Bluebeard's Bride: Alma Moodie, ViolinistLyrebird Press lyrebirdpress.music.unimelb.edu.au, Jan 1, 2013 - Biography & Autobiography - 183 pages Alma Moodie is perhaps the most gifted violinist ever to have left Australia, acclaimed in Germany in her youth as a “rare apparition in the world of virtuosity”. Born in Mount Morgan, Queensland, in 1898, Moodie left Australia when she was nine for studies in Brussels with internationally renowned teachers. Through the tumultuous years of the First World War, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich she forged an exceptional career, playing with the likes of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under conductors including Nikisch, Furtwängler and Fritz Busch. Her untimely death in 1943 suggests that she was a victim of war just as surely as those many others whose fates were less ambiguous. By all accounts a charismatic personality and a prodigious musician, she left no recordings and has slipped into an obscurity as deep as it is undeserved. In piecing together the details of Moodie’s life, Kay Dreyfus reclaims her reputation as one of the outstanding violinists of her generation and as a leading exponent of the contemporary music of her day. |
Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS | 1 |
Child prodigy Alma Moodie 1904 | 19 |
Max Reger 1913 | 25 |
A Difficult Time Begins 19141918 | 29 |
Pencil sketch of Alma Moodie by George Lemmerq 29 July | 36 |
Alma Moodie with Fürst Christian Ernst zu Stolberg u Wernigerode | 38 |
Alma Moodie with Carl Flesch 1919 | 48 |
Unsigned pencil sketch of Moodies debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 1919 | 49 |
Hans Pfitzner 1925 | 78 |
Walter Gieseking Paul Hindemith Alma Moodie and Ernst Křenek mid1920s | 79 |
Photo inscribed to Eduard Erdmann October 1927 | 80 |
Time | 81 |
Ernst Křenek 1923 | 90 |
Signatures of Anna and Ernst Křenek and inscription by Alma Moodie in the guestbook at Muzot 24 April 1924 | 91 |
First page of the manuscript of Křeneks Sonata for Solo Violin 1924 | 92 |
Career Marriage and Family | 97 |
Letter from Alma Moodie to Kurt Atterberg 15 November 1919 | 50 |
Front cover of Notizen 1919 | 51 |
Programme of Moodies performance with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 13 December 1920 | 52 |
With Max Rostal 1922 | 53 |
The Carl Flesch summer school 1922 | 54 |
Advertisement for Moodies 1927 Berlin violin recital | 55 |
Significant Others | 57 |
Werner Reinhart and Igor Stravinsky 1930 | 77 |
Accommodating the Third Reich 19331943 | 111 |
Who Was Alma Moodie? | 131 |
Bluebeards Bride | 135 |
Music Written for or Dedicated | 143 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 168 |
PHOTO CREDITS | 176 |
Common terms and phrases
According Alma Moodie Alma’s appeared artist Arts August Australia Bach beautiful became Berlin Berta Volmer Brussels career Carl F Carl Flesch Collection commented composer continued critic D’Hage death December described early Eduard Erdmann Erdmann Ernst Krenek February Frank Bridge Frankfurt friends Fürst gave Georg German give hand Hermann husband included January July June Kay Dreyfus Krenek later letter to Flesch letter to Pfitzner letter to Reinhart living London March Maria marriage Moodie’s mother musicians Musik Nazi never November October ÖNB Orchestra performance perhaps personality Pfitzner photographs piano piece played premiere Press probably programme recital Recorded Reger relationship reported Rilke Rockhampton says Scherchen Schmidt-Neuhaus September Sign solo sonata Spengler Stravinsky studies style things told tone took violin concerto violinist Volmer wanted Werner Reinhart Winterthur Wolfgang writes written wrote