Daisy Kennedy

Daisy Fowler Kennedy was born in Burra, South Australia, in 1893 and went to Vienna as a teenager to study with the legendary Czech teacher Otakar Ševčík. After her debut in Vienna and London at the age of 18, she became extremely popular with the public and was considered one of the leading violinists of her time. In the years before and after the First World War, she performed throughout Europe, the United States, Russia, and the Middle East. The New York Tribune described her attractive appearance as “a face as if painted by Burne-Jones, delicate features peeking out from fluffy brown hair,” and the New York Times praised her artistic achievements as “a player of great power, dominance, and determination.” Kennedy was a prominent figure in the concert halls of Great Britain and frequently performed with leading British conductors such as Hamilton Harty, Malcolm Sargent, Henry Wood, and Landon Ronald. In 1916, she was signed by the British Columbia label and recorded numerous discs during the acoustic recording era. Her legacy includes the first complete recording of Robert Schumann’s “Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor,” as well as sonata movements by Johannes Brahms and Edvard Grieg. She also recorded numerous short works by her musician colleagues Nándor Zsolt, Sydney Rosenbloom, Hilarion Kosloff, and Alfred Mistowski. Although she recorded mainly for Columbia, she also released several discs for the Duophone label in 1926. All her published recordings, including several previously unreleased pieces, are included in this comprehensive 2-CD box set. At the end of the 1920s, Kennedy stopped performing solo concerts and retired in 1937. Occasionally, however, she performed as a guest with the Salon Orchestra at the Regent Palace Hotel in London, where she played light music. She spent her final years in London, where she died in 1981. After her death, her ashes were returned to Australia and scattered in the Adelaide Hills.