Olga Von Till (March 27, 1897 – February 6, 1996) was an American classical pianist and piano teacher.[1]

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Biography

Till was born in the borough of Brooklyn, New York in 1897. As a teenager she worked as a pianist accompanying silent films. At age 17, before World War I broke out, she travelled to Budapest, Hungary to study with Béla Bartók[1][2] at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Bartok encouraged Till's compositional skills, an indication that he was confident in her talent.[3] While there she also studied under Zoltán Kodály[4] and Ernő Dohnányi.[1][5]

Von Till returned to the US after the war[6] and taught piano in New Brunswick, New Jersey.[7][8] Her pupils included Bill Evans,[1] Barry Miles[9][5] and Larry Young.[4][2]

When Von Till was studying in Budapest, Bartok, Kodály, and Dohnányi were experimenting with harmonies based on fourths and using pentatonic melodic structures.[1] Von Till carried their influence throughout her life as a musician and teacher. That influence, particularly from Kodály, can be heard in Larry Young's compositions.[10][1] The common musical sensibilities of Larry Young and Bill Evans were influenced by Von Till with respect to their approaches to lyricism and harmonic expansions [1] particularly with respect to their chords built on fourths.[10] Through Evans and Young, Von Till had influence on Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Tony Williams, John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix, Woody Shaw, Carlos Santana, and Jack Bruce.[1]

Von Till died on February 6, 1996 and is buried in Van Liew Cemetery in North Brunswick, New Jersey.[11]

Personal life

While living in Hungary, Von Till met Hugó Kormos and married him in 1919. She later married violinist, Sam Carmell.

Von Till was the great aunt of musician/songwriter Steve Von Till of Neurosis, singer, actress Katherine Von Till, historian Louis S. Warren and documentary filmmaker Richard O'Regan.[12]

References