Eugenia Argiewicz (16 June 1887 – March 1969), later Eugenia Argiewicz Bem, was a Polish violinist based in San Francisco, California for much of her career.
Eugenia Argiewicz | |
|---|---|
 Eugenia Argiewicz, from a 1921 advertisement | |
| Born | 16 June 1887 Warsaw |
| Died | March 1969 San Francisco |
| Nationality | Polish, American |
| Other names | Eugenie Argiewicz, Eugenia Argiewicz Bem, Eugenia Bem, Genia Bem |
| Occupation | Violinist |
Early life edit
Eugenia Argiewicz was born in Warsaw. Her father sold military uniforms. She started studying music as a small child, and trained with violinist Eugène Ysaÿe in Brussels.[1] Her brother Artur Argiewicz was also a noted violinist,[2][3][4] and they sometimes performed together.[5] Artur and their mother also moved to San Francisco.[6] Another brother, Bernard, was a professional cellist based in Detroit and Philadelphia.[7]
Career edit
Argiewicz performed in major European cities as a girl.[8] She moved to the United States in the 1910s. She was a soloist with the Seattle Symphony,[9] In 1917 she accompanied British cellist May Mukle when she performed in Sacramento,[10] and in the 1924–1925 season she played violin in the San Francisco Symphony.[2][11][12] "Mme. Bem is intense and emotional," commented one Los Angeles reviewer in 1918, "but plays with a musicianly manner and her style is fresh and invigorating."[13]
Argiewicz and her husband led the Stanislas Bem Little Orchestra,[8] which performed at San Francisco's Whitcomb Hotel;[1] they were among the first musicians to perform on KFRC radio when it began broadcasting in 1924, from the roof of the same hotel.[9] They also played in a chamber trio with pianist Vladimir Shavitch,[14] until she was replaced in 1918.[15] She also played ragtime music.[16]
Personal life edit
Eugenia Argiewicz married cellist Stanisław Bem in 1915, in San Francisco. They had a daughter, Vanda (1920-2008), who became a concert pianist and music educator.[17] Eugenia Argiewicz Bem was widowed in 1956,[18] and died in 1969, in San Francisco, aged 82 years.[1] Her granddaughter Gail Colman married San Francisco-based Spanish graphic artist Victor Moscoso.[19] Eugenia Bem's great-grandson Justin "Justo" Moscoso ran for a seat in Congress in 2000, as the Green Party candidate.[20]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Argiewicz Eugenia". Virtual Shtetl. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- ^ a b Miller, Leta E. (2012). Music and Politics in San Francisco: From the 1906 Quake to the Second World War. University of California Press. pp. 61–62, 111. ISBN 978-0-520-26891-3.
- ^ "Violinist Argiewiz dies at 85". Daily Independent Journal. 1966-05-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-05-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Stradivari, Antonio (1718). "Property". Tarisio. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Argiewicz to Give Recital". The San Francisco Examiner. 1926-02-14. p. 50. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Son Refuses to Assist Mother, 70, and Helpless". Oakland Tribune. 1922-12-09. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "B. I. Argiewicz, Musician, Dies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1955-12-09. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Violinist Acclaimed Abroad Coming Here". The Sacramento Bee. 1928-02-25. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Hunt, Rockwell Dennis (1932). California and Californians. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 496–497.
- ^ Smith, Oenone (1917-05-07). "Saturday Club's Program Warmly Greeted". The Sacramento Bee. p. 16. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A Listing of All the Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra from its Founding in 1911". Stokowski. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- ^ Rothe, Larry (2011-07-22). Music for a City Music for the World: 100 Years with the San Francisco Symphony. Chronicle Books. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-4521-1024-0.
- ^ "Mme. Bem's Los Angeles Success". Pacific Coast Musical Review. 34: 4. May 4, 1918.
- ^ "Shavitch-Argiewicz-Bem Trio". Pacific Coast Musical Review. 34: 6. August 24, 1918.
- ^ "Trio Makes Change in Personnel". The San Francisco Examiner. 1918-09-22. p. 68. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Calling Violinist Names". The Spokesman-Review. 1915-01-10. p. 29. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Vanda B. Colman". Marin Independent Journal. October 21, 2008.
- ^ "Last Rites Held for Stanislas Bem, 68". The San Francisco Examiner. 1956-12-12. p. 55. Retrieved 2020-05-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Whiting, Sam (2017-03-10). "Victor Moscoso had to unlearn what he'd learned in art school". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ "Voter Information for Justin "Justo" Moscoso". League of Women Voters. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
