Career in Music-Part One
In January 1916, Harold S. Farnese arrived in the United States, evidently to stay. A native of Monaco and recently of Montreal, Canada, he was twenty-five years old, and, though he had been educated as a performer and composer of music, Farnese was then employed as a bank clerk. Moving back and forth between Los Angeles and San Francisco, he would work in that capacity (and as a bookkeeper) for several years. But in the 1920s, the decade during which he turned thirty and closed in on forty (like Jacob Clark Henneberger and H.P. Lovecraft), Farnese got off on a different path, towards music but also towards an interest in weird fiction.
In January 1916, Harold S. Farnese arrived in the United States, evidently to stay. A native of Monaco and recently of Montreal, Canada, he was twenty-five years old, and, though he had been educated as a performer and composer of music, Farnese was then employed as a bank clerk. Moving back and forth between Los Angeles and San Francisco, he would work in that capacity (and as a bookkeeper) for several years. But in the 1920s, the decade during which he turned thirty and closed in on forty (like Jacob Clark Henneberger and H.P. Lovecraft), Farnese got off on a different path, towards music but also towards an interest in weird fiction.
The earliest mention I have of Farnese in a newspaper article is his authorship of "Autumnal Gale," a piece for piano performed in 1926 in Solvang, California, by J. Ellis Smith. (1) Four years later, in December 1930, Farnese played a full program of his own music at the auditorium of Barker Brothers Furnishings in Los Angeles. (2) Then, beginning in early 1931, Farnese had fairly frequent mention in newspapers, mostly to do with his work at the Institute of Musical Education in Los Angeles.
Established in 1915 and incorporated in 1926, the Institute of Musical Education published, sold, and conducted educational courses not only for young music students but also for music teachers. Farnese was with the institute as early as December 1930 (3). First he taught piano and theory. By February 1932, he had become dean, and he remained in that position throughout the 1930s and evidently into the 1940s. Farnese also conducted the symphony orchestra at the institute.
In March 1941, Farnese placed a classified ad in the Los Angeles Times calling himself a "retired conductor" but also "graduate of [the] Paris Conservatory of Music and Dean of [the] Institute of Musical Education." He advertised his services to "several serious applicants in [a] proven condensed method of piano or harmony." When he filled out his draft card a year later, Farnese gave his place of employment as 715 South Park View, Los Angeles, the location of the Institute of Musical Education (and now, I think, the location of a strip mall). The following year, the institute was dissolved.
To be continued . . .
Established in 1915 and incorporated in 1926, the Institute of Musical Education published, sold, and conducted educational courses not only for young music students but also for music teachers. Farnese was with the institute as early as December 1930 (3). First he taught piano and theory. By February 1932, he had become dean, and he remained in that position throughout the 1930s and evidently into the 1940s. Farnese also conducted the symphony orchestra at the institute.
In March 1941, Farnese placed a classified ad in the Los Angeles Times calling himself a "retired conductor" but also "graduate of [the] Paris Conservatory of Music and Dean of [the] Institute of Musical Education." He advertised his services to "several serious applicants in [a] proven condensed method of piano or harmony." When he filled out his draft card a year later, Farnese gave his place of employment as 715 South Park View, Los Angeles, the location of the Institute of Musical Education (and now, I think, the location of a strip mall). The following year, the institute was dissolved.
To be continued . . .
Notes
(1) Prior to that, Farnese registered a copyright for a musical piece called "Consolation."
(2) As of 2012, the Barker Brothers building was owned by Downtown Properties, which also owned at the time the famous Bradbury Building.
(3) A month earlier, in November 1930, the story of a minor business scandal involving the owner of the institute, a Mr. S.D. Weaver, came out in the press. I wonder if the two events--the scandal and Farnese's employment at the Institute of Musical Education--could have been related.
Text copyright 2018, 2023 Terence E. Hanley
(2) As of 2012, the Barker Brothers building was owned by Downtown Properties, which also owned at the time the famous Bradbury Building.
(3) A month earlier, in November 1930, the story of a minor business scandal involving the owner of the institute, a Mr. S.D. Weaver, came out in the press. I wonder if the two events--the scandal and Farnese's employment at the Institute of Musical Education--could have been related.
Text copyright 2018, 2023 Terence E. Hanley
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