Barbara Lull
Barbara Lull | |
|---|---|
 Barbara Lull, from a 1927 publication | |
| Born | Barbara Wood Lull January 25, 1905 Belmont, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 18, 1978 (age 73) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Barbara Lull Rahm, Barbara Rahm |
| Occupation | Violinist |
Barbara Wood Lull Rahm (January 25, 1905 – May 18, 1978) was an American violinist, a student of Leopold Auer. Later in life she taught violin in Berkeley, California.
Early life and education
[edit]Lull was born in Belmont, California,[1] and raised in Portland, Oregon,[2] the daughter of Henry Morris Lull and Alice M. Woods Lull. Her mother was a violinist,[1] and her father was a railroad executive.[3] She was considered a musical prodigy.[4] She moved to New York at age 15,[5] and studied violin with Leopold Auer.[6]
Career
[edit]Lull played violin with a "fine-spun tone of delicate beauty and warmth, a firm bow and emotional feeling tempered with artistic restraint," according to a report in the The New York Times.[7] She performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1924, sharing the bill with vocalists Evelyn Scotney and Umberto Urbano.[8][9] In 1928, she played Aaron Copland's "Ukelele Serenade" at a concert in New York City, with Copland himself accompanying her on piano.[10] "Miss Lull plays with a vigor that results in brilliance, rhythmical accuracy and a big tone," reported The Musical Leader after a Town Hall concert in 1928.[11] She toured in the United States, Canada, and Europe.[12][13] She was a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony in 1932.[14] She gave a recital at the Peabody Conservatory in 1933.[15]
In later life, Lull taught violin in Berkeley, California. She was concertmaster and assistant conductor of the University of California Symphony,[16] and played second violin in the Oakland Symphony.[1][17]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Lull married engineering professor Louis Frank Rahm[18] in 1929. They lived in Princeton, New Jersey, and had two sons, Michael and Richard. They divorced in 1947, and she moved to Berkeley with her sons, and lived with her mother and younger brother there.[16][19] She listed her occupation as "professional violinist" in the 1950 census.[20] She died in 1978, at the age of 73, in Berkeley.[21] The San Francisco Conservatory of Music has a Barbara Lull Rahm Scholarship Fund for young musicians, established as a memorial to her.[22]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Barbara Lull remembered; Memorial fund established". The Berkeley Gazette. 1978-07-03. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Barbara Lull to Return; Ex-Portland Violinist Appears with Symphony Tomorrow". The Sunday Oregonian. 1929-02-03. p. 45. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Henry Morris Lull". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine: 85. May 1949.
- ^ "Portland Girl to Appear in Concert". The Eugene Guard. 1916-03-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oregon Artists Succeed in New York Maelstrom". The Sunday Oregonian. 1922-12-17. p. 67. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Barbara Lull, Soloist". The Southwestern Musicale. 15 (10): 9. January 1930.
- ^ "Barbara Lull's Recital; Young Violinist Shows Growth as a Sincere and Talented Artist". The New York Times. November 6, 1928. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ Royal Albert Hall, Record, "Special Sunday Concert" (27 April 1924).
- ^ "Violin Recital by Barbara Lull" Music News 19(January 28, 1927): 12.
- ^ "Barbara Lull Heard; Appears as a Full-Fledged Artist in Violin Recital". The New York Times. February 13, 1928. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "Barbara Lull a Fascinating Violinist". The Musical Leader. 55 (20): 17. November 15, 1928.
- ^ "Second Symphony Concert Monday". El Paso Times. 1928-12-02. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Planning Concert Tour of Europe". The Musical Leader. 55 (24): 11. December 13, 1928.
- ^ Taylor, Helen S. (1932-03-20). "Music: Many Local Interests in Program". The Baltimore Sun. p. 38. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Will Play at Peabody". The Baltimore Sun. 1933-12-03. p. 40. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Scruggs, Margaret (1950-09-27). "Berkeley String Ensemble Concert". The Berkeley Gazette. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cecilia Augspurger Schultz photograph collection". Archives West. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ^ "Louis Frank Rahm". Plastics Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Alice W. Lull". The Berkeley Gazette. 1958-12-19. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barbara L. Rahm, 1950 United States census manuscript returns for Berkeley, California, via Ancestry.
- ^ "Obituary for Barbara Rahm Lull". The San Francisco Examiner. 1978-05-21. p. 31. Retrieved 2025-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Our Impact; 2023-24 Report". San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
External links
[edit]- Elfenworks Productions, "World War I Through the Roaring 1920s" Ribbons & Bows Podcast (February 28, 2019); a podcast episode about American women violinists, including Lull