Olga Samaroff

Olga Samaroff. August 8, 1880 - May 17, 1948. , Born as Lucy Mary Olga Agnes Hickenlooper to Carlos and Jane (Loening) Hickenlooper in San Antonio, Lucy grew up in a home in the wealthy Silk Stocking District of Galveston. Lucy's father worked for the Thos. Googan and Bro. Music Company and her mother and grandmother taught piano lessons from the family home. As their star pupil, Lucy began to play public concerts at an early age where prominent musicians recommended European training. Her family continued to live in Galveston until the 1900 storm., In 1894, Lucy traveled with her grandmother to Paris to continue her study of piano. A year later she won a scholarship to the Conservatorie de Paris, the first American woman to do so. Following her graduation in 1897, Lucy married Russian civil servant Boris Loutzky and moved to St. Petersburg where she devoted her time to general musical study. After three years, Lucy divorced Boris and began to pursue her concert pianist aspirations., In 1905, to launch her American career, Lucy changed her name to Olga Samaroff, a more European-sounding name, rented her own concert hall and hired a manager. Olga Samaroff was an instant success. She went on to play worldwide, including at Carnegie Hall, the Met, Royal Albert Hall, and in Paris, Rome, Berlin, Vienna and more. Following her concert career, Olga taught at the new Juilliard School of Music, was a commuting faculty member for the Philadelphia Conservatory and published several books on music, including an autobiography. Her legacy is remembered through her music and the Schubert Memorial, a competition for American musicians to perform and compete.