Olga Steeb (born 1890 – December 29, 1941) was an American pianist and music educator, based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Early life

Olga Steeb was the daughter of Carl Egon Steeb and Sophie S. Steeb, both German immigrants living in Los Angeles. Her father, a French horn player, was said to have taught his daughter to memorize hundreds of compositions as a child, and she was performing in concerts by 1904. She studied piano with Thilo Becker.

Career

Steeb performed across the United States and in Europe, in solo performances and as part of the Griffes Group with mezzo-soprano Edna Thomas and violinist Sacha Jacobinoff. She was featured as a soloist at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915, in San Francisco. She made her New York debut in 1919, at the Aeolian Hall. Once, in 1921, she was called from the audience to the stage to perform a concerto with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

, without rehearsal or advanced notice, when the scheduled pianist,

Mischa Levitzki Mischa Levitzki (also spelled Levitski; uk, Міша Левицький (); May 25, 1898 – January 2, 1941) was a Russian-born U.S.-based concert pianist. Levitzki was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), to Jewi ...

, was injured. She played at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

in 1922. In 1923, she played a radio concerts with retired violinist Lili Petschnikoff. Steeb was head of the music departments at the University of Redlands from 1915 to 1919, and at the University of Southern California from 1919 to 1923. The Olga Steeb Piano School operated on Wilshire Boulevard from 1923 to 1942.K. Marcus
''Musical Metropolis: Los Angeles and the Creation of a Music Culture, 1880–1940''
(Springer 2004): 50. Olga Steeb's piano students included

Leonard Pennario Leonard Pennario (July 9, 1924 – June 27, 2008) was an American classical pianist and composer. He was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Los Angeles, attending Los Angeles High School remaining in L.A. for his entire career. He firs ...

, composer

Elinor Remick Warren Elinor Remick Warren (February 23, 1900, Los Angeles – April 27, 1991, Los Angeles) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. Her mother had been a student of a pupil of Franz Liszt, and introduced her daughter ...

, composer Harry Partch and organist David Craighead. Her sisters Norma Steeb and Lillian Steeb French continued running the piano school a while past Olga Steeb's death.

Personal life

Olga Steeb married twice. Her first husband was fellow musician Charles H. Keefer. They married in 1911 and divorced in 1916. She married again in 1919, to Charles Edward Hubach, a vocal teacher who became her manager. Olga Steeb was a widow when she died in Los Angeles in late 1941, from cancer, aged about 55 years."Noted Pianist Olga Steeb Dies"
''Los Angeles Times'' (December 31, 1941): 21. via Newspapers.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steeb, Olga 1941 deaths American pianists American women pianists University of Southern California faculty University of Redlands faculty Year of birth uncertain 1890 births 20th-century American women American women academics