Ariadna Mikeshina
Russian-born pianist and composer (1900–1982)
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Ariadna Mikeshina (Russian: Ариадна Михайловна Микешина; October 17, 1900 – May 18, 1982), earlier known as Ariadna Roumanova, was a Russian-born pianist and composer.
October 17, 1900
Ariadna Mikeshina Ариадна Михайловна Микешина | |
|---|---|
 Mikeshina, from a 1920 newspaper. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ariadna Roumanova October 17, 1900 Russia |
| Died | May 18, 1982 (aged 81) United States |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Pianist, composer |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1918–1975 |
Spouses |
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Early life
Career
Roumanova was called "a brilliant pianist and a most interesting composer" when she relocated to the United States in 1918.[2] While in Los Angeles, she gave concerts,[4] sometimes featuring her own compositions, and accompanied others in recital.[5][6] She also appeared in the 1922 silent film adaptation of the Rubaiyat,[7] and taught piano students in her studio.[8]
As Ariadna Mikeshina,[9] she performed regularly in Los Angeles[10] New York City[11][12] into her seventies.[13] In 1927 the Los Angeles Times described her as a composer, having "marked talent, but not excessive originality".[14] She was described in 1975 as "calmly ignor[ing] the last 75 years of musical thought" in a recital at Carnegie Hall.[15]
Personal life
Mikeshina was married at least five times.[16] Her first husband was journalist Michel Roumanoff, who served in the Russian Provisional Government. She moved to Tokyo with Roumanoff when he was a diplomat at the Russian mission there; the couple moved to California[17] when the Kerensky government fell.[1][8] Her mother, brother and sister became refugees in Constantinople by 1921, when she divorced Roumanoff[18] and went to join them.[19] She returned to the United States with them in 1923, using the surname "Mikeshina".[20] Her fourth husband was cellist Lev Ter-Oganov and her fifth husband was trombonist Vincent O. Clarke; the Clarkes married in 1952 and divorced in 1958.[16]
After her death in 1982, at age 81, a collection of her musical manuscripts was donated to the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art.[21] Other papers of hers are in the Elena Mogilat Papers at Columbia University,[22] and in the Yeichi Nimura and Lisan Kay Nimura papers at the New York Public Library.[23]
She is buried at the Russian Orthodox Convent Novo-Diveevo in Nanuet, New York.
