Ida Branth

Branth was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in New York City, the daughter of John Herman Branth and Therese Leineweber Branth. Her father was a physician and violinist born in Germany.^[1] Her parents divorced in 1886.^[2]

She received a gold medal when she graduated from high school in 1889.^[3] She studied violin at the Metropolitan College of Music,^[4] and with Czech violinist Karel Halíř in Berlin.^[5]

Branth performed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.^[6] She played at New York's Aeolian Hall and Carnegie Hall,^[7] toured in Europe, and taught violin. She toured in the United States with cellist Flavia Van den Hende and pianist Hilda Newman^[8] as the New York Ladies' Trio in 1900.^[9][10] She was a member of the Women's String Orchestra.^[11][12] "Her tone is clear and full and her execution remarkably facile," reported the Brooklyn Eagle in 1900.^[6] The Brooklyn Times-Union agreed, noting in 1900 that Branth "plays the violin gracefully, with good technique, ease of execution, clearness of tone, and style."^[13]

In 1902, Branth was head of the Branth Ladies' Quartette.^[14] In 1903, she was on the program of a concert in Brooklyn.^[15] In 1916 she played for a meeting of the Universal League, with her husband singing on the same program.^[16]

Branth was an enthusiastic bicyclist, rode long distances with her father,^[17] and wrote about riding in skirts.^[18] She was the only woman in New York known to have completed a century ride in 1894.^[19]

• "Bloomers or Skirts?" (1895)^[18]

In 1902 Branth married tenor and landscape artist Frederick S. Burgy. They had a daughter, Florence.^[20]