Aurora violinist honored by Grammys for being a recording pioneer
Maud Powell, a pioneering recording artist and violinist who grew up in Aurora, will be honored posthumously on Saturday, Jan. 25, in Los Angeles with The Recording Academy’s Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
The Special Merit Award is presented by vote of The Recording Academy’s National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
Powell, who was born in 1867 in Peru, Ill., and died in 1920, became the first instrumentalist to record for Victor’s Celebrity Artist Series in 1904. She set a standard for violin playing that endures to this day and, through her recordings, continues to inspire musicians with her superb artistry, sound musicianship and technical command.
Behind her technique and musicianship loomed an imposing intellect, broad humanity and deep spirituality, which formed the substratum of her character.
Recipients for the award are determined by a vote of their peers, music professionals who have met the qualifications to become members of The Recording Academy.
After viewing all the nominations, a Blue Ribbon committee presents a slate of finalists for approval by the trustees. Neil Portnow, president/CEO of The Recording Academy, said, “This award recognizes those who have reached the pinnacle of artistic achievement. Maud Powell richly deserves the award.”
Powell is the first female instrumentalist to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and only the fourth violinist since the Grammy Awards began in 1962. Twenty-three classical musicians have received the award, five of whom, including Powell, were women. Four were opera singers. A list of past recipients of the recording industry’s most prestigious award can be found at Grammy.org.
Karen Shaffer, founder and president of the Maud Powell Society for Music and Education based in Brevard, N.C., will accept the award. She will be accompanied by Maud Powell Society board members Pamela Blevins, violinist Rachel Barton Pine and Greg Pine.
“The Maud Powell Society was founded in 1986 to restore Powell’s remarkable legacy and this award is a confirmation that we are succeeding in fulfilling our purpose,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer has devoted 35 years to writing Powell’s biography (published 1988), reissuing her recordings, publishing her transcriptions, and speaking throughout the United States. She is a co-founder of the Maud Powell Arts Celebration in Peru, Powell’s birthplace, and spoke at the 1995 dedication of the statue of Powell that stands in Peru’s city center. Shaffer is working on a second edition of the biography.
Powell’s recordings are available on the Naxos label: “Maud Powell, The Complete Recordings 1904-17, Vols. 1-4.”
In recognition of her significance in America’s cultural life, Nicholas R. Brewer’s oil portrait of Powell was accepted by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., in 2002. Powell has been honored by the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame in her hometown of Aurora and the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s student “Maud Powell String Quartet” carries on her legacy.
Powell was nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award by internationally acclaimed violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the Maud Powell Society for Music and Education. Pine’s “Tribute to Maud Powell” will appear in the 56th annual Grammy Awards souvenir program book.
“I like to think of Rachel as the Maud Powell of our time,” Shaffer said. “She is a sterling artist whose vitality and versatility is phenomenal. She has performed innumerable concert tributes to Powell and claims her as one of her violin heroes from whom she continually finds renewed inspiration.”
“With Maud Powell’s upcoming sesquicentennial in 2017, we hope the Recording Academy’s award will prompt many other musicians to find their own ways to pay tribute to this supreme and unforgettable artist who forged a path for others to follow,” Shaffer said.