Marian Anderson Biography

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an Anderson biography http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/ande

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Marian Anderson

Image Donated by Corbis - Bettmann

NAME: Marian Anderson

DATE OF BIRTH: February 27, 1897 according to her birth certific

(Throughout her life she gave her birthdate as February 17, 1902.)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia

FAMILY BACKGROUND: Marian Anderson was the oldest of threeborn to John and Anna Anderson. John was a loader at the Reading Term

while Anna had been a teacher in Virginia. In 1912, John suffered a head

work and died soon after. Anna and her three daughters moved in with Jo

parents, while Anna found work cleaning, laundering and scrubbing floo

EDUCATION: Marian attended William Penn High School (focusing

commercial education course to get a job) until her music vocation arose

transferred to South Philadelphia High School, focusing on music and si

frequently at assemblies, and graduating at age 18. She applied for admis

local music school, but was coldly rejected because of her color.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Marians musical career began quite early, at

Baptist church in which her father was very active. She joined the junior

six. Before long, she was nicknamed The Baby Contralto. When she w

father bought a piano from his brother, but they could not afford any less

Marian taught herself.

When Marian was 13 years old, she joined the senior choir at church and

visiting other churches; becoming well-known and accepting invitations


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became so popular, she would sometimes perform at three different places in a single

night. Finally she summoned the confidence to request five dollars per performance.

In 1919, at the age of 22, she sang at the National Baptist Convention.

When she was 15 years old, Marian began voice lessons with Mary Saunders

Patterson, a prominent black soprano. Shortly thereafter, the Philadelphia Choral

Society held a benefit concert, providing $500 for her to study for two years with

leading contralto Agnes Reifsnyder. After she graduated from high school, her

principal enabled her to meet Guiseppe Boghetti, a much sought-after teacher. When

he heard Marian audition, singing Deep River, he was moved to tears.

Marians initial invitations to sing grew to actual tours, focusing on black colleges

and churches in the South. William Billy King accompanied her and also served as

her manager. Soon she was making $100 per concert. On April 23, 1924, they took a

giant step and held a concert at New Yorks Town Hall. Unfortunately, it was poorly

attended and critics found her voice lacking. Marian was so discouraged, she

contemplated abandoning her career choice.

But shortly after, she won a singing contest through the Philadelphia PhilharmonicSociety and then, in 1925, she entered the Lewisohn Stadium competition. She beat

300 rivals and sang in New Yorks amphitheater with the Philharmonic Orchestra

accompanying her. This concert was a triumph and gained her the attention of Arthur

Judson, an important impresario, who put her under contract.

In 1926, Marian toured the eastern and southern states, adding songs to her

repertoire. On December 30, 1928, she performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall. A

New York Times critic wrote: A true mezzo-soprano, she encompassed both ranges

with full power, expressive feeling, dynamic contrast, and utmost delicacy. But

despite this success, her engagements were stagnating; she was still performing

mainly for black audiences.

Marian then obtained a scholarship through the National Association of Negro

Musicians to study in Britain. On September 16, 1930, she performed at Londons

Wigmore Hall. She returned to the U.S. only to return to Europe again, on a

scholarship from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. She was intent on perfecting her

language skills (as most operas were written in Italian and German) and learning the

art of lieder singing. At a debut concert in Berlin, she attracted the attention of Rule

Rasmussen and Helmer Enwall, managers who arranged a tour of Scandinavia.

Enwall continued as her manager for other tours around Europe.

Marian returned to the U.S. for more concerts and then, in 1933, returned to Europe

again through the Rosenwald Fund. From September 1933 through April 1934, she

performed at 142 concerts in Scandinavia alone, even singing before King Gustav in

Stockholm and King Christian in Copenhagen. She received a rare invitation to sing

from Jean Sibelius, a 70-year-old famous Finnish composer. He was so moved, he

dedicated his song Solitude to her, and saying, The roof of my house is too low

for your voice.

She followed those concerts with appearances throughout Europe. This tour


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concluded in 1935 with an international festival in Salzburg called the Mozarteum.

Arturo Toscanini, a very prestigious conductor, heard her sing and told her, Yours is

a voice such as one hears once in a hundred years. Another famous impresario, Sol

Hurok, also heard her sing shortly after that and made a contract with her for

American concerts.

On December 20, 1935, Marian appeared for the second time at New Yorks Town

Hall. This time she was a great success. She also gave two concerts at Carnegie Hall,

then toured the states from coast to coast. She went on to tour Europe again, and even

Latin America, through 1938 performing about 70 times a year.

Throughout her life, Marian had experienced racism, but the most famous event

occurred in 1939. Hurok tried to rent Washington, D.C.s Constitutional Hall, the

citys foremost center, but was told no dates were available. Washington was

segregated and even the hall had segregated seating. In 1935, the hall instated a new

clause: concert by white artists only. Hurok would have walked away with the

response hed received, but a rival manager asked about renting the hall for the same

dates and was told they were open. The halls director told Hurok the truth, even

yelling before slamming down the phone, No Negro will ever appear in this hall

while I am manager.

The public was outraged, famous musicians protested, and First Lady Eleanor

Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), who

owned the hall. Roosevelt, along with Hurok and Walter White of the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), encouraged

Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes to arrange a free open-air concert on the steps

of the Lincoln Memorial for Easter Sunday. On April 9, Marian sang before 75,000

people and millions of radio listeners. About her trepidation before the event, she

said:

I said yes, but the yes did not come easily or quickly. I dont like a lot

of show, and one could not tell in advance what direction the affair

would take. I studied my conscience. . As I thought further, I could see

that my significance as an individual was small in this affair. I had

become, whether I like it or not, a symbol, representing my people.

Several weeks later, Marian gave a private concert at the White House, where

President Franklin D. Roosevelt was entertaining King George VI and Queen

Elizabeth of Britain.

In 1943, Marian performed at Constitution Hall, at a benefit for Chinese relief. She

insisted the DAR suspend its segregated seating policy for the concert. Later, she

said, I felt no different than I had in other halls. There was no sense of triumph. I felt

that it was a beautiful concert hall, and I was happy to sing in it.

In July 1943, Marian married Orpheus H. Fisher, a Delaware architect she had known

since childhood. They lived on her Marianna Farm in Connecticut. During World

War II and the Korean War, Marian entertained troops in hospitals and bases. By

1956, she had performed over a thousand times.


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In January 1955, Marian debuted at the New York Metropolitan Opera as Ulrica in

Guiseppe Verdis Un Ballo in Machera (The Masked Ball) the first black singer

as a regular company member. She was 58 years old and, feeling past her vocal

prime, felt she overdid it out of nervousness. Later, in Philadelphia, she was satisfied

with her performance.

In 1957, she toured India and the Far East as a goodwill ambassador through the U.S.

State Department and the American National Theater and Academy. She traveled

35,000 miles in 12 weeks, giving 24 concerts. After that, President Dwight

Eisenhower appointed her as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights

Committee. She sang at his inauguration, as well as John F. Kennedys in 1961. In

1962, she toured Australia. In 1963, she sang at the March on Washington for Job

and Freedom.

On April 19, 1965, Easter Sunday, Marian gave her final concert at Carnegie Hall,

following a year-long farewell tour.

During her career, she received many awards, including the Springarn Medal in 1939,

given annually to a black American who shall have made the highest achievementduring the preceding year or years in any honorable field of endeavor. In 1941, she

received the Bok award, given annually to an outstanding Philadelphia citizen. She

used the $10,000 prize money to found the Marian Anderson Scholarships. In 1963,

President Lyndon Johnson awarded her the American Medal of Freedom. In 1977,

Congress awarded her a gold medal for what was thought to be her 75th birthday. In

1980, the U.S. Treasury Department coined a half-ounce gold commemorative medal

with her likeness. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presented her with the National

Medal of Arts.

Rather than fight much of the racism she received, despite her enormous popularity,

Marian preferred to avoid situations whenever possible. In Europe, she was

welcomed into the finest hotels and restaurants, but in the U.S., she was shifted to

third- or fourth-class accommodations. In the South, she often stayed with friends.

Simple tasks as arranging for laundry, taking a train, or eating at a restaurant were

often difficult. She would take meals in her room and traveled in drawing rooms on

night trains. She said:

If I were inclined to be combative, I suppose I might insist on making

an issue of these things. But that is not my nature, and I always bear in

mind that my mission is to leave behind me the kind of impression that

will make it easier for those who follow.

Early on, she insisted on vertical seating in segregated cities; meaning black

audience members would be allotted seats in all parts of the auditorium. Many times,

it was the first time blacks would sit in the orchestra section. By 1950, she would

refuse to sing where the audience was segregated.

In 1986, Orpheus passed away. In July 1992, Marian moved to Portland, Oregon, to

live with her nephew (by her sister Ethel), conductor James DePriest. The following

spring, she suffered a stroke and was restricted to a wheelchair. On April 8, 1993,


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Marian Anderson died of heart failure, at the age of 96. In June, over 2,000 admirers

attended a memorial service at Carnegie Hall.

DATE OF DEATH: April 8, 1993

PLACE OF DEATH: Portland, Oregon

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

detail of Corbis - Bettmann image

Anderson, Marian. My Lord, What a Morning: An Autobiography. Madison:

University of Wisconsin Press. 1992. ALSO: University of Illinois Press. 2002.

[Originally published 1956.]

Hurok Attractions, Inc. Marian Anderson: A Decade of Great Song in America. New

York:

S. Hurok. 1945.

Keiler, Allan. Marian Anderson: A Singer's Journey. New York: Scribner. 2000.

Newman, Shirlee P. Marian Anderson: Lady from Philadelphia. Philadelphia:

Westminster Press. 1965.

Tedards, Anne. Marian Anderson. New York: Chelsea House Publications. 1988.

Vehanen, Kosti. Marian Anderson: A Portrait. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

1970/c.1941.

WEB SITES:

Marian Anderson: a life in song - the Marian Anderson collection at the

University of Pennsylvania Library; includes audio selections

Marian Anderson - biography from Afrocentric Voices in "Classical" Music

QUOTE:

[On prejudice]: Sometimes, it's like a hair across your cheek. You can't see it,

you can't find it with your fingers, but you keep brushing at it because the feel

of it is irritating.

-- Marian Anderson


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Portrait of Marian Anderson Singing by CarlVan Vechten, published 1940. Source: Carl

Van Vechten, photographer, Library ofCongress, Prints and Photographs Division(Reproduction NumberLC-USZ62-103734-DLC)

Portrait of Marian Anderson by Carl VanVechten, published 1940. Source: Carl Van

Vechten, photographer, Library of Congress,Prints and Photographs Division(Reproduction NumberLC-USZ62-114554-DLC)

This page may be cited as: Women in History. Marian Anderson biography. Lakewood Public Library..

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Marian Anderson Biography