Herma Menth

Herma Menth (1890 – February 25, 1968) was a pianist from Vienna. She lived in New York City and toured the U.S.

Herma Menth
Herma Menth, from a 1923 publication.
Born1890
Vienna
DiedFebruary 25, 1968
New York City
NationalityAustrian, American
OccupationPianist

Early life

Menth was from Vienna.[1] She was a student of Ferruccio Busoni[2] and Emil Sauer.[3]

Career

Menth played in New York in 1912.[1] In the spring of 1918, Menth toured Pennsylvania and Virginia, including a stop at Camp Lee with American violinist Vera Barstow, to play for American troops.[4] She and Barstow played gave more concerts for troops at Ellis Island and Camp Upton, sponsored by the Stage Women's War Relief Society and the Jewish War Relief Society.[5] She also gave wartime benefit concerts at the Brooklyn Museum during World War II.[6]

Menth played at the Hollywood Bowl in 1923. [3] A New York Times reviewer described her as "a pianist of the most varied resources", because of the difficult program selections she set for her 1927 recital in New York, with works from Liszt and Mendelssohn to Scriabin and Dohnányi.[7] She lived in New York, and played there often, including recitals in 1929,[8] and in 1944,[9] and at Carnegie Hall several times in the 1950s.[10]

Menth made many piano roll recordings, and promoted the Angelus Reproducing Piano.[11][12] One feature of her performances in the 1920s was a duet with herself, using a piano roll recording for the second piano, or "comparison pieces", in which she played live to fill gaps in a recording. She also gave radio concerts where the listeners were challenged to guess which pieces were recorded and which were live.[3][13]

Menth made her final performing tour of the eastern United States in 1966.[14]

Personal life

Herma Menth was an avid cyclist and swimmer into her fifties.[15] By 1911[16] she married Moritz Stoehr, a Viennese professor of bacteriology at the College of Mount Saint Vincent and invented a new keyboard,[17][18] and a "music typewriter" for transcribing and transposing music.[19] They lived in separate, adjacent apartments, an arrangement that was considered newsworthy.[20] She died in 1968, aged 77 years, in New York.[2]

References
  1. "Herma Menth in a Sunday Concert". The New York Times. 1912-10-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  2. "Herma Menth Dies; Concert Pianist, 77". The New York Times. 1968-03-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  3. "Herma Menth and Angelus Reproducing Piano Win Fresh Laurels". The Music Trades. 66: 14. September 1, 1923.
  4. "Vera Barstow" Musical Monitor (June 1918): 508.
  5. "Vera Barstow and Herma Menth Play at Cantonments" Musical Monitor (August 1918): 589.
  6. "Pianist Herma Menth in War Stamp Concert". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1943-08-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  7. "HERMA MENTH IN RECITAL.; Pianist Plays Difficult Program at Chickering Hall". The New York Times. 1927-03-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  8. "Herma Menth, Pianist, Plays". The New York Times. 1929-02-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  9. N. S. (1944-11-17). "RECITAL BY HERMA MENTH; Pianist Plays Difficult Numbers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  10. "Event: Herma Menth, Piano". Carnegie Hall Data. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  11. White, Foster (2015-04-30). Music by the Hearth. Archway Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4808-1651-0.
  12. "Herma Menth and the Artrio-Angelus in Two Recitals". The Music Trades: 33.
  13. "Herma Menth and the Angelus Acclaimed by Large Audiences in Wilmington". The Music Trades. 66: 19. November 17, 1923.
  14. "Herma Menth on Farewell U. S. Tour". Billboard: 56. January 15, 1966.
  15. "Swam Across Lake Champlain and Gave Concert that Night". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1944-04-09. p. 15. Retrieved 2020-04-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Will Appear in Concerts". The Indianapolis Star. 1911-09-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-04-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Invents New Keyboard to Simplify Fingering". The Music Trades. 66: 4. July 14, 1923.
  18. "Dr. Stoehr's New Keyboard Exhibited". Musical Courier. 87: 18. September 20, 1923.
  19. "A Music Transposer and Recorder". The Musical Monitor. 11: 368. September 1922.
  20. Mahon, Frank (1928-11-30). "Twin Homes Saves Marriage, Couple Aver; Ideal Found in Life as Next Door Neighbor". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-04-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Herma Menth at the Discography of American Historical Recordings website.
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