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Ruzena Herlinger

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Ruzena Herlinger
A smiling woman with fair skin and dark hair and eyes, wearing white
Ruzena Herlinger in 1927
Born
Růžena Schwarzová

8 February 1893
Tábor, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
DiedFebruary 19, 1978(1978-02-19) (aged 88)
Montreal, Canada
Other namesRůžena Herlingerová, Rose Schwartz
Occupation(s)Singer, voice teacher
Years active1915–1945
SpouseJUDr. Alfred Herlinger (1883–1936)

Ruzena Schwartz Herlinger (Czech: Růžena Schwarzová Herlingerová) (8 February 1893 – 19 February 1978) was a Czech-born Canadian singer and voice teacher, noted for performing and promoting the works of contemporary European composers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life and education

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Schwartz was born on 8 February 1890 in Tábor, Bohemia. She studied piano and voice from childhood, and trained in Vienna and Berlin, where she moved in 1910.[1]

Career

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Herlinger, described as a soprano[2] and a mezzo-soprano,[3] performed and promoted works by modern European composers,[4][5] including Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie,[6] Paul Pisk, Anton Webern,[7] Ernst Krenek,[8] Gustav Mahler, and Alban Berg; Berg wrote a concert aria, "Der Wein", for her.[9][10] She was active in the International Society for Contemporary Music in Vienna.[11][12] "She has a voice of superior beauty and highly cultivated," wrote one critic in 1934, "while her phrasing and expression bespeak high musicality and taste."[13] In 1935, she returned to Prague with her husband, lawyer, politician and publicist Dr. Alfred Herlinger, and their little daughter. She started to work as a choirmaster at Czechoslovak Radio Praha and taught singing. The husband died on January 29, 1936.[14]

Because of her Jewish origin, Herlinger had to flee Czechoslovakia in 1938. During World War II Herlinger lived in England and she was singing for British soldiers. After the war, she returned to Prague for a few years, to conduct the Prague Radio Choir again.[1]

She moved to Canada in 1949. She taught voice at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec (CMM) from 1957 to 1962, and at McGill University from 1963 to 1970. Her notable Canadian students included Claire Gagnier, Joseph Rouleau, Huguette Tourangeau, and André Turp.[1]

Personal life

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Schwartz married a Czech lawyer and politician Dr. Alfred Herlinger.[15]She became a Canadian citizen at the age of 71, in 1954. She died on 6 September 1978, at the age of 85, in Montreal.[1] There is a collection of her papers in the Oskar Morawetz Collection of the Music Division of the Library and Archives Canada, in Ottawa.[16][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Colle, Josèphe. "Ruzena Herlinger". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Famous Folks in a Famous Street". Musical Courier. 94 (11): 48. 17 March 1927 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ "Ruzena Herlinger, Czech Mezzo Soprano (advertisement)". Musical Courier. 101 (6): 9. 9 August 1930 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "Classicism Reigns Supreme in Vienna". Musical Courier. 98 (11): 48. 11 May 1929 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Doctor, Jennifer Ruth (1999). The BBC and Ultra-Modern Music, 1922–1936 – Shaping a Nation's Tastes. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 978-0-521-66117-1 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Bechert, Paul (2 December 1926). "A Rising Soprano". Musical Courier. 93 (23): 18 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Moldenhauer, Hans; Moldenhauer, Rosaleen (1979). Anton Von Webern, a Chronicle of His Life and Work. Knopf. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-394-47237-9.
  8. ^ "Krenek's New Gambols". Musical Courier. 95 (20): 7. 17 November 1927 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Alban Berg Writes Concert Aria for Ruzena Herlinger". Musical Courier. 98 (24): 11. 15 June 1929 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ Simms, Bryan R.; Erwin, Charlotte (1 February 2021). Berg. Oxford University Press. pp. 307–308. ISBN 978-0-19-093146-9.
  11. ^ Stefan, Paul (8 October 1927). "Mrs. E. S. Coolidge Carries Premieres to America". Musical America. 46 (25): 8 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ "International Society's Vienna Group Votes for Idealism". Musical Courier. 94 (11): 7. 17 March 1924 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "Eminent Songbirds". Musical Courier. 109 (1): 29. 14 July 1934 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Daily Národní listy Num. 28, Prague 29, January 1936, page 4 ː Obituary of Alfred Herlinger)
  15. ^ Klára Kolofíková: Růžena Herlingerová, Dictionnary of Czech musicians and music institutions, edited by The Centre of Lexikography of Music of the Institute of Science of Music, Faculty of Philosophy of Masaryk's University in Brno, 2009
  16. ^ "Archives". Oskar Morawetz. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  17. ^ Oskar Morawetz fonds, Library and Archives Canada.

Further reading

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