Julia Rivé-King
Teacher - Pianist - Composer
Julia Rivé-King (1854-1937) was an American pianist, teacher, and composer. The more than 4,000 concerts and recitals she gave at the end of the 19th Century brought the music of Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, and others to audiences across the country. In the Midwest, where she performed extensively, this music was often heard for the first time. She frequently toured with orchestras, often performing in more than one city on a single Saturday. She was the first American pianist to perform the compositions of others from memory, following in the footsteps of Clara Schumann a generation earlier. Like her contemporaries at home and abroad, she was expected to perform her own compositions and transcriptions on her recitals. While there is some scholarly debate about the authenticity of the works published under her name, there is substantial evidence to indicate that she did compose many, if not all, of them. While a few of these compositions use original melodies (March of the Goblins is a good example), most of them are virtuosic arrangements or transcriptions of the works of others, most famously her concert paraphrase on Bizet’s Carmen.
Julia Rivé-King. Chopin’s Introduction and Variations, Op. 2 (La ci darem la mano). St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878 [inside cover advertisement].
Composer/Arranger – Piano Solo
Andante and Allegro aus Mendelssohn’s Op. 64. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Ballade and Polonaise de Concert – Vieuxtemps, Op. 38. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Bubbling Spring. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Carmen – Paraphrase de Concert. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Chopin’s Introduction and Variations, Op. 2 (La ci darem la mano). St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Coeur de Lion March. San Francisco: A.M. Benham, 1883.
Fragrant Breezes. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1883.
Gems of Scotland. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Geschichte aus dem Wiener-Wald, Op. 325 (Tales from the Vienna Woods – Walzer (Strauss)) – Paraphrase de Concert. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1881.
Hand in Hand. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Home, Sweet Home – Grand Paraphrase de Concert. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1883.
Impromptu Mazurka. Boston: G. D. Russell, 1879.
Mazurka des Grâces. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Nearer My God to Thee – Grand Paraphrase de Concert. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1884.
Old Hundred Paraphrase. St. Louis: Kunkel, Brothers, 1879.
On Blooming Meadows. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Pensées Dansantes (Thoughts of the Dance). St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Polonaise Héroïque. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Popular Sketches. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Prelude and Fugue. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Schilflieder (Song of the Rushes). St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1885.
Serenata und Trio für den Concert Vortag eingerichtet. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1885.
Wiener Bonbons: Valse de Johann Strauss, Op. 307: Paraphrase de Concert. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1903.
Composer/Arranger – Piano Duet
March of the Goblins [Marche Characteristique]. St. Louis: [Kunkel Brothers], 1879.
On Blooming Meadows – Concert Walz. [St. Louis]: Kunkel Brothers, n.d.
Polonaise héroïque Morceau de Concert. [St. Louis]: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Pensées dansantes (Thoughts of the Dance) - Valse Brillante. [St. Louis]: Kunkel Brothers, 1879.
Editor – Piano Solo
Liszt, Franz. March from Tannhäuser: Einzug der Gäste auf Wartburg. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1883.
Liszt, Franz. Liszt’s Rhapsodie Hongroise No. 2. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Liszt, Franz. Spinner-Lied (Spinning Song) – Paraphrase de Concert (Liszt) aus “Der fliegende Holländer” von R. Wagner. St. Louis: Kunkel Brothers, 1881.
Strauss, Johann. Tausig’s Morning Journals: Waltz (Strauss). St. Louis, Kunkel Brothers, 1878.
Liszt, Franz. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19. [Unpublished Manuscript]. Reprinted by Musica Obscura, 1971.
Scarlatti, Domenico. Concert Sonate in A Major. St. Louis, Kunkel Brothers, 1879.