America's First Great Master of the Violin: "'Listen to Maud Powell's violin. If you want to be transported to a heaven of delight by the pathos of a simple sweet song, -- if you want to feel the uplift which an evening of aesthetic enjoyment gives, or if you want to feel a thrill of patriotism because a great, modest, unaffected, true and vibrant talent has been born in the Western Hemisphere--in short, if you want to find out how much can be got out of a fiddle, go -- listen to -- Maud Powell.'" Maud Powell was born on August 22, 1867, in Peru, Illinois, on the western frontier in the American heartland.
A pioneer by inheritance, she was endowed with the same extraordinary passion, integrity and vision that characterized her missionary grandparents and unconventional parents. Her grandparents had been Methodist missionaries in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois before the Civil War. Her father William Bramwell Powell was an innovative educator; superintendent of the public schools in Peru, then Aurora, IL, and finally Washington, D.C. Her mother Minnie Bengelstraeter Paul Powell was a pianist and composer whose gender precluded a career. Minnie and Bramwell's sisters were active in the woman's suffrage movement. Maud knew that "girl violinists were looked upon with suspicion,"
Powell boldly walked into a rehearsal of the all-male New York Philharmonic in Steinway Hall and demanded a hearing from Theodore Thomas, then America's foremost conductor. Deeply impressed, Thomas acknowledged his "musical grandchild" and hired her on the spot to perform the Bruch G minor violin concerto with the New York Philharmonic on November 14, 1885. New York critic Henry E. Krehbiel acclaimed the 18-year-old's debut performance: "She is a marvelously gifted woman, one who in every feature of her playing discloses the instincts and gifts of a born artist." At that time, American appreciation for her art was in its infancy with only five professional orchestras, no established concert circuits, and few professional managers.
Solo engagements were difficult to obtain; doubly difficult for a female artist and an American since all orchestra players and conductors were male and generally German. Maud refused to be lured into a comfortable career in Europe. Her pioneering spirit preferred to face the challenges of the raw, uncultured American continent. From 1885 forward, Theodore Thomas's "musical grandchild" made it her mission to cultivate a higher and more widespread appreciation for her art by bringing the best in classical music to Americans in remote areas as well as the large cultural centers. As one of the most capable and thoroughly artistic violin players of her time, with a nature richly endowed with genius, character, and spirit.
Maud Powell pioneered the violin recital as she blazed new concert circuits throughout the country, even braving the primitive touring conditions in the Far West to reach people who had never heard a concert before. Maud Powell's life of achievement ended the same year that the Nineteenth Amendment granting national suffrage to women was ratified. Upon her death on January 8, 1920, the New York Symphony paid tribute to this "supreme and unforgettable artist": "She was not only America's great master of the violin, but a woman of lofty purpose and noble achievement, whose life and art brought to countless thousands inspiration for the good and the beautiful."
America's First Great Master of the Violin: "'Listen to Maud Powell's violin. If you want to be transported to a heaven of delight by the pathos of a simple sweet song, -- if you want to feel the uplift which an evening of aesthetic enjoyment gives, or if you want to feel a thrill of patriotism because a great, modest, unaffected, true and vibrant talent has been born in the Western Hemisphere--in short, if you want to find out how much can be got out of a fiddle, go -- listen to -- Maud Powell.'" Maud Powell was born on August 22, 1867, in Peru, Illinois, on the western frontier in the American heartland. 
A pioneer by inheritance, she was endowed with the same extraordinary passion, integrity and vision that characterized her missionary grandparents and unconventional parents. Her grandparents had been Methodist missionaries in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois before the Civil War. Her father William Bramwell Powell was an innovative educator; superintendent of the public schools in Peru, then Aurora, IL, and finally Washington, D.C. Her mother Minnie Bengelstraeter Paul Powell was a pianist and composer whose gender precluded a career. Minnie and Bramwell's sisters were active in the woman's suffrage movement. Maud knew that "girl violinists were looked upon with suspicion," 
Powell boldly walked into a rehearsal of the all-male New York Philharmonic in Steinway Hall and demanded a hearing from Theodore Thomas, then America's foremost conductor. Deeply impressed, Thomas acknowledged his "musical grandchild" and hired her on the spot to perform the Bruch G minor violin concerto with the New York Philharmonic on November 14, 1885. New York critic Henry E. Krehbiel acclaimed the 18-year-old's debut performance: "She is a marvelously gifted woman, one who in every feature of her playing discloses the instincts and gifts of a born artist." At that time, American appreciation for her art was in its infancy with only five professional orchestras, no established concert circuits, and few professional managers. 
Solo engagements were difficult to obtain; doubly difficult for a female artist and an American since all orchestra players and conductors were male and generally German. Maud refused to be lured into a comfortable career in Europe. Her pioneering spirit preferred to face the challenges of the raw, uncultured American continent. From 1885 forward, Theodore Thomas's "musical grandchild" made it her mission to cultivate a higher and more widespread appreciation for her art by bringing the best in classical music to Americans in remote areas as well as the large cultural centers. As one of the most capable and thoroughly artistic violin players of her time, with a nature richly endowed with genius, character, and spirit. 
Maud Powell pioneered the violin recital as she blazed new concert circuits throughout the country, even braving the primitive touring conditions in the Far West to reach people who had never heard a concert before. Maud Powell's life of achievement ended the same year that the Nineteenth Amendment granting national suffrage to women was ratified. Upon her death on January 8, 1920, the New York Symphony paid tribute to this "supreme and unforgettable artist": "She was not only America's great master of the violin, but a woman of lofty purpose and noble achievement, whose life and art brought to countless thousands inspiration for the good and the beautiful."
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