Ania Dorfmann Scrapbooks

The Ania Dorfmann Scrapbooks Collection at IPAM houses three microfilm reels containing Dorfmann’s personal scrapbooks. Ania Dorfmann was a Russian-American pianist and teacher, known for her work with Arturo Toscanini and her extended teaching career at Juilliard. Dorfmann was born in 1899 in what is now Ukraine, giving her first concert at the age of 11. Dorfmann concertized throughout Europe for many years before debuting at Town Hall in New York... in 1936. She was the first female pianist to be engaged as a soloist by Arturo Toscanini, and together they performed all of the Beethoven Concertos and his Choral Fantasy. Dorfmann was also active in Hollywood, working with Barbara Stanwyck on her film “The Other Love.” Dorfmann played for the soundtrack and coached Stanwyck so that her actions at the keyboard would match the recorded sound.

Dorfmann joined the faculty of the Juilliard School in 1956, and remained there for most of her life. She taught notable students such as Solveig Funseth, Lev Natochenny, Alexander Peskanov, Minuetta Kessler, Marian Migdal, Roman Markowicz, and Robert Shannon. Dorfmann retired in 1983, and died on 4/21/1984, at the age of 84.