Norman Frauenheim
Encyclopedia
Norman A. Vilsack Frauenheim, (October 29, 1897 – November 18, 1989), was an American
pianist
and music teacher. For many decades he was acclaimed for his performances in America and Europe
. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, he is also remembered by his many students for imparting the style of his own famous teachers and for outstanding guidance with their repertoires.
Frauenheim was the fifth of seven children born to Edward J. and Antoinette Marie “Nettie” Vilsack Frauenheim whose own parents were the co-founders of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company
. Their families were prominent in early Pittsburgh society through their involvement in industry, banking and philanthropies. He attended the prestigious Shady Side Academy
in Pittsburgh and Fordham University
. He served briefly in the United States Navy
in World War I
. He studied music in Paris
in the 1920s and subsequently studied with Ignacy Jan Paderewski. He was also a student for many years of Zygmunt Stojowski
.
Frauenheim made concert tours in France
, Spain
and Great Britain
, including command performances for royalty. His American debut was in 1926 at Town Hall New York City
. Across the next five years he performed often in several American cities.
Early in his career he was a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Antonia Brica, the first American female conductor. He was a close friend of Guiomar Novaes
, the famous Brazilian pianist who also studied under Stojowski. From the decade of the late 1920s to late 1930s he lived and performed in New York City and Pittsburgh. He performed at Carnegie Hall
in 1946.
About 1940 Frauenheim moved to Washington, DC where he continued to perform until 1960. Washington newspapers reviewed his performances at the Phillips Collection
Gallery, the Sulgrave Club, Dumbarton Oaks
, the Friends House in Georgetown and other halls. He gave a series of classical music lecture-recitals in Washington, D.C. on radio station WMAL of NBC
. He repeated the series in many places.
Frauenheim taught privately in New York City and Pittsburgh and was a music professor (1926–1930) at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
(now Carnegie Mellon University
). He was a well known piano teacher in the Washington metropolitan area for four decades and continued to teach until the year before his death when he relocated to the Pittsburgh area. In 1955 he married Enid Mitchell, reported to friends and relatives to be an English countess. They had no children. Unfortunately she died early in the marriage. He died at age 92 in Pittsburgh and was buried in the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery
.
In 2005 several of his students began the process of forming a Norman Frauenheim Students’ Society. A major area of sharing has been a compilation of Paderewski’s fingerings and personal editing as taught by Frauenheim. Also valued by students, friends and family was the eloquent and elegant recounting of his experiences with famous musicians, important persons and fascinating places and events. His collection of photographs, many with personal inscriptions, and other memorabilia completed these important histories.
Frauenheim is included in the Ampico Player Piano Roll Catalog. He recorded Schubert’s
Impromptu Op. 124, #1 in Ab]] in August 1930, catalogue #7070(3).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and music teacher. For many decades he was acclaimed for his performances in America and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, he is also remembered by his many students for imparting the style of his own famous teachers and for outstanding guidance with their repertoires.
Frauenheim was the fifth of seven children born to Edward J. and Antoinette Marie “Nettie” Vilsack Frauenheim whose own parents were the co-founders of the Pittsburgh Brewing Company
Pittsburgh Brewing Company
The Iron City Brewing Company is a beer company that until August 2009 had been located in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. On June 11, 2009, it was reported that the brewery was "moving" to Latrobe, Pennsylvania...
. Their families were prominent in early Pittsburgh society through their involvement in industry, banking and philanthropies. He attended the prestigious Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy is a private, secular coeducational PK-12 preparatory school located on three campuses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, established in 1883.- Campuses :Shady Side Academy has three campuses in Pittsburgh....
in Pittsburgh and Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
. He served briefly in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He studied music in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the 1920s and subsequently studied with Ignacy Jan Paderewski. He was also a student for many years of Zygmunt Stojowski
Zygmunt Stojowski
Zygmunt Denis Antoni Jordan de Stojowski was a Polish pianist and composer.-Life:Born near the city of Kielce, Stojowski began his musical training with his mother, and with Polish composer Władysław Żeleński. In Kraków, as a seventeen-year-old student, he made his debut as a concert pianist...
.
Frauenheim made concert tours in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, including command performances for royalty. His American debut was in 1926 at Town Hall New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Across the next five years he performed often in several American cities.
Early in his career he was a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Antonia Brica, the first American female conductor. He was a close friend of Guiomar Novaes
Guiomar Novaes
Guiomar Novaes was a Brazilian pianist noted for individuality of tone and phrasing, singing line, and a subtle and nuanced approach to her interpretations...
, the famous Brazilian pianist who also studied under Stojowski. From the decade of the late 1920s to late 1930s he lived and performed in New York City and Pittsburgh. He performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1946.
About 1940 Frauenheim moved to Washington, DC where he continued to perform until 1960. Washington newspapers reviewed his performances at the Phillips Collection
Phillips Collection
The Phillips Collection is an art museum founded by Duncan Phillips in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Phillips was the grandson of James H...
Gallery, the Sulgrave Club, Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks is the conventional name for the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, situated on a historic property in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The institution is administered by the Trustees for Harvard University. Its founders, Robert Woods Bliss and his wife...
, the Friends House in Georgetown and other halls. He gave a series of classical music lecture-recitals in Washington, D.C. on radio station WMAL of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. He repeated the series in many places.
Frauenheim taught privately in New York City and Pittsburgh and was a music professor (1926–1930) at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
Carnegie Institute of Technology
The Carnegie Institute of Technology , is the name for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. It was first called the Carnegie Technical Schools, or Carnegie Tech, when it was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie who intended to build a “first class technical school” in Pittsburgh,...
(now Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
). He was a well known piano teacher in the Washington metropolitan area for four decades and continued to teach until the year before his death when he relocated to the Pittsburgh area. In 1955 he married Enid Mitchell, reported to friends and relatives to be an English countess. They had no children. Unfortunately she died early in the marriage. He died at age 92 in Pittsburgh and was buried in the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Calvary Catholic Cemetery is located at 718 Hazelwood Avenue in the Greenfield and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.It was founded in 1886 with the purchase of a 200-acre tract. The first official interment occurred in 1888, though there are graves with earlier dates. As of...
.
In 2005 several of his students began the process of forming a Norman Frauenheim Students’ Society. A major area of sharing has been a compilation of Paderewski’s fingerings and personal editing as taught by Frauenheim. Also valued by students, friends and family was the eloquent and elegant recounting of his experiences with famous musicians, important persons and fascinating places and events. His collection of photographs, many with personal inscriptions, and other memorabilia completed these important histories.
Frauenheim is included in the Ampico Player Piano Roll Catalog. He recorded Schubert’s
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
Impromptu Op. 124, #1 in Ab]] in August 1930, catalogue #7070(3).