Camilla Dolores Wicks (August 9, 1928 – November 25, 2020) was an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, and one of the first female violinists to establish a major international career. Her performing career included solo appearances with leading European and American symphony orchestras including the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

and

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

Early life

Camilla Dolores Wicks was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. Her

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

-born father, Ingwald Wicks (Ingvald Kristian Eriksen Varhaugvik), was a distinguished violinist and teacher. Her pianist mother, Ruby (Dawson Stone) Wicks, studied with composer

Xaver Scharwenka Theophil Franz Xaver Scharwenka (6 January 1850 – 8 December 1924) was a German pianist, composer and teacher of Polish descent. He was the brother of Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka (1847–1917), who was also a composer and teacher of music. Life ...

. Wicks made her name as a child prodigy, making her solo debut at age 7 with

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's Violin Concerto No. 4 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium. At 8, she performed Bruch's First Concerto and a year later Paganini's First Concerto. She went to study with

Louis Persinger Louis Persinger (11 February 1887, Rochester, Illinois31 December 1966, New York, New York) was an American violinist, pianist and professor of violin. Persinger had early lessons in Colorado, appearing in public by the age of 12. His main studies ...

at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1942, Persinger accompanied Wicks when she made her solo debut at age 13 with the

Career

In the next decade, Wicks performed regularly with many of the world's finest conductors (

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, Reiner,

Stokowski Stokowski (feminine: Stokowska, plural: Stokowscy) is a Polish-language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anne K. Stokowski (1925–2020), American politician * Eugene E. Stokowski (1921–1979), American politician * Ferdynand ...

, Rodzinski, Ehrling) and orchestras. She went on extensive European tours and was quite popular in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. Finnish composer

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

greatly admired her interpretation of his

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

, of which she made a recording in 1952 for the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

label. She also made a number of recordings for

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

and

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

. Camilla Wicks explored a wide range of repertoire and promoted many lesser-known works, in particular by Scandinavian composers, who in turn wrote many works for her. Norwegian composer and violinist,

Bjarne Brustad Bjarne Brustad (4 March 1895, in Kristiania, now Oslo – 20 May 1978, in Oslo) was a Norwegian composer, violinist and violist. He played with symphonic orchestras in Stavanger and Oslo. In the 1920s he travelled to European cities such as ...

dedicated a number of solo violin works to her. Wicks was an advocate of contemporary Scandinavian composers: she performed concertos by

Fartein Valen Olav Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952) was a Norwegian composer, notable for his work in atonal polyphonic music. He developed a polyphony similar to Bach's counterpoint, but based on motivic working and dissonance rather th ...

and

Hilding Rosenberg Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985)Lyne Peter H. Rosenberg, Hilding (Constantin). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly reg ...

, and gave the world premiere of those by Harald Saeverud and

Klaus Egge Klaus Egge (July 19, 1906 – March 7, 1979) was a Norwegian composer and music critic. Background Egge was born in Gransherad, Telemark, Norway. He was the son Rasmus Klausen Egge (1874-1962) and Rakel Abrahamsdatter Iversen (1877-1986). He gr ...

. She also enjoyed a close collaboration with

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...

Later years and death

Wicks married Robert Thomas in 1951. At the height of her career, she halted her career in order to raise her five children. Wicks later resumed her performing career intermittently and became a much sought-after teacher. She taught in a number of American faculties including

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. Wicks was invited to head the String Department at the Oslo Royal Academy in the early 1970s and was awarded a lifetime Professorship there. Many of the violinists of the leading Norwegian orchestras, including

Henning Kraggerud Henning Kraggerud (born 23 June 1973) is a Norwegian musician and composer. Career Kraggerud was born in Oslo. He studied with Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz, and Stephan Barratt-Due, before embarking on a career that has brought solo appeara ...

, were among her former students. In 1999, she was made a Knight 1st Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

for her contribution to music in that country. Wicks held the

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

Chair at the

San Francisco Conservatory The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodg ...

before retiring in 2005. Studio and concert recordings have been reissued on the

Music & Arts Music & Arts is a classical and jazz record label founded in Berkeley, California by Frederick Maroth. It began in 1984 as a classical music label before adding jazz and world music. The catalog includes classical composers and musicians Milto ...

Biddulph Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, north of Stoke-on-Trent and south-east of Congleton, Cheshire. Origin of the name Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon/Old English ''bī dylfe'' = "beside the pit or quarry". It may also ...

and Simax labels. Wicks died on November 25, 2020, at the age of 92. She had contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in her final year, but had tested negative for COVID by the time of her death. Her marriage to Robert Thomas ended in divorce. Her survivors include three of her children, Angela Thomas Jeffrey, Erik Thomas and Lise-Marie Thomas Wertanzl, and three grandchildren. Two of her children pre-deceased her, Philip Thomas (deceased in 2011) and Paul Thomas (deceased in 2017).

Selected recordings

* ''The Art of Camilla Wicks'' (Music & Arts CD 1160) * ''Camilla Wicks Concertos by Sibelius, Valen and short pieces'' (Biddulph CD 80218) * ''Camilla Wicks plays Concertos by Walton and Brustad'' (Simax CD PSC 1185) * ''Camilla Wicks: Great Norwegian Performers 1945-2000 Vol. III '' (Simax CD PSC 1832) * ''Camilla Wicks: Violin Concertos & Pieces '' (Profil CD PH18095)

References

External links

IMDB page on Camilla Wicks

David Patrick Stearns, "Camilla Wicks: Towering talent found, lost, and found again". 'Condemned to Music' blog, 2 December 2020

Naomi Sadler, 'Camilla Wicks interview'. Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows blog, 19 April 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicks, Camilla 1928 births 2020 deaths American people of Norwegian descent Musicians from Long Beach, California Juilliard School alumni Rice University faculty University of Michigan faculty American classical violinists American women violinists Women classical violinists Classical musicians from California 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century American women musicians Louisiana State University faculty 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century American women musicians American women academics 20th-century American violinists 21st-century American violinists