Helena Lewyn

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Helena Lewyn
A young white woman, seated, wearing a white gown with short sleeves; one hand in her lap; she is gazing down at an open soft-cover book on the stool next to her
Helena Lewyn, from the Library of Congress
Born(1889-12-16)December 16, 1889
Houston, Texas, U.S.
DiedAugust 30, 1980(1980-08-30) (aged 90)
Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S.
Other namesHelena Lewyn-Hassenstein
Occupations
  • Pianist
  • piano teacher
Spouse
Walter Kurt Max Hassenstein
​
​
(m. 1928, divorced)​

Helena Lewyn (December 16, 1889[1] – August 30, 1980) was an American pianist, composer, and piano teacher.

Early life[edit]

Lewyn was born in Houston, Texas,[2][3] the daughter of Isadore Lewyn and Carrie Jeremias Lewyn. Her family was Jewish; her parents were both born in Germany, and her father was a druggist. She showed musical aptitude from early childhood.[4][5] She studied piano with Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler in Chicago and with Conrad Ansorge and Leopold Godowsky in Berlin. She also studied composition with Edgar Stillman Kelley.[6][7][8]

Career[edit]

Lewyn toured giving concerts in Germany in 1909,[9] made her London debut at Bechstein Hall in the spring of 1910,[10] and toured with the New York Symphony Orchestra under Walter Damrosch from 1910 to 1912.[3][7] In 1910 the Houston Music Festival Association presented her with a gold medal, to "cordially congratulate you upon making such a triumphant American debut in your home city."[11]

Lewyn was based in Los Angeles by the end of 1922.[12] She served on the advisory board for the Hollywood Bowl summer concerts,[13] and participated in a benefit event for the Los Angeles Music School Settlement in 1925.[14] She also performed at the Hollywood Bowl on several occasions.[15][16] She and violinist Vera Barstow gave a series of joint performances in southern California and on radio programs in the 1920s.[17][18] She also performed with violinist Ben Whitman.[19]

In the 1930s and 1940s, she continued to give concerts,[20] including radio concerts,[21] and taught at her own piano studio on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.[5][16] One of her students was actor Bobby Breen.[22] "Her program, although on the conventional side, was meaty, judiciously built and executed with musicianly aplomb," commented one reviewer in 1945.[20]

Lewyn was known to compose music. She set a poem by fellow Texan Judd Mortimer Lewis to music in 1910.[23] She owned an antique German piano.[24]

Personal life[edit]

Lewyn married Walter Kurt Max Hassenstein in Berlin in 1928; they later divorced. She died in 1980, at the age of 90, while on vacation in Grants Pass, Oregon.[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Some sources give 1890 or 1891 as her birth year.
  2. ^ Hines, Dixie; Hanaford, Harry Prescott (1914). Who's who in Music and Drama. H.P. Hanaford. p. 195.
  3. ^ a b "Around the Evening Lamp: Miss Helena Lewyn". The Texas Magazine. 2 (3): 47–48. July 1910.
  4. ^ "The Rapid Rise to Fame of Helena Lewyn". Musical America. 12 (8): 8. July 2, 1910 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ a b "Helena Lewyn Training Children". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. November 8, 1941. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Houston, Texas". The Violinist. 9 (3): 42. July 1910.
  7. ^ a b Saerchinger, César (1918). International Who's who in Music and Musical Gazetteer: A Contemporary Biographical Dictionary and a Record of the World's Musical Activity. Current Literature Publishing Company. p. 373.
  8. ^ "Helena Lewyn, Pianist". Musical Courier. 58 (19): 6. May 12, 1909 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Helena Lewyn, Pianist". Musical Courier. 60 (16): 38. April 20, 1910 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ "Pianoforte Recitals". The Musical Times. 51: 243. April 1, 1910.
  11. ^ "Medal for Miss Lewyn". Musical America. 12 (2): 4. May 21, 1910 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ "At the Musicians' Club". Holly Leaves. 11: 14. December 15, 1922.
  13. ^ Hollywood Bowl Association (August 5, 1924). Week of August 5, 1924. Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. Hollywood Bowl Association.
  14. ^ "Jewish Women Aid Los Angeles Music Settlement". B'nai B'rith Messenger: 17. October 23, 1925.
  15. ^ "Music Lovers Show Great Enthusiasm". Los Angeles Daily News. March 24, 1925. p. 15. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  16. ^ a b "Helena Lewyn Puts Stress on Informality in Piano Instruction". LA Evening Citizen News. January 30, 1947. p. 36. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  17. ^ "Hotel Concert Very Notable Entertainment". Coronado Eagle and Journal. February 1, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  18. ^ "Concert Recital on KNX Wednesday Eve". San Pedro Daily News. September 21, 1926. p. 10. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  19. ^ "To Give Sonata Recitals". Daily News. March 14, 1925. p. 17. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b Harford, Peggy (May 19, 1945). "Pianist Helena Lewyn Does Well in Difficult Program". LA Evening Citizen News. p. 4. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Helena Lewyn to Play Over Radio Tomorrow". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. June 22, 1935. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Teacher Trained in U.S.A. Abroad". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. August 27, 1942. p. 19. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Helena Lewyn Composes Song". Musical Courier. 61 (17): 18. October 26, 1910 – via Internet Archive.
  24. ^ "Antique Piano Loaned by Helena Lewyn for Display". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. December 4, 1952. p. 31. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Obituary for Helena LEWYN". The Los Angeles Times. September 2, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.


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