Nevin, Ethelbert (Woodbridge)
Nevin, Ethelbert (Woodbridge)
Nevin, Ethelbert (Woodbridge), popular American composer, brother of Arthur (Finley) Nevin; b. Edgeworth, Pa., Nov. 25, 1862; d. New Haven, Conn., Feb. 17, 1901. After preliminary musical studies in America, he went to Germany, where he took lessons in singing and piano with Franz Böhme in Dresden (1877–78); returning to the U.S., he studied piano with Benjamin J. Lang and harmony with Stephen A. Emery in Boston (1881–83). In 1884 he went again to Germany to study piano with Karl Klindworth in Berlin (1884–86). He then lived in Europe before finally settling in New Haven in 1897. He had a natural talent for melodious songs and piano pieces in a semi- Classical manner. His The Rosary (1898) achieved tremendous popularity, selling over a million copies within a decade. Another favorite was his song Mighty Lak’ a Rose (1901), and his “Narcissus” from the piano suite Water Scenes (1891) was a perennial favorite in American parlors.
Works
Floriane’s Dream, pantomime (N.Y., March 24, 1898); The Quest, cantata (1902); choruses; Captive Memories, song cycle for Baritone, 4 Voices, and Piano (1899); many other songs; piano suites: Water Scenes (1891), Maggio in Toscana (1896), and A Day in Venice (1898); other piano pieces; etc.
Bibliography
V. Thompson, The Life of E. N. (Boston, 1913); J. Howard, E. N. (N.Y., 1935).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire