Cora Stell Andersen, known as Cora Andersen, was an international concert pianist who toured during the 1920s with Silvio Scionti performing piano duos.
12 Facts About Stell Andersen
1.
2.
Cora Stell Andersen was born in Linn Grove, Iowa, and was of Norwegian descent.
3.
Stell Andersen was known as Cora Andersen until 1918, when she began using her middle name instead.
4.
Stell Andersen began to study the piano early and eventually went to Chicago to study with Silvio Scionti at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
5.
Shortly thereafter, Andersen went on a concert tour with Scionti playing music for two pianos.
6.
In 1922, Stell Andersen made her solo debut in New York at Carnegie Hall.
7.
Stell Andersen toured the United States and Europe throughout the 1930s and 1940s, playing in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Belgium.
8.
Stell Andersen went on to perform for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
9.
Stell Andersen's repertoire was mostly classical and Romantic, including such composers as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saens, and Ives.
10.
Stell Andersen was known for bringing dignity and flawless execution to her playing, but some critics found her style lacking in excitement and her tempi too free.
11.
Stell Andersen continued touring into the 1960s and died in 1989.
12.
In 1936, Stell Andersen saw an exhibition of paintings by Harriet Blackstone at the Dudensing Gallery in New York and commissioned Blackstone to paint her portrait.