Sylvia Lent (June 11, 1903 – March 25, 1972) was an American violinist.
Early life Sylvia Lent was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of composer and cellist Ernest Lent, who was born and educated in Germany,International Who's who in Music and Musical Gazetteer (Current Literature Publishing Company 1918): 369. and pianist Mary (Mamie) Simons Lent.William Winfield Scott, History of Passaic and Its Environs (Lewis Historical Publishing Company 1922): 73. She studied violin with her cousin, Gilbert Ross (their mothers were sisters), from childhood through studies in Chicago with Leopold Auer. Ross later became a music professor at Cornell University.Gilbert Ross, "The Auer Mystique" Michigan Quarterly Review 14(3)(Summer 1975): 311-312.Gilbert Ross Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Lent also studied with Ovide Musin"Music and Musicians" Washington Post (July 13, 1919): E3. and Franz Kneisel.Richard Aldrich, "Music" New York Times (March 6, 1923): 26.
Career
Lent made her debut concert tour in Germany,"German Critics Praise D. C. Artist" Washington Times (December 7, 1922): 23. via Newspapers.com playing in Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, and Munich, in 1922."Sylvia Lent Creates Excellent Impression in Berlin Concerts" Musical Courier (December 14, 1922): 59."Sylvia Lent Scores in Dresden" Musical Courier (December 28, 1922): 33. Her New York debut followed in March 1923."Sylvia Lent Comes Home" Washington Post (February 26, 1928): F1. By age 23, she had been featured as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of New York, and the New York Symphony Orchestra.Elizabeth E. Poe, "In the Realm of Musical Affairs" Washington Post (March 21, 1926): F6."Sylvia Lent Its Soloist" New York Times (November 6, 1924): 23. She played a rare Domenico Montagnana violin made in 1735, a gift from a collector in Minnesota."Sylvia Lent Possesses Rare Old Montagnana" Washington Post (March 4, 1928): F1.
Her youthful appearance and small stature was frequently mentioned in reviews of her concerts, even when she was well into adulthood.Mozelle Horton, "Sylvia Lent, Young and Girlish, is from Family of Musicians" Atlanta Constitution (December 11, 1934): 3. "She is petite, sylph-like, with an almost childish face and head", mentioned one 1933 newspaper account, before describing her skills."Sylvia Lent Wins Deserved Ovation" Washington Post (January 30, 1933): 3. In 1927, she was the youngest musician ever featured on The Atwater Kent Hour radio program."Capital Girl Plays in Kent Hour Tonight" Washington Post (February 20, 1927): F10. She made one recording for the Victor Talking Machine Company, in 1924.Discography of American Historical Recordings, "Sylvia Lent (instrumentalist: violin)" (accessed November 19, 2017).
Personal life Lent married the San Francisco Chronicle art and music critic Alfred Frankenstein in 1935. They had two sons, John and David, and lived in San Francisco, California."Sylvia Lent, Soloist" Sausalito News (April 3, 1936): 3. via California Digital Newspapers Collection. She died from a heart attack in 1972, aged 69, in San Francisco."Violinist Sylvia Frankenstein" Washington Post (March 27, 1972): C4. Her granddaughter Karen Frankenstein is an opera singer.Karen Frankenstein, biography.
References
External links Alfred Victor Frankenstein Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.