Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (November 25, 1862February 17, 1901) was an American

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 ...

and composer. Ethelbert Nevin, 1891 - crop

Early life

Nevin was born on November 25, 1862, at Vineacre, on the banks of the Ohio River, in

Edgeworth, Pennsylvania Edgeworth is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, along the Ohio River approximately 14 miles (22.5 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 1,680 at the 2010 census. Edgeworth is the wealthiest town in Pennsylvania. History E ...

.Mulkearn, Lois, p. 62 There he spent the first sixteen years of his life, and received all his schooling, most of it from his father, Robert Peebles Nevin, editor and proprietor of a

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

newspaper, and a contributor to many magazines. (Robert Nevin also composed several campaign songs, among them the popular "Our Nominee," used in the day of

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

's candidacy.) Nevin's mother, Elizabeth Duncan Oliphant, was a pianist. The first grand

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

ever taken across the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

was carted over for Nevin's mother. Other members of the Nevin family showed musical inclinations as well; Nevin's younger brother,

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, also achieved some renown as a composer, as did his cousins

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and Gordon Balch Nevin.

Musical education

From a young age, Nevin was musically inclined. He began playing the piano by the age of four, although he needed cushions piled on the pedals to enable him to reach them. Nevin's father provided for his son both vocal and instrumental instruction. He also took him abroad for two years of travel and music study in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

under Von Böhme. In 1878, he attended Western University, now known as the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, but left at the end of his freshman year in 1879. Later he studied the piano for two years at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, under

Benjamin Johnson Lang Benjamin Johnson Lang (December 28, 1837April 3 or 4, 1909) was an American conductor, pianist, organist, teacher and composer. He introduced a large amount of music to American audiences, including the world premiere of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ...

, and composition under Stephen A. Emery.

Musical career

After two years studying in Boston, in 1882 Nevin moved back to Pittsburgh, where he gave lessons, and saved money enough to take him to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. There he spent the years 1884, 1885, and 1886, placing himself in the hands of Karl Klindworth. Of him Nevin says: "To Herr Klindworth I owe everything that has come to me in my musical life. He was a devoted teacher, and his patience was tireless. His endeavor was not only to develop the student from a musical standpoint, but to enlarge his soul in every way. To do this, he tried to teach one to appreciate and to feel the influence of such great minds of literature as

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, Schiller, and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. He used to insist that a man does not become a musician by practising so many hours a day at the piano, but by absorbing an influence from all the arts and all the interests of life, from architecture, painting, and even politics." In 1885,

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...

incorporated the best four pupils of his friend, Klindworth, into an artist class, which he drilled personally. Nevin was one of the honored four, and appeared at the unique public Zuhören of that year, devoted exclusively to the works of Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, and Joachim Raff. Among the forty or fifty studious listeners at these recitals, Frau

Cosima Wagner Francesca Gaetana Cosima Wagner (née Liszt; 24 December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt and Franco-German romantic author Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German comp ...

, the violinist

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, and many other celebrities were frequently present. Nevin returned to America in 1887, and took up his residence in Boston, where he taught and played at occasional concerts. In 1892 he went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he taught singing, and he coached many American and French artists for the operatic stage. In 1893 he moved on to Berlin, where he worked so hard at composition that his health collapsed, and he spent a year in Algiers. The early months of 1895 he spent in concert tours through this country. As Klindworth said of him, "he has a touch that brings tears," and it is in interpretation rather than in

bravura In classical music a bravura is a style of both music and its performance intended to show off the skill of a performer. John Alexander Fuller-Maitland, ''A dictionary of music and musicians (A.D. 1450-1889)'p. 271-272/ref> Commonly, it is a virt ...

that he excels. Seeking solitude and the right atmosphere for composition, he went to live in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, where he composed his suite ''May in Tuscany'' (Op. 21). After a year in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Nevin made Paris his home for a year, then returned to America, where he remained until his death. His best-remembered compositions are the piano piece " Narcissus" from ''Water Scenes'' and the songs "The Rosary" and " Mighty Lak' a Rose" (lyrics of the latter by

Frank Lebby Stanton Frank Lebby Stanton (February 22, 1857 – January 7, 1927), frequently credited as Frank L. Stanton, Frank Stanton or F. L. Stanton, was an American lyricist. He was also the initial columnist for the ''Atlanta Constitution'' and became the ...

Personal life, death and commemoration

Nevin was married to Anne Paul Nevin, with whom he had two children. The Nevin summer home, 'Arcady', in

Blue Hill, Maine Blue Hill is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,792 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, George Stevens Academy, the Blue Hill Harbor School, The Bay Sch ...

is still owned by his descendants. Despite being a prominent composer, Nevin had recurring debt towards the end of his life. This situation plagued Nevin with ongoing depression, accompanied by heavy drinking. He overworked himself at times, steadily deteriorating his health. On the night of February 15, 1901, while in New Haven, Connecticut, Nevin had attended a recital given by

Harold Bauer Harold Victor Bauer (28 April 1873 – 12 March 1951) was a noted pianist of Jewish heritage who began his musical career as a violinist. Biography Harold Bauer was born in Kingston upon Thames; his father was a German violinist and his mot ...

. After returning home, however, his health worsened. He had shown symptoms of numbness in his hands, altering his ability to play the piano. On the morning of February 17, he was confined to his bed as his health was becoming more unpredictable. He died later that day on February 17, 1901 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, aged just 38. Nevin was commemorated by being pictured on a 1940 ten cent U.S.

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

,Dorian, p. 438 one of the " Famous Americans" series.

Piano pieces

* ''Lilian Polka'' (1874) * Op. 2 ''Sketchbook'' (1888) ** 1 Gavotte ** 3 Love Song ** 5 Berceuse ** 7 Serenata ** 9 Valse Rhapsodie * Op. 6 ''Three Duets'' (1890) ** 1 Valse Caprice ** 2 Country Dance ** 3 Mazurka * Op. 7 ''Four Compositions'' (1890) ** 1 Valser Gentile ** 2 Slumber Song ** 3 Intermezzo ** 4 Song of the Brook * Op. 8 ''Melody and Habanera for Violin and Piano'' (1891) * Op. 13 ''Water Scenes'' (1891) ** 1 Dragon Fly ** 2 Ophelia ** 3 Water Nymph ** 4 Narcissus ** 5 Barcarolle * Op. 16 ''In Arcady'' (1892) ** 1 A Shepherd's Tale ** 2 Shepherds All and Maidens Fair ** 3 Lullabye ** 4 Tournament * Op. 18 ''Two Études'' (1892) ** 1 In the Form of a Romance ** 2 In the Form of a Scherzo * ''Barcarolle for Violin and Piano'' (1893) * ''La Guitare'' (1896) * Op. 21 ''May in Tuscany'' (1896) ** 1 Arlecchino ** 2 Notturno ** 3 Barchetta ** 4 Misericordia ** 5 Il Rusignuolo ** 6 La Pastorella * Op. 25 ''A Day in Venice'' (1898) ** 1 Alba ** 2 Gondolieri ** 3 Canzone amorosa ** 4 Buona Notte * Op. 30 ''En Passant'' (1899) ** 1 A Fontainebleau ** 2 In Dreamland ** 3 Napoli ** 4 At Home * ''O'er Hill and Dale'' (1902) ** 1 'Twas a Lover and His Lass ** 2 The Thrush ** 3 Love Is A-Straying, Ever Since Maying ** 4 The Lark Is on the Wing

Songs

* ''Bed-Time Song'' (1887) * Op. 2 ''Sketchbook'' (1888) ** 2 Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai ** 4 Du Bist Wie Eine Blume ** 6 Lehn Deine Wang' an Meine Wang' ** 8 Oh! That We Two Were Maying ** 10 In Winter I Get Up at Night,
Of Speckled Eggs the Birdie Sings,
Dark Brown Is the River * Op. 3 ''Three Songs'' (1888) ** 1 Deep in a Rose's Glowing Heart ** 2 One Spring Morning ** 3 Doris * Op. 5 ''Five Songs'' (1889) ** 1 Herbstgefuhl ** 2 La Chanson des Lavandieres ** 3 'Twas April ** 4 Raft Song ** 5 Before the Daybreak * Op. 9 ''

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" is a popular poem for children written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889. The original title was "Dutch Lullaby". The poem is a fantasy bed-time story about three children sailing a ...

'' (1890) * Op. 12 ''Songs for Soprano or Tenor'' (1891) ** 1 A Summer Day ** 2 Beat Upon Mine, Little Heart ** 3 In a Bower ** 4 Little Boy Blue ** 5 At Twilight * Op. 17 ''Three Songs'' (1892) ** 1 Hab' ein Roslein ** 2 Le Vase Brise ** 3 Rappelle-toi * Op. 20 ''A Book of Songs'' (1893) ** 1 A Fair Good Morn ** 2 Sleep, Little Tulip ** 3 Every Night ** 4 Airly Beacon ** 5 When the Land was White with Moonlight ** 6 A Song of Love ** 7 Nocturne ** 8 Dites-moi ** 9 Orsola's song ** 10 In der Nacht * ''The Rosary'' (1898) * Op. 28 ''Songs from Vineacre'' (issued separately) ** 1 A Necklace of Love (1899) ** 2 Sleeping and Dreaming (1899) ** 3 Mon dèsir (1899) ** 4 The Nightingale's Song (1899) ** 5 Dream-maker man (1900) ** 6 La lune blanche (1900) ** 7 Ein Heldenlied (1900) ** 8 Ein Liedchen (1900) * ''An African Love Song'' (1901) * '' Mighty Lak' a Rose'' (1901)
lyrics by

(1894)

Ethelbert Nevin Collection

The

Ethelbert Nevin collection archives consist of the collection of

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

, and original hand-written scores that document his life, work and influence. The archives contains correspondence, commissioned commercial musical compositions, scores, recordings.

Publications

Rupert Hughes Rupert Raleigh Hughes (January 31, 1872 – September 9, 1956) was an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer. He was the brother of Howard R. Hughes Sr. and uncle of billionaire Howa ...

, ''Contemporary American Composers'', Boston, 1900. * Vance Thompson, ''The Life of Ethelbert Nevin'', Boston, 1913. *

John Tasker Howard John Tasker Howard (November 30, 1890 – November 20, 1964) was an early American music historian, radio host, writer, lecturer, and composer. His ''Our American Music'', published in 1931, was an early general history of music in the United St ...

, ''Ethelbert Nevin'', New York, 1935. *

Ngaio Marsh Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of De ...

, Overture to Death, 1939, mentions a "Venetian Suite" by Nevin

Legacy and honors

The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

was named in his honor.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* online book
Narcissus MIDI file

Ethelbert Nevin - Pittsburgh Music History

New York Times obituary
* *
Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevin, Ethelbert Woodbridge 1862 births 1901 deaths People from Edgeworth, Pennsylvania American male composers American composers Musicians from Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh alumni 19th-century American male musicians