Maria Lidka (27 May 1914–12 December 2013) was a German-born classical violinist. She was born Marianne Louise Liedtke in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

into a highly cultured Jewish family. Her father was an appellate court lawyer, a role he lost in April 1933 with the rise of the Nazis. She was a student of

Josef Wolfsthal Josef Wolfsthal (12 June 1899 – 3 February 1931), born as Josef Wolfthal, was an Austrian violinist and a professor in Germany's capital Berlin. He was born into a musical family in Vienna. It was of Galician origin. His father and his older br ...

and Max Rostal. She fled to London in 1934 and taught German and violin lessons, as well as performing with the pianist

Peter Gellhorn Peter Gellhorn (born Hans Fritz Gellhorn, October 24, 1912 – February 13, 2004) was a German conductor, composer, pianist and teacher who settled in London and made a career in Britain that lasted unbroken until his death. Life Gellhorn, the ...

and her housemate, cellist

Eva Heinitz Eva Heinitz (February 2, 1907 – April 1, 2001) was a German musician, best known as a cellist but also highly acclaimed for her recordings on the viola da gamba. Heinitz, who was "half Jewish", left her native Berlin after the Nazis came to po ...

. In 1939, she played at London's

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

. In 1941, she joined the Czech Trio alongside

Walter Susskind Jan Walter Susskind (1 May 1913 – 25 March 1980) was a Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist. He began his career in his native Prague, and fled to Britain when Germany invaded the city in 1939. He worked for substantial periods in ...

and Karel Horitz. To sound Czech, she changed her name to Maria Lidka. After the war, she performed work by a number of contemporary British composers including

Franz Reizenstein Franz Theodor Reizenstein (7 June 191115 October 1968) was a German-born British composer and concert pianist. He left Germany for sanctuary in Britain in 1934 and went on to have his teaching and performing career there. As a composer, he succ ...

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

and

Peter Racine Fricker Peter Racine Fricker (5 September 19201 February 1990) was an English composer, among the first to establish his career entirely after the Second World War. He lived in the US for the last thirty years of his life. Fricker wrote over 160 works in ...

, as well as working with

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

and performing with the Reizenstein Trio and the London String Trio. She also appeared on BBC radio on the Third Programme and in the Proms. In 1955, she married Walter May, a Jewish emigrant businessman from

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

with which she had two sons. Walter's brother Edward was a prominent cellist. Walter died in 1963. Lidka became Professor of Violin at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London, a role she served in from 1963 to 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lidka, Maria German violinists German women violinists 1914 births 2013 deaths 20th-century violinists Academics of the Royal College of Music Jewish violinists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Women classical violinists 20th-century women musicians German music educators German women music educators