Mana Zucca

Mana-Zucca (25 December 1885 – 8 March 1981) was an American actress, singer, pianist and composer born in New York City.

Life

Mana-Zucca was born Augusta Zuckerman in New York City on December 25, 1885. She was a child prodigy who began composing at an early age. At the age of eight, she performed as piano soloist in the Beethoven Piano Concerto #1 with the New York Symphony Orchestra. In 1914 she made her stage debut with a soprano role in Franz Lehár's "Countess of Luxembourg." She studied piano under Ferruccio Busoni, Leopold Godowsky and Alexander Lambert, and composition under Hermann Spielter.[1]

Zucca married Irwin Cassel (d. 1971) and had one child in 1925. Irwin Cassel wrote the words for a number of Zucca's songs, including the most popular "I Love Life." For a time, Zucca operated a concert hall which featured guest soloists including Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, Jan Peerce and Jose Iturbi. Zucca died in Miami on March 8, 1981, and her papers including copies significantly all of her compositions are housed at Florida International University.[2]

Works

Mana-Zucca composed over 1,000 works, including opera, orchestral works, ballet, chamber music and solo works, including a violin concerto for the American violinist Joan Field, but is best known through popular songs.[3]

References

  1. ^ Ammer, Christine (2001). Unsung: a history of women in American music. http://books.google.com/books?id=O_GRCkxiXVwC&pg=PA115&dq=Augusta+Zuckerman&hl=en&ei=IorcTJqPIcL88AbsssjVBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Augusta%20Zuckerman&f=false. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  2. ^ http://specialcollections.fiu.edu/manazucca/index.html
  3. ^ "Mana-Zucca Cassel Dead at 89; Composed the Song "I Love Life"". New York Times. 11 March 1981. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/11/obituaries/mana-zucca-cassel-dead-at-89-composed-the-song-i-love-life.html.