Otto Sutro

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Otto Sutro
Otto Sutro
Born1833
DiedJanuary 19, 1896 (age 63)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationMusician
SpouseArianna Handy
ChildrenRose and Ottilie Sutro
FamilyAdolph Sutro (brother)
Alexander Hamilton Handy (father-in-law)
Florence Sutro (sister-in-law)

Otto Sutro (1833 – January 19, 1896) was a German-born American organist, conductor, minor composer, publisher and music store owner, and a leading figure in the musical life of Baltimore, Maryland.

Biography[edit]

Sutro was born to a Jewish family in Aachen, Germany. He has six brothers and three sisters.[1] His brother Adolph Sutro became the first Jewish Mayor of San Francisco[1][2] and built the Sutro Baths.[3] His brother Theodore Sutro, husband of Florence Sutro, was seminal in the building and financing the Sutro Tunnel first proposed by his brother Adolph.[4][1] He studied the organ with Nicolas Lemmens in Brussels and moved to the United States in 1851, undertaking further studies at the Peabody Institute. He hosted a musical appreciation society known as the Wednesday Club. With fellow alum Fritz Finke, Sutro helped found the Oratorio Society of Baltimore, and became its main conductor.

Personal life[edit]

He married Arianna Handy, a pianist, singer, and daughter of a former chief justice of Mississippi, Alexander Hamilton Handy.[5][6] They had two daughters,[1] Rose and Ottilie Sutro, who were the first recognised piano-duo team. Sutro sat for portrait artist David Dalhoff Neal in 1889 (see image). Rapheal Tuck & Son created a litho art card Character Otto Sutro.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Death of Otto Sutro". San Francisco Call. January 20, 1896.
  2. ^ Eskenazi, Joe (May 4, 2018). "Name of anti-Chinese SF Jew may be stripped from playground". Jewish News of Northern California.
  3. ^ "Sutro Baths History". National Park Service. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Smith, Grant Horace; Tingley, Joseph V. (July 21, 1998). The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850-1997. University of Nevada Press. pp. 107–115. ISBN 9781888035049.
  5. ^ Miller, Donald G. (1990). The Scent of Eternity. Mercer University Press. p. 247. ISBN 9780865543324.
  6. ^ Lloyd, James B. (1981). Lives of Mississippi Authors, 1817-1967. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781617034183. Retrieved May 5, 2018.