Ariadna Mikeshina
Ариадна Михайловна Микешина
Mikeshina, from a 1920 newspaper.
Background information
Birth nameAriadna Roumanova
Born(1900-10-17)October 17, 1900
Russia
DiedMay 18, 1982(1982-05-18) (aged 81)
United States
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Pianist, composer
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active1918–1975
Spouse(s)
  • Michel Roumanoff
  • Lev Ter-Oganov
  • Vincent O. Clarke
    (m. 19521958)

Ariadna Mikeshina (Russian: Ариадна Михайловна Микешина; October 17, 1900 – May 18, 1982), earlier known as Ariadna Roumanova, was a Russian-born pianist and composer.

Early life

Ariadna Roumanova was the daughter of an admiral in the Russian navy.[1] She was trained as a musician at the imperial conservatory in St. Petersburg.[2] Her brother-in-law Leonid Bolotine was a violinist and later a guitarist.[3]

Career

Roumanova was called "a brilliant pianist and a most interesting composer" when she relocated to the United States in 1918.[2] While in Los Angeles, she gave concerts,[4] sometimes featuring her own compositions, and accompanied others in recital.[5][6] She also appeared in the 1922 silent film adaptation of the Rubaiyat,[7] and taught piano students in her studio.[8]

As Ariadna Mikeshina,[9] she performed regularly in Los Angeles[10] New York City[11][12] into her seventies.[13] In 1927 the Los Angeles Times described her as a composer, having "marked talent, but not excessive originality".[14] She was described in 1975 as "calmly ignor[ing] the last 75 years of musical thought" in a recital at Carnegie Hall.[15]

Personal life

Mikeshina was married at least five times.[16] Her first husband was journalist Michel Roumanoff, who served in the Russian Provisional Government. She moved to Tokyo with Roumanoff when he was a diplomat at the Russian mission there; the couple moved to California[17] when the Kerensky government fell.[1][8] Her mother, brother and sister became refugees in Constantinople by 1921, when she divorced Roumanoff[18] and went to join them.[19] She returned to the United States with them in 1923, using the surname "Mikeshina".[20] Her fourth husband was cellist Lev Ter-Oganov and her fifth husband was trombonist Vincent O. Clarke; the Clarkes married in 1952 and divorced in 1958.[16]

After her death in 1982, at age 81, a collection of her musical manuscripts was donated to the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art.[21] Other papers of hers are in the Elena Mogilat Papers at Columbia University,[22] and in the Yeichi Nimura and Lisan Kay Nimura papers at the New York Public Library.[23]

She is buried at the Russian Orthodox Convent Novo-Diveevo in Nanuet, New York.

References

  1. 1 2 "Musicale at Home of Mrs. Emrich" Near East Relief (May 20, 1922): 2.
  2. 1 2 "Russian Concert Program Arranged" Los Angeles Evening Herald (March 20, 1920): B6. via California Digital Newspaper CollectionOpen access icon
  3. "Leonid Bolotine, 87, Violinist and Guitarist" New York Times (November 29, 1988): B12.
  4. "Beckers in Los Angeles" Musical America (April 10, 1920): 36.
  5. "Mrs. Dreyfus on Coast" Musical America (May 14, 1921): 46.
  6. "Grace Wood Jess Charms in Folk Song Program" Musical Courier (February 19, 1920): 42.
  7. "Art Notables in Rubaiyat" Los Angeles Sunday Times (August 7, 1921): 36. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  8. 1 2 "Russian Composer-Pianist" Los Angeles Times (September 28, 1919): 57. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  9. "Mikeshina's Music Heard" New York Times (May 4, 1949): 38. via ProQuest
  10. Isabel Morse Jones, "Rare Poise in Koshetz Delineation" Los Angeles Times (December 18, 1929): 31. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  11. E. D., "Mme. Mikeshina Plays" New York Times (October 17, 1955): 35. via ProQuest
  12. Ellsworth R. Groce, "Music Maestro" New York Age (October 29, 1955): 8. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  13. John Rockwell, "Mikeshina Concert Held at Town Hall" New York Times (October 15, 1973): 53. via ProQuest
  14. "Women Composers Accorded Hearing" Los Angeles Times (February 14, 1927): 25. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  15. John Rockwell, "Ariadna Mikeshina Presents Her Music" New York Times (October 13, 1975): 31. via ProQuest
  16. 1 2 Alfred Albelli, "Horn Blower Sinks her Alimony Barge" Daily News (January 7, 1958): 5. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  17. "Bring to American Music of Russia" The Daily Colonist (June 12, 1918): 9.
  18. "Russian Beauty" Indianapolis Star (July 6, 1923): 13. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  19. "Russian Woman to Rescue her Family" Los Angeles Evening Herald (September 16, 1921): A14. via California Digital Newspaper CollectionOpen access icon
  20. "Five Liners Arrive with Immigrants" New York Times (July 3, 1923): 2. via ProQuest
  21. "Консульство: редкие записи композитора Микешиной будут переданы России" музкарта.рф (04 ноября 2015).
  22. Elena Mogilat Papers, Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
  23. Yeichi Nimura and Lisan Kay Nimura papers, The New York Public Library, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.