Mildred Wellerson papers

1895-1972 [bulk 1916-1923]

American cellist Mildred Wellerson (born 1910) was a child prodigy who had begun making public appearances by the age of four, and, under the name, Mila Wellerson, continued to perform as an adult in the United States and Europe. Mildred was born in New York City to Russian parents, both of whom were musicians. She and her twin sister, Eugenia were taught to play instruments by their mother, Mera Schkolnik, who had given up her own professional career as a cellist after marrying Max Wellerson, a pianist. Not able to find an instrument small enough for young Mildred, who had expressed an interest in playing the cello by the age of three, her parents took a large viola and inserted a peg on the end and fashioned the child-sized cello on which she was trained. Eugenia, who studied violin, often appeared with her sister in early recitals, but it was Mildred, billed as "the Miracle of the Cello" who would eventually receive the most publicity and go on to secure professional engagements as a soloist. The twin sisters made their New York debut on April 30, 1916 at the Carnegie Chamber Music Hall and performed at many venues, chiefly in New Jersey (where they were living at the time), over the next few years. On March 20, 1920, Mildred made her official solo debut at the Carnegie Chamber Music Hall and had several other important concerts later that same year. These included two well-attended recitals, one at Aeolian Hall on March 22, and the other at the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall on November 6, in which Wellerson played her own composition, Lullaby (The Cranky Baby). Wellerson also appeared as a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on November 8, 1920, under the direction of Eugene Ysaye. She toured Europe in the spring of 1922, where it was reported that she easily had passed the Paris Conservatoire examination, but was advised by admirers that she had no need to attend the prestigious academy.

By 1930, however, the Wellersons had divorced and the two girls were living with their grandmother in the Bronx. Adopting the professional name, Mila Wellerson, in 1930, she was one of the winners of a prize from the Walter W. Naumburg Musical Foundation, which sponsored her 1931 recital at Town Hall. Sporadic New York appearances followed, most notably a benefit performance for Polish Jews at Town Hall in 1935 and a 1937 Carnegie Chamber Music Hall recital with composer Boris Levenson, but the 1930s also found Mildred appearing at Radio City Music Hall (1934) and with WPA groups (1939). For reasons that are unclear, Wellerson had moved to Holland by 1952 and settled in the Hague. Although in a 1952 letter to her friends, Samuel and Rose Schwalb, Wellerson cited difficulties she faced in finding professional opportunities to play, claiming that the cello "is an instrument that is still not understood," she did continue to perform with groups such as the Philips Symphonie Orkest, and another letter in the collection indicates that she was still living in Holland in 1972. It is not known what became of Mildred Wellerson after 1972.