Orchestra Miami celebrates a Miami
Musical Legend
Discover Miami Through Music: The Miami Woman’s Club
As the only
major metropolitan city founded by a woman, Miami is not lacking for strong
female figures. Orchestra Miami’s next concert will honor an important
female-run organization which laid the groundwork for many of the City’s
important civic and social development, as well as a pioneering musician who
composed hundreds of pieces, including operas, ballets, vocal works, chamber
music and piano pieces. Discover Miami Through Music brings a
special concert to the newly-renovated Miami Woman’s Club on Biscayne
Bay, where we will celebrate and discover the music of one of Miami’s musical
pioneers, composer Mana-Zucca.
On Sunday,
November 6, 2022 at 4 PM, Orchestra Miami will celebrate the legacy of Mana-Zucca, a legend in
Miami’s music circles and a pioneering composer. Prior to moving to Miami,
Mana-Zucca was a celebrated concert pianist and singer who performed leading
roles in musical comedies. After her move to Miami, she became a prolific
composer, composing over 400 works, and holding weekly musicales in her home
"Mazica Hall”. She was also the teacher of Miami born concert pianist and
pioneer Ruth Greenfield, whom Orchestra Miami will honor at the concert.
The Miami
Woman’s Club was founded as The Married Ladies' Afternoon Club in 1900, just
four years after Miami was incorporated. With help from oil-and-railroad
magnate Henry Flagler, it quickly became "the intellectual powerhouse
behind Miami," says historian Paul George. It has been indispensable in the
social and educational development of our city, and has maintained an
impressive record of service to South Florida. The Miami Woman’s Club
established the City’s first library and is credited with founding the present
public library system. The Miami Woman’s Club also founded
the Travelers Aid Society, organized the Dade County Blood Bank and began the
City Curb Market. Members pushed for public parks when developers threatened to
devour the city and advocated for schools when education was a low priority.
Their newly
renovated home was designed in 1925 by August Geiger, one of the most prominent
American architects in South Florida at the time, and had its grand opening in
1926 as the Flagler Memorial Library and Women’s Club. The building was added
to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Born Gizella
Zuccamanof (later Zuccaman) on Christmas Day, 1891 to Polish immigrants,
Mana-Zucca changed her name to simplify her stage life. She was a piano
prodigy, composer, actress, and one of the most recognizable faces from
numerous ad campaigns. According to Florida International University, which is
the holder of her archives, Mana-Zucca was one of the most photographed women
of her time. When she was eight, Mana-Zucca made her debut with the New York
Symphony Orchestra (the former rival to the New York Philharmonic), playing
Beethoven’s first piano concerto. In 1914, she made her stage debut with a
soprano role in Franz Lehár’s The Count of Luxembourg. She studied piano
under Ferruccio Busoni, Leopold Godowsky, and Alexander
Lambert, and composition under Hermann Spielter.
When she was a teenager, she and her sister Beatrice sailed across the Atlantic and eventually settled in Berlin, where her performances were very popular. She teamed up with Spanish violinist Juan Manon, eventually signing a contract to play sixty concerts with him over a three-year period in Germany and Russia. After her stint in Europe, Mana-Zucca returned to the United States, eloping with Irwin M. Cassel. The couple split time between her home in New York City and his in Miami, Florida. After the birth of their first and only child in 1926, they put down permanent roots in Miami. In the 1930s and '40s, Mana-Zucca reigned as Miami's grand dame of music. She and her husband hosted musical luminaries at Saturday Musicales in Mazica Hall, their stately stucco home on 17th Street near Biscayne Bay.
“I remember
going to her house as a child to perform for Mana-Zucca” said Orchestra Miami’s
Artistic Director Elaine Rinaldi. “We were assigned several of her piano pieces
to perform in the annual Guild music exams. It was a real honor to be asked to
go to her house to perform.” Rinaldi said that she also remembers taking her
Guild auditions at the Miami Woman’s Club. She added, “Bringing Mana-Zucca’s
rarely performed music to the Miami Woman’s Club really feels like coming
home”.
The November
6th program includes many rarely-performed gems, including the Tocccata
for Vioin & Piano, Sonata for Cello & Piano, Op. 223, Hakinoh
for Violin & Piano, Op. 186, Ballade et Caprice for Cello & Piano, Op. 28, Fisherman's
Wharf for Violin & Piano, Op 228, Trio for Violin, Cello &
Piano, Op.40, Rachem
for Voice & Piano and her most famous composition, I Love Life,
which was widely recorded.
The performers include Orchestra Miami principal Cellist Aaron
Merritt, Violinist Karen Lord-Powell, baritone Philip Kalmanovitch, and
Orchestra Miami's Artistic Director Elaine Rinaldi on the piano. Tickets are
priced at just $30 General Admission for Adults, $25 for Seniors over 65 and $5
for Students with ID. The Miami Woman's Club has valet parking only available
for $20; metered street parking may be found along Bayshore Drive, or park in
the Omni Garage on NE 15 Street. For more information, please visit www.OrchestraMiami.org
or call (305) 274-2103.
What:
Discover Miami Through Music: The Music of Mana-Zucca at the Miami
Woman’s Club
When: Sunday,
November 6, 2022 at 4:00 PM
Where:
The Miami Woman’s Club, 1737 North Bayshore Drive, Miami, FL 33128
How Much:
Tickets are $30, $25 for Seniors (65 & up) and $5 for Students with ID,
General Admission Seating
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About Orchestra Miami
Founded in 2006 by Artistic Director Elaine
Rinaldi, Orchestra Miami is
celebrating 16 seasons of bringing affordable concerts of quality symphonic
music to all people in Miami-Dade County. Orchestra Miami’s mission is to
provide people with opportunities to experience art, build community and
educate through music. Orchestra Miami’s signature programs include its
“Beethoven on the Beach” free outdoor concerts, its “Discover Miami Through
Music” series, its many collaborations with the Miami Dade County Public
Schools and its Family Fun Concert Series. Orchestra Miami consists of a select
group of professional musicians, all permanent residents of South Florida,
whose collective body is unparalleled in terms of excellence and experience.
Led by Founder and Artistic Director Elaine Rinaldi, Orchestra Miami continues
to exceed expectations in terms of programming and artistic quality. Please
support our mission by making your donation today at www.OrchestraMiami.org.
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