Lili Petschnikoff

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Lili Petschnikoff, c. 1919

Lili Petschnikoff (December 1, 1874 — September 23, 1957) was an American concert violinist.

Early life[edit]

Lili Schober was born in Chicago, Illinois, but spent much of her youth abroad, studying violin under Joseph Joachim in Berlin[1] and performing in Europe.[2]

Career[edit]

Alexander and Lili Petschnikoff, c. 1907

Lili Petschnikoff and her husband toured together as musicians in the United States in 1907.[3][4] Petchnikoff gave a recital at the Aeolian Hall in 1916, with singer Clara Gabrilowitsch and pianist Rudolph Ganz.[5] In 1919 Lili Petschnikoff gave a series of concerts at her home in Hollywood with pianist Cornelia Rider-Possart.[6] She was officially retired by 1923, but played a radio concert with pianist Olga Steeb that year.[7] She became a chamber music partner to Albert Einstein, who enjoyed playing violin with Petchnikoff in 1931, while he was working at the California Institute of Technology.[8] She was also a friend to German singer Lotte Lehmann.[9]

She was said to own a Stradivarius violin,[10] probably one of the two that her husband brought to the United States on his 1899 visit.[11] Petschnikoff wrote an autobiography, The World At Our Feet, published posthumously by her son in 1968.[12]

Personal life[edit]

Lili Schober married Russian violinist Alexander Petschnikoff. They had three children, Tatjana, Nadja, and Sergei,[13] before they got divorced. She reclaimed her American citizenship and eventually moved to Los Angeles during World War I,[14] and her home opposite the entrance to the Hollywood Bowl[15] was a gathering place of musicians and arts patrons.[6][16] She died in 1957, in Los Angeles, aged 82 years.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mme. Petschnikoff's Recital" The Argonaut (April 27, 1918): 268.
  2. ^ "Lili Petchnikoff, Famous Violiniste, to Give L. A. Concert" Los Angeles Herald (January 31, 1919): 10. via California Digital Newspaper CollectionOpen access icon
  3. ^ "The Petschnikoffs Play" New York Times (January 17, 1907): 7. via ProQuest
  4. ^ "A Musical Spring at the University of California" Musical Courier (March 6, 1907): 29.
  5. ^ "Mme. Petschnikoff Plays" Violin World (January 15, 1916): 184.
  6. ^ a b Margie Manning Lindsey, "Petschnikoff Series" Holly Leaves (November 8, 1919): 8.
  7. ^ "Two Renowned Artists on KHJ" Los Angeles Times (July 23, 1923): 6. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  8. ^ Josef Eisinger, Einstein on the Road (Prometheus Books 2011). ISBN 9781616144616
  9. ^ Isabel Morse Jones, "The Week's High Note in Music" Los Angeles Times (August 13, 1939): 51. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  10. ^ "Orpheum" Pacific Coast Musical Review (July 13, 1918): 6.
  11. ^ "Some High-Priced Violins" The Violinist (September 1, 1901): 12.
  12. ^ Lili Petschnikoff, The World At Our Feet (Vantage 1968).
  13. ^ "Petschnikoff Series" Holly Leaves (August 23, 1919): 1.
  14. ^ "Captive in Germany" Holly Leaves (July 26, 1919): 8.
  15. ^ Bruno Walter, James Austin Galston, Theme and Variations: An Autobiography (Knopf 1946): 281, 339.
  16. ^ "Artist to be Hostess" Holly Leaves (September 27, 1919): 19.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Lili Petschnikoff, Violinist, Dies" Los Angeles Times (September 24, 1957): 42. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon

Further reading[edit]

  • Lili Petschnikoff (1968). The World at our Feet. Vantage Press.

External links[edit]

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