonard, John William; Mohr, William Frederick; Knox, Herman Warren; Holmes, Frank R.; Downs, Winfield Scott (1918). Who's who in New York (City and State). Who's Who Publications, Incorporated. p. 1128.
- ^ "Houghton Man is Accused by Wife". Detroit Free Press. January 8, 1914. p. 6. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ A History of the Class of Eighteen Hundred and Eighty-three of Columbia College: Arts and Mines, Comprising the Years 1908-1923. Eilert Printing Company. 1923. p. 125.
- ^ "Alma Stencel (1887-1933)". BnF Data. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
