I hear her gentle breathing,
each tender stroke,
her bow upon the cello strings
within the shadowed night,
such inhalations of measured grace,
her fingers play in skillful whispers;
exhalations of transitory mercy.
And so, with each reach of note
we fall, into her musk filled dreams;
as she rides the shafts of moonlight
feathering down softly into the soul
touching earthen mind paths, wonder filled,
splashing upward as wishes that sparkle
brightly in silver lined fountains.
Each dream-tossed run of whispered hope
speaks of light separated in prism dances
springing as music that one sees, aloud,
embraced and gently held in open palms
cupped and arched against her gracious bosom;
strains of beauty soaring, flowing upward.
Bright night stars guide her crescendos,
her fingers as barefoot gypsy dancers stepping,
leading into the darkened wood where soft
green mosses grow upon ancient grey lichen stones.
And it is here that she stands,
sings aloud her soul into heaven’s gate
with the rising voices of wind-blown grasses,
the voice of mingled mountain streams
amid tears of brown silk and soft embraces.
Her hymnal inscribed upon my heart,
she erupts, becomes the resonating radiance
of songs fashioned from embers glowing
among rainbow melodies etching the waking sky,
kneeling to touch the richness,
her heart’s soft soil where hopeful
seeds await morning and the warming sun
as she curls into the sheets of promise rising.
~r.
All rights reserved,
© November, 2007 R. Braley
(astralshepherd)
Author notes
Elsa Hilger ~ Cellist
Born on April 13, 1904 in Trautenau
In 1935, Elsa became the first woman to be hired as a full-time member of a major symphony orchestra. She was invited to join the Philadelphia Orchestra by conductor Leopold Stokowski.
Elsa had become friends with Stokowski’s wife, pianist Olga Samaroff. One day Olga called her to say that her husband was looking for a cellist and wanted to hear Elsa play. With no time to get nervous, she picked up her instrument and took the next train into Philadelphia from the home she and her sister shared in New Jersey.
The audition with Stokowski was held in secret, but the conductor was so impressed by Elsa’s playing that he wanted to hire her. However, he explained, she had to audition before a panel from the musician’s union, a requirement at that time. The following week Elsa played solo pieces and sight read for two hours on the stage of the Academy of Music, convincing the skeptics that she was a professional and worthy of being hired.
In 1935, it was a risky venture to hire a woman, but Stokowski took a chance with Elsa and he never regretted it. But to pacify the critics, he offered her the fourth chair, the lowest ranked position in the orchestra. It took years for the new conductor, Eugene Ormandy, to promote her to third chair and finally to assistant principal cellist. The position of Principal Cellist was never hers, despite her incredible talent.
"You would have had the first chair," Ormandy once told her. "But your pants were not long enough."
"I had no idea what I was in for that first year," she remembers, "but traveling was nothing new for me. We had a lot of tours with the Philadelphia Orchestra, all the way to California and back, even to South America. Always there was a big newspaper article, usually on the front page. First woman musician in an orchestra! I think they got their money’s worth out of that."
Elsa was a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra for 35 years. During those years she also taught as many as 40 students at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. In 1935 she married Willem Ezerman, son of Hendrik Ezerman. An immigrant from the Nethe-rlands, Hendrick had been the first cellist in the Philadelphia Orchestra before World War I, and later became the director of the Philadelphia Music Conservatory.
During her tenure with the orchestra, Elsa missed only one concert — the day she gave birth to her son. On that occasion members of the orchestra allowed her chair to remain empty rather than try to take her place. Both her son, Robert Ezerman, and later her grandson, Alexander Ezerman learned to play the cello from Elsa.
In 1969, Elsa retired and moved to Lake Dunmore, Vermont, where her greatest love, besides music, was fishing. Even in retirement she continued playing and performing until she was 98. Not quite ready to lay down the instrument, she taught cello from her home at the Wake Robin Retirement Community in Shelburne, Vermont. She passed away May 17, 2005 at age 101.
~
A news clip from the past,
"Cello Redeemed" Time magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,755520,00.html
An article by Anne Gray
for The International Alliance for Women in Music
http://www.iawm.org/articles_html/gray_elsa_hilger.html
Obituary, Andante Magazine
http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25553
A contest entry
- ah, music! a magic greater than all we do here... by nanashiamai.
600 points, ended November 3, 2007, 10 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
please, let me know what YOU think
Comments
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Stunning
What a beautiful write, I'm a bit speechless. This is so beautiful and such a wonderful tribute to this outstanding musician. What a gift this woman has. Your imagery as well as the flow of your poem is absolutely brilliant. Thank you for sharing with me. I'm glad you got the gold, you so deserved it.
Blessings
Kelle Marie,
stavykm
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The greatest thing (ok one of the greatest thing) is that youa re forever teaching me through your poems (and your friendship and love) this is awesome...i never knew...the way you threaded all the musical metaphors is a great tribute to this lady...thanks for the inspiration and all of YOU to all of ME! ongrats on the Gold, well deserved.....
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a beautifully composed and very eloquent tribute... a wonderful piece - I am in awe of both the poetry about the person and the musician herself... quite brilliant!
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A very intelligent piece
with an interesting historical background. Good job telling a story that ought to be repeated more often. Have just been watching some BBC period piece classics "North and South" and "Middlemarch" among others... learning quite about mostly forgotten English authors whose writings shoud be reviewed and remembered. Eliazbeth Gaskell and George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) have personal stories which should also be reviewed and remembered. Good job and congrats on the shinier cup.
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congrats on the trophy.
definitely deserving of it. beautiful piece and she sounds like an amazing woman. -
wow...this woman sounds like she was an amazing person. i am always intrigued by powerful women in history who break the mold and move into places where they would previously not been accepted. i am in awe.
this is a lovely write. the best of luck to you.
~pasha -
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thank you so much for allowing a space to honor her and thank you for the trophy.
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Great poem! I love the your use of methapors.
It seems that a great song will always appear into our heart.
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thank you, a great song and a great artist who can carry the greatness beyond will always lift our souls and our hearts.
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