Mildred Portney Chase (1921–1991) was an international

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, teacher, and the author of the popular books ''Just Being at the Piano'' and ''Improvisation, Music From The Inside Out''.Chase, Mildred Portney, ''Improvisation: Music From the Inside Out''. Berkeley: Creative Arts Book Company, 1988

Early life and career

Chase was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, and moved to Los Angeles at two and a half years old. She had a brother, Joseph, and a sister, Leonora (later Leonora Panich). Chase began playing piano by ear at the age of three, and had

absolute pitch Absolute pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is a rare ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. AP may be demonstrated using linguistic labeling ("naming" a note), associating ...

. She grew up in Boyle Heights, L.A., and studied with Victor Trice, Olga Steeb and

Richard Buhlig Richard Moritz Buhlig (December 21, 1880 – January 30, 1952) was an American pianist. Buhlig was born in Chicago to a German immigrant father from Saxony, the baker Moritz Buhlig, and his wife Louise. He received early lessons from August Hy ...

. She won many piano competitions, and at 13 had her own weekly national radio recital show. She graduated from Roosevelt High School at 17, then attended the

Juilliard School of Music 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 elit ...

in New York on a fellowship. She studied with

Josef Lhévinne Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944) was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The Li ...

, who considered her his best pupil; and with his wife

Rosina Lhévinne Rosina Lhévinne (née Bessie; March 29, 1880 – November 9, 1976) was a Russian pianist and famed pedagogue born in Kyiv, Russian Empire. Early life, education and family Rosina Bessie was the younger of two daughters of Maria (née Katz) and ...

, when he was on tour. Chase graduated with a diploma, then married William Francis Chase and moved back to L.A.

Continuing career

Chase played regularly on the "Evenings On The Roof" concert series launched by Peter Yeats. She met

Meade Lux Lewis Anderson Meade Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964), known as Meade Lux Lewis, was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the boogie-woogie style. His best-known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded by ...

, who could not read music, but taught her

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

. She played jazz piano at

Ciro's Ciro's (later known as Ciro's Le Disc) was a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California owned by William Wilkerson. Opened in 1940, Ciro's became a popular nightspot for celebrities. The nightclub closed in 1957 and was reopened ...

on Sunset Blvd., Shelly's Man Hole, and other local venues. She taught at USC's Graduate School of Music; and at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, where she assisted Rosina Lhevinne. Chase was active in political causes. In the 1960s, she protested the Board of Education's music defunding of L.A. schools. In the 1970s, she protested the

war in Vietnam The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and gave concerts benefiting the Women's International Strike for Peace (W.I.S.P.). She presented concerts at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA), now known as the

Idyllwild Arts Foundation Idyllwild Arts Foundation encompasses two institutions in Idyllwild, California for training in the arts: Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA) and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program. The institution was formerly known as Idyllwild School of Music and the ...

, and played concerts on L.A.' public radio station KPFK. She specialized in baroque music, and played

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

with Sol Babitz, violinist in the Early Music Laboratory Group. She also performed

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

extensively with

Sascha Jacobsen Sascha Jacobsen (11 December .S. 29 November1895 - 19 March 1972) was an American violinist and teacher born in Russia, now Finland.In his book "Great Masters of the Violin", Boris Schwarz claims that Jacobsen was born in New York in 1897 and that ...

, Bernie Kundell, Joachim Chassman and other noted players. On October 31, 1987, Chase received a letter from the revered composer

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...

, who wrote:

Warmest thanks . . . for your words about my music. They are of great value for me, indeed. I am reading your book which is fascinating for me as a man who used to be a pianist and not a bad one. Many thanks for your thoughts about pianism apparently simple, and yet so original. Of course, I am anxious to read your new book.

Books

Chase's books ''Just Being at the Piano'' and ''Improvisation: Music From The Inside Out'' were published in 1974 and 1988, respectively. A revised edition of the former was released in 2017.

Personal life

Chase had two sons, Kenneth and Sanders; and two grandsons, Chris and Mike. She operated a not-for-profit art gallery in Idyllwild, CA, where she also gave informal concerts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Mildred Portney 1991 deaths 1921 births 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists American women classical pianists American classical pianists Juilliard School alumni