Florence Austin
{{Short description|American violinist}}
{{infobox musical artist
| name = Florence Austin
| birth_date = {{birth date|1884|3|11}}
| birth_place = Galesburg, Michigan
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1927|9|1|1884|3|11}}
| death_place = Fairchild, Wisconsin
| image = FlorenceAustin1908.tif
| caption = Austin from a 1908 publication
| genre = Classical
| instrument = Violin
| occupation = Concert performer, violin teacher
}}
Florence Austin (March 11, 1884 – September 1, 1927) was an American violinist.
Early life and education
Austin was born in Galesburg, Michigan,{{bdm|35|pd=no}} the daughter of Edward Eldee Austin and Ella J. Austin. Her father was a surgeon and medical school professor; her sister Marion became an organist and composer under the name M. Austin Dunn.{{Cite journal|date=August 23, 1923|title=Dr. Edward Eldee Austin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lBEuukKHRYC&q=Florence+Austin+violin&pg=RA7-PA17|journal=Musical Courier|volume=87|pages=17}}
Austin began studying the violin in Minneapolis at age seven, and went to New York at age 14.{{Cite book|last1=Hanaford|first1=Harry Prescott|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tpafAAAAMAAJ&q=florence+austin+violinist&pg=PA29|title=Who's who in Music and Drama: An Encyclopedia of Biography of Notable Men and Women in Music and the Drama|last2=Hines|first2=Dixie|date=1914|publisher=H.P. Hanaford|pages=29|language=en}}{{PD-notice}} There, she studied for several years under Henry Schradieck (1846–1918) and Camilla Urso (1840–1902). She concluded her musical studies under Ovide Musin (1854–1929), with whom she went abroad to enter the Royal Conservatory at Liège (Belgium), under his instruction. The following year she received the first prize in the violin contest with the largest number of competitors in the history of that institute. She received the medal from Eugène Ysaÿe, who was one of the judges.{{Cite journal|date=January 29, 1908|title=Florence Austin, Violinist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ixMAQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin&pg=RA5-PA32|journal=Musical Courier|volume=56|pages=32}}
Career
After her graduation from the Liège Conservatory, she made a successful European debut, followed by performances throughout the United States, including as a member of the Women's String Quartet.{{Cite journal|date=January 8, 1908|title=Late Greater New York News|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ixMAQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin&pg=RA1-PA26|journal=Musical Courier|volume=56|pages=26}} She made a coast-to-coast tour in 1910 and 1911. In 1914, she played to acclaim at the Maine Music Festival; later in 1914, she gave a recital at New York's Aeolian Hall.{{Cite journal|date=October 28, 1914|title=Florence Austin's Maine Success|url=https://archive.org/details/musicalcourierwe69unse/page/n657/mode/2up|journal=Musical Courier|volume=69|pages=36}} She made another Western tour for the 1916-1917 concert season.{{Cite journal|date=September 1916|title=Florence Austin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gq1GAQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin+violin&pg=PA384|journal=The Violinist|volume=20|pages=384}} In 1920, she toured in a trio with a soprano and a pianist, sponsored by the National Society for Broader Education.{{Cite journal|date=March 20, 1920|title=Florence Austin and Concert Party on Successful Tour|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNtFAQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin+violin&pg=RA16-PA36|journal=Musical America|volume=31|pages=36}}{{Cite journal|date=April 24, 1920|title=Florence Austin in West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNtFAQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin+violin&pg=RA3-PA53|journal=Musical America|volume=31|pages=17}} Her sister sometimes accompanied her on piano. In 1922, after the sisters performed together in Minneapolis, a reviewer noted Florence Austin's "large and beautiful tone, artistic phrasing, and ample technic".{{Cite journal|date=December 7, 1922|title=The Thursday Musicale Presents Artists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-U6AQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin+violin&pg=RA22-PA46|journal=Musical Courier|volume=85|pages=46}}
She was selected by Ovide Musin to serve at the head of the violin department of the “Musin Virtuoso School” of Newark. Her students gave a recital at Aeolian Hall in 1908.{{Cite journal|date=May 27, 1908|title=Florence Austin Students' Recital|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ixMAQAAMAAJ&q=Florence+Austin&pg=RA1-PA99|journal=Musical Courier|volume=56|pages=27}}
Personal life
Austin died in 1927 in a railroad accident in Fairchild, Wisconsin, aged 43 years."Austin, Florence" in Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Eighth Edition, revised by Nicolas Slonimsky (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), p. 67.
References
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External links
- Beth Abelson Macleod, [https://books.google.com/books?id=e4XvqUQ_21IC&q=Florence+Austin+violin Women Performing Music: The Emergence of American Women as Classical Instrumentalists and Conductors] (McFarland 2000).
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Category:American women violinists
Category:Royal Conservatory of Liège alumni