Sadie G. Koninsky was an American composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, music publisher, and music teacher

Music education

Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...

 who lived most of her life in Troy, New York

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

. A prolific composer, she is thought to have authored over 300 pieces of music, including waltzes

Waltz (music)

A waltz, or valse from the French term, is a piece of music in triple meter, most often written in time signature but sometimes in 3/8 or 3/2...

 and marches

March (music)

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...

. "Eli Green's Cakewalk", which became a popular hit when it appeared in 1898, was also the first cakewalk

Cakewalk

The Cakewalk dance was developed from a "Prize Walk" done in the days of slavery, generally at get-togethers on plantations in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around"...

 published by a woman. Some of her work was published under her male pseudonym, Jerome Hartman.

Biography

Sadie was the youngest of the five children born to Harris and Mary Koninsky of Troy, New York. Both parents were of European extraction. As a child, she received classical training in violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

.

Her first published compositions, "The Belles of Andalusia" (a waltz) and "The Minstrel King" (a march) appeared in 1894 and 1895, respectively. In 1896, she sold "Eli Green's Cake Walk" to Joseph W. Stern, a music publisher in 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...

, who published it (under her legal name) with lyrics added by a staff writer. After studying piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 with Harriet Brower, she took a job at Stern's company as an arranger

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

.

Soon afterward, Sadie and her brother Maurice went into the music business. By 1899, the family business, then known as "Edw. M. Koninsky & Brothers", was publishing music, including Sadie's sequel titled "Phoebe Thompson's Cake Walk". She became the main arranger and composer at Koninsky Music. During this time, her marches appeared under the name of "Jerome Hartman".

During the 1920s, Sadie launched a publishing house of her own (Goodwyn Music Publishers) and also taught music and violin. She was still teaching in 1947. She died on January 2, 1952 and was buried at B'rith Sholom Cemetery in Troy. There is no evidence that she ever married.

List of compositions

In chronological order:

• "Belles of Andalusia" — Valse Espagnole (M. Witmark & Sons
  M. Witmark & Sons
  M. Witmark & Sons was a leading publisher of sheet music for the United States "Tin Pan Alley" music industry.The firm of Marcus Witmark & Sons was established in New York City in 1886...
  
  , New York City, 1894, republished in 1899)
• "The Minstrel King" — March (Albany Music Publishing Company, Albany, New York, 1895)
• "Eli Green's Cake Walk" (song with lyrics by Dave Reed, Jr.) (Joseph W. Stern and Company, New York City, 1896 or 1898)
• "Where Love is King" — Waltzes (Howley, Haviland and Company, New York City, 1898)
• "I'll Be Your Friend Through All" (song) (M. Witmark and Sons, New York City, 1898)
• "Eli Green's Cake Walk" — March and Two Step (Joseph W. Stern and Company, New York City, 1898)
• "Boardin' House Johnson" — Cake Walk (Joseph W. Stern, New York City, 1899)
• "Phoebe Thompson's Cake Walk" (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, New York City, 1899)
• "When I Return We'll Be Wed" (with lyrics by Stewart M. Washburn) (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1899)
• "Sing Me a Song of Other Days" (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Brooklyn, New York, 1900)
• "You Alone" — Ballad (song, Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, New York City, 1900)
• "Beneath the Starry Flag" (as "Jerome Hartman") (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, New York City, 1900)
• "I Didn't Think You Cared to Have Me Back" (with lyrics by Stewart M. Washburn) (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, New York City, 1900)
• "The Grasshopper's Hop" — A Bugtown Society Event (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, New York City, 1901)
• "In a Japanese Tea House" — Japanese Waltzes (with M. N. Koninsky) (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1901)
• "When Mammy Puts Little Coons to Bed" (lullaby) (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1901 or 1902)
• "I Wants a Man Who Ain't Afraid to Work" (with lyrics by Harry E. Stanley) (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, New York City, 1902)
• "Cleopatra" — An Egyptian Intermezzo (Shapiro, Bernstein and Company, New York City, 1902)
• "Forever" (song) (Edward M. Koninsky, Troy, New York, 1902)
• "The Return of the Troops" (as "Jerome Hartman") (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1902)
• "A Wigwam Courtship" — Intermezzo (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1903)
• "I Am Lonely Here Without You, Nellie Dear" (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1903)
• "When You Are Near" (song) (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1903)
• "If You Loved Me as I Love You" (song) (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1903)
• "On To Victory" (as "Jerome Hartman") (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1903)
• "Old Glory" — March and Two Step (as "Jerome Hartman") (Edward M. Koninsky and Brothers, Troy, New York, 1903)
• "Maid of the Mist" — Waltzes (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, pre-1904 or 1908)
• "June Roses" — Waltzes (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1905)
• "'Tis You" (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1905)
• "'Cause the Sandman's Comin Around" (song) (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1905)
• "In Lover's Lane" — Waltzes (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1906)
• "Life in Camp" — March (as "Jerome Hartman") (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1906 or 1907)
• "College Days" — Waltzes (Koninsky Music Company, New York City, 1907)
• "Love Tales" — Waltzes (1909)
• "Uncle Sam's Boys" — March (as "Jerome Hartman") (1909)
• Musical Moments (Opus 6) (1910)
  • Valsette
  • Melodie
  • Barcarolle
• "La Cascade" — Valse Caprice (1911)
• "Heart of the Rose" — Waltzes (Koninsky Music Company, New York City, 1911)
• "The River of Dreams" (song) (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1912)
• "Joys of the Dance" — Waltz (1914)
• "If I Had All the World Besides I'd Still Want You!" (song, with J. Will Callahan) (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1916)
• "Mae Marsh" — Waltzes (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1917)
• "In Yucatan" — Novelty Fox Trot (Koninsky Music Company, Troy, New York, 1918)

External links

• a performance of Eli Green's Cakewalk on YouTube