Baird, Martha

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Baird, Martha

Baird, Martha, American pianist and music patroness; b. Madera, Calif., March 15, 1895; d. N.Y., Jan. 24, 1971. She studied at the New England Cons, of Music in Boston and with Artur Schnabel in Berlin; appeared as soloist with Beecham in London and Koussevitzky in Boston. In 1957 she married John D. Rockefeller Jr., and became a benefactress of opera and concert music.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire