Arma Senkrah

Harkness was born in Williamson, New York, and she showed prodigious musical talents very early in life.

From 1873 to 1875 she studied instead with Arno Hilf in Leipzig; during this time she met Otto von Bismarck who was enamored of her playing.

Harkness went to Bremen in early 1876 and met Henryk Wieniawski, who encouraged her to continue her studies, so she and her mother went to Paris in hopes of finding more instruction.

When he heard her play, he instantly arranged for her to be examined and interviewed for entrance to the Conservatoire de Paris for the term that had just begun three days prior.

Performances included: In 1884 she became part of the circle around Franz Liszt in the last year of his life and settled in Weimar.

She was appointed chamber virtuoso to the court of the Grand Duke of Saxony Charles Alexander, where Karl Halir was the orchestra's concertmaster.

[15] One of her last concerts was in Frankfurt, on 17 February 1888, where she played the G minor Violin Concerto by Max Bruch.

[16] Various reasons for suicide have been put forth, including a brain disorder, or according to Amy Fay, driven to despair over her husband's infidelities,[17][18][16] or according to sensational newspaper articles driven to despair by her over-controlling husband who refused to allow her to perform, or even to "anonymous letters".

[19] Maud Powell hinted in a widely published 1908 article that Harkness' hatred for the violin caused her death.

She too became a violinist, most notably forming a duo and trio with her sisters and playing on the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit from 1908-1912.

[26][27][28][29]Silke Wenzel, "Arma Senkrah," MUGI—Musik und Gender im Internet, accessed 23.12.2022 https://mugi.hfmt-hamburg.de/receive/mugi_person_00000764