Mildred Dilling was one of my heroes and inspirations when I started playing the harp. Her influence on the harp world continues today. Here's part of how Wikipedia describes her.
Mildred Dilling (1894 – 1982) was an American harpist. She studied under Henriette Renié in Paris. She first started performing in 1911, and traveled over 30,000 miles (48,000 km) per year at her busiest. She performed with many notable vocalists, had her own weekly NBC radio show, and appeared on the Bing Crosby radio show. She toured Europe and Asia multiple times, and often performed internationally. She enthusiastically championed the harp and gave many celebrities their first harp lesson, including Harpo Marx. In 1962 she helped found the American Harp Society. She devised a lever system for a non-pedal harp that made it more portable than a pedal harp but which allowed flexibility in harp tuning. Her extensive harp collection is held partially by Indiana University, and harp students still use two of her harp music compilations.
I recently received an email from my customer Margaret Wootton, who discovered that Mildred Dilling gave concerts here on Kauai in August 1941 . . . exactly 80 years ago!
(Thank you, Margaret, for sharing this information.)
On July 31, 1941, Mildred Dilling sailed from Los Angeles with her pedal harp on a five-day ocean voyage to the Hawaiian islands. She performed in Honolulu on August 8th and on Kauai on the 12th. She also gave a concert on Maui, but I can't find that exact date. She sailed back to California on the 29th.
The following excerpts are from an article in the July 22, 1941 issue of "The Kauai Shinpo," the "first English-Japanese newspaper on Kauai." It is reprinted here with permission from the Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection, Hoover Library & Archives, Stanford University.
As you read this article, remember that it was written a very long time ago!
MISS DILLING ADVOCATES HARP STUDY
Despite the general overcrowding of the professions, according to Mildred Dilling, there is still one career open to ambitious young men and women with artistic inclinations. The profession Miss Dilling refers to is her own -- that of concert harpist. She is to give a recital at the Royal Theater in Lihue on August 12 under the auspices of the Hanapepe Japanese Christian Church.
Although the harp has played a major part in musical history, there are today only a few important concert harpists. Of these few, Miss Dilling is the only one who has achieved fame in both Europe and America not only on the concert stage but through her numerous appearances on the radio in the United States, England, Germany, and Ireland. She has made seventeen successful concert trips across the Atlantic.
"The harp has always been recognized as an instrument for use in symphony orchestras or as a solo instrument in the home," Miss Dilling explains. "A person studying music for playing at home can attain the fullest artistic self-expression from the harp. The artist leans the instrument against his heart, touches the strings with his fingers, and music comes forth."
Discussing the harp's current popularity, Miss Dilling pointed out that "in a mechanical age, the harp provides a pleasing and restful contrast. More and more musicians are turning to the harp. Someday it may be as important as it once was in Wales when every gentleman knew how 'to build a boat and sail it; make a harp and play it; compose an ode and set it to music.'"
You can watch a vintage video of Mildred Dilling on the
More Fun Videos page of our website. This ten-minute film was made in 1940 when Mildred was 47. It was shown as a "short" before the main feature in movie theaters. She talks about the harp and plays three selections.
Four videos of Mildred's most famous student, Harpo Marx, are on that same
More Fun Videos page. Enjoy!
Mildred's pedal harp arrangement of
The Blue Danube is part of this month's sale below.
