Parlow, Kathleen Mary

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Parlow
  • Wiki Biography Notes:
    • Kathleen Parlow (September 20, 1890 – August 19, 1963) was a violinist known for her outstanding technique, which earned her the nickname “The lady of the golden bow”. Although she left Canada at the age of four and did not permanently return until 1940, Parlow was sometimes billed as “The Canadian Violinist”.
    • Parlow’s mother, Minnie, took her to live in San Francisco when Kathleen was four years old. Minnie Parlow bought her daughter a half-sized violin in San Francisco, and Parlow began receiving lessons from a cousin of hers who was a professional violin teacher, Conrad Coward. Her progress was very rapid with the instrument, and she soon began to receive lessons from a violin professor, Henry Holmes.
    • To become a top professional violinist and to begin a concert career, Parlow followed the normal route for North Americans and moved to Europe. Parlow and her mother arrived in London on January 1, 1905. Upon attending a concert by Mischa Elman, the Parlows decided to seek out Elman’s teacher, Leopold Auer. Minnie and Kathleen Parlow had arrived in London with $300 raised by their church in San Francisco, which was not sufficient to get them to St. Petersburg, where Auer was a professor. To pay the cost of travel, the Parlows obtained a loan from Lord Strathcona, the Canadian High Commissioner. The pair travelled to Russia, and in October 1906, Kathleen Parlow became the first foreigner to attend the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In her class of forty-five students, Parlow was the only female.
    • At 17, having spent a year at the conservatory, Parlow began to put on public performances. She gave solo performances in both St. Petersburg and Helsinki. Parlow and her mother had little money, and could not otherwise support themselves. Soon after, Kathleen Parlow made her professional debut in Berlin. In Norway she performed for King Haakon and Queen Maud, of whom she would become a favourite.
    • In November 1910, Parlow returned to North America for a tour. Parlow performed in New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa and Kingston. Her first performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra was on March 16, 1911. Returning to her birthplace of western Canada, Parlow gave performances in Calgary, Regina, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria. Her performances were lauded by provincial premiers, and both mother and daughter Parlow were pleased by her positive reception in western Canada.
    • In 1936, Parlow accepted a position at the Juilliard School of Music. She remained there until World War II, when she returned to Canada and gave a series of lecture-recitals at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She wrote to Sir Ernest MacMillan about a permanent position with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and obtained one in 1941.
    • She became a regular performer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as well, bringing additional income. In Toronto, she organised the Canadian Trio, which she performed in with Zara Nelsova playing the cello, and Sir Ernest MacMillan playing piano. The trio debuted with a performance of Schubert’s Trio in B-flat Major, and Haydn’s Trio in A Major and Tchaikovsky’s Trio in A minor. They received excellent reviews and the trio continued performing across southern Ontario, as well as on radio, until 1944.
  • Second Great Granddaughter of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=6421
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