Marian anderson contralto biography of martin

During the trip, she became the first foreigner invited to speak at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial statue in India. Such honors were just beginning. She sang at Eisenhower's inauguration as well as that of John F. Kennedy in Even at the outset of the s Anderson did not slow down. Inshe toured Australia. Inshe sang at the March on Washington for Job and Freedom.

Her last concert was given on April 19,Easter Sunday, in Carnegie Hall as the culmination of a yearlong farewell tour. Anderson always conveyed an aura of dignified calm. InArthur Bronson, a writer for the show-business journal Variety, described her as "a cultured, thoughtful woman, graceful, and unaffected, with deep-set eyes and a generous mouth.

If there was any real criticism, it centered on a reedy stridency in some high notes and a "blues" quality in some lower ones—more criticized by purists than by her audiences. Anderson never liked singing into a microphone, always preferring a live audience. She made an exception for the "Telephone Hour," a program on which she appeared regularly.

Furthermore, her records were extremely popular, her rendition of Schubert's " Ave Maria " sellingby Anderson's stage manner—closed eyes and few gestures—conveyed dignity, stateliness and, above all, inner serenity. Her repertoire was varied— songs in nine languages. No program of hers was complete without spirituals. She said:.

They are my own music, but it's not for that reason that I love to sing them. I love the spirituals because they are truly spiritual in quality; they give forth an aura of faith, simplicity, humility and hope. Anderson was deeply spiritual. She wrote in her autobiography, "I believe that I could not have had my career without the help of the Being above.

In her lifetime, Anderson received many awards. InEleanor Roosevelt presented her with the Spingarn Medal, given annually to the black American who "shall have made the highest achievement during the preceding year or years in any honorable field of endeavor. Each year, three trustees allocate funds to help young people, irrespective of race, creed, or color, to pursue an artistic career.

Various medals followed. InCongress awarded her a gold medal in honor of what was thought to be her 75th birthday. Inthe U. Treasury Department coined a half-ounce gold commemorative medal with her likeness.

Marian anderson contralto biography of martin: Marian Anderson was a

For many years, Anderson's American tours were marked by racial discrimination. Unlike Europe, where she was welcomed to the Continent's finest hotels, cafes, and parlors, she found that the racial barrier made the most elementary of tasks difficult: taking a train, obtaining an auto, choosing a restaurant, booking a hotel room, arranging for laundry, finding a place to practice.

She was often shunted to third- or fourth-class accommodations, although in the North she did break the color line at some first-class hotels. In the Southshe would have to stay with friends. She preferred to take her meals in her hotel room rather than be the cause of any incident. She avoided Jim Crow restrictions by traveling in drawing rooms on night trains.

She once 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. At first, in cities where there was segregation, she demanded "vertical" seating, which meant that black ticket purchasers, though seated apart from others, must be allotted seats in every part of the auditorium.

Her concerts often marked the first time that blacks could be seated in the orchestra of an auditorium. Byshe was refusing to sing where the audience was segregated. Marvin Feinstein, a former vice president of Hurok Artists, recalled, "In her own quiet way—there was really no civil rights movement at that time—Miss Anderson was already breaking barriers for artists that followed her.

Ina Newsweek writer noted that she used the first person plural when speaking of her singing, a phenomena attributed to "the humility with which she has always approached her great gift of song, and to the fact that she looks upon her accompanist as a full partner. From toher accompanist was Kosti Vehanen, a respected Finnish pianist, and, from toFranz Rupp, a German refugee from Nazism.

She also praised Isaac Alexander Jofe, her touring factotum since Of the ego involvement experienced by any artist, she once commented:. There was a time when I was very much interested in applause and the lovely things they said. But now we are interested in singing so that somebody in the audience will leave feeling a little better than when he came.

Insix years after the death of her husband, Anderson moved to Portland, Oregon, to live with her nephew and only survivor, conductor James DePreist. The son of her sister Ethel, James had been raised by Anderson as a son. In her last years, she was restricted to a wheelchair. On April 4,Marian Anderson died in Portland.

Marian anderson contralto biography of martin: Marian Anderson (February 27,

Dickey, Richard C. Edited by Suzanne Niemeyer. Washington, DC: Beacham,pp. Vehanen, Kosti. Marian Anderson: A Portrait. Bronson, Arthur. Septemberpp. Newman, Shirlee P. Marian Anderson: Lady from Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, Sims, Janet L. Westport, CT: Greenwood, Justus D. The oldest of three girls, Anderson was just 6 years old when she became a choir member at the Union Baptist Church, where she earned the nickname "Baby Contralto.

With the family unable to afford lessons, the prodigious Anderson taught herself. At the age of 12, Anderson's father died, leaving her mother to raise her three still-young girls. His death, however, did not slow down Anderson's musical ambitions. She remained deeply committed to her church and its choir and rehearsed all the parts soprano, alto, tenor and bass in front of her family until she had perfected them.

Other opportunities soon followed. Inshe performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time and eventually embarked on a tour through Europe thanks to a Julius Rosenwald scholarship. By the late s, Anderson's voice had made her famous on both sides of the Atlantic. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor to perform at the White House, the first African American ever to receive this honor.

Despite Anderson's success, not all of America was ready to receive her talent. Marian broke her ankle the day before the performance, but no one knew her ankle was broken because her long dress covered the cast, and she leaned against the piano for support. Her performance at Carnegie Hall was so successful that she was invited by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to perform at the White House, the first African American to receive this honor.

She was barred from sitting in formal rooms, and she was often sent through the back door of the public places she was in. The biggest disrespect to her work occurred inwhen her manager Sol Hurok, in partnership with Howard University, tried to lease Constitution Hall in Washington D. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of this organization herself, and in protest of the DAR and support of Marian, Eleanor resigned from the organization.

Throughout her life, Marian received many well-deserved awards. Inshe became the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.

Marian anderson contralto biography of martin: Marian Anderson is a contralto and

Forty years after the broadcast, television critic Tom Shales recalled the broadcast as both "a landmark in television" and "a milestone in the cultural life of the '50s". I trembled, and when the audience applauded and applauded before I could sing a note, I felt myself tightening into a knot. The following year, her autobiography, My Lord, What a Morningwas published, and became a bestseller.

Inshe sang for President Dwight D. Eisenhower 's inauguration, [ 45 ] and toured India and the Far East as a goodwill ambassador through the U. She traveled 35, miles 56, km in 12 weeks, giving 24 concerts. On January 20,she sang for President John F. Kennedy 's inauguration, and in she performed for President Kennedy and other dignitaries in the East Room of the White House and toured Australia.

Inshe sang at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. That same year, she received one of the newly reinstituted Presidential Medal of Freedomwhich is awarded for "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interest of the United States, World Peace or cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

Although Anderson retired from singing inshe continued to appear publicly. A half-ounce gold commemorative medal was embossed with her portrait by the United States Treasury Department in On July 17,Anderson became the second wife of architect Orpheus H. Fisher had asked her to marry him when they were teenagers, but she declined at that time because she feared it would have forestalled her music career.

Grenfell's wife, Dr. Grenfell, the wedding was originally supposed to take place in the parsonage, but because of a bake sale on the lawn of the Bethel United Methodist Churchthe ceremony was moved at the marian anderson contralto biography of martin minute to the Elmwood Chapel, on the site of the Elmwood Cemetery in Bethel, in order to keep the event private.

By this marriage she gained a stepson, James Fisher, from her husband's previous marriage to Ida Gould, a white woman. Inseeking a retreat away from the public eye, Anderson and Fisher purchased a three-story Victorian farmhouse on a acre 40 ha farm in Danbury, Connecticutafter an exhaustive search throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Through the years, he built many structures on the property, including an acoustic rehearsal studio he designed for his wife. The property remained Anderson's home for almost 50 years. Fromshe resided at the farm that Orpheus had named Marianna Farm. She constructed a three-bedroom ranch house as a residence, and she used a separate one-room structure as her studio.

Inthe farm was named one of 60 sites on the Connecticut Freedom Trail. The studio was moved to downtown Danbury as the Marian Anderson studio. As a town resident, Anderson wished to live as normally as possible, declining offers to be treated in restaurants and stores as a celebrity. She was known to visit the Danbury State Fair and sang at the city hall on the occasion of the lighting of Christmas ornaments.

InOrpheus Fisher died after 43 years of marriage. Anderson remained in residence at Marianna Farm untilone year before her death. Although the property was sold to developers, various preservationists as well as the City of Danbury fought to protect Anderson's studio. Their efforts proved successful, and the Danbury Museum and Historical Society received a grant from the state of Connecticut, relocated and restored the structure, and opened it to the public in In addition to seeing the studio, visitors can see photographs and memorabilia from milestones in Anderson's career.

She died there on April 8,of congestive heart failureat the age of The life and art of Anderson has been commemorated by writers, artists, and city, state, and national organizations. The following is a selected list:. Anderson used the money to establish a singing competition to help support young singers. The prize fund was exhausted in due course and disbanded in Inthe Marian Anderson Award prize money was restructured to be given to an established artist, not necessarily a singer, who exhibits leadership in a humanitarian area.

Inthe Award moved from a private operation to a program administered by Play On Phillya classical music education organization aimed at local youth. Instead of an annual award ceremony, the funds were used to create the Marian Anderson Young Artist Program[ 99 ] a tuition-free program with a mission to "serve those individuals whose communities have historically been excluded from the highest levels of musical excellence due to structural barriers in our country.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. African-American contralto — For other people with similar names, see Marion Anderson disambiguation. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U. Portland, OregonU. Early life and education [ edit ].

Early career [ edit ]. Rosenwald Fund [ edit ]. European tours [ edit ]. American tours [ edit ]. Mid-career [ edit ]. Gustav Mahler 's Kindertotenlieder. Anderson at the Department of the Interior incommemorating her concert. Ford 50th Anniversary Show [ edit ]. The Metropolitan Opera [ edit ]. Presidential inaugurations and goodwill ambassador tours [ edit ].

Later life [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ]. Awards and honors [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Marian Anderson Award [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Keeping Society of Philadelphia. Archived PDF from the original on January 24, Retrieved November 27, Racial Uplift and American Music. Press of Mississippi. ISBN Greatest Black Achievers in History.

Lulu Press. OCLC Archived from the original on April 15, Retrieved February 26, Discography of American Historical Recordings. Archived from the original on November 30, Retrieved August 5, Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. New journal and guide. December 1, The Finnish Club of Helsinki. Archived from the original on September 27, Retrieved February 23, University of Pennsylvania.

Archived from the original on October 21, Retrieved November 24,