This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 19, 2009 - When Anka Chasovnicarova Filcoff was 10, her parents, seeking a better life for their daughter, sent her to live in America with her aunt and uncle, Ana and Angelo Castellani. It was 1920 when Anka arrived in Granite City from Sophia, Bulgaria, not only the largest city in that country, but the nation's capital. She had left behind almost everything she knew; she brought her culture and her extraordinary talents with her.
Music was one of her talents and it quickly became her sustaining force. For almost nine decades, Mrs. Filcoff played the violin; she was still doing so until shortly before her death at the age of 98.
Mrs. Filcoff died March 5 of heart and kidney failure at Anderson Hospital in Maryville. Her services were private.
"My mom was just dedicated; she never ever gave up her music," said her only son, retired Circuit Judge George Filcoff Jr. "Her hands were gnarled from arthritis, but she'd dip them in hot water so she could continue to play."
Shortly after arriving here, Mrs. Filcoff began studying under Selma Vogelsang, preparing to become a concert violinist. It was what her parents wanted, especially her mother, an actress and singer with a photographic memory who traveled throughout Europe with an opera theater troupe.
Mrs. Filcoff was happy to learn and took her music seriously. She honed her craft through years of study and continued to practice hours each day throughout her life.
"I was probably the most privileged kid in America," George Filcoff said. "I'm the only child in America who could listen to Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, eight to 10 hours a day."
When she wasn't practicing, Mrs. Filcoff was performing: in opera houses, at churches, for community groups, at high schools and colleges.
For six or seven years, she shared many such engagements with former Webster University President Leigh Gerdine, who was then chair of Washington University's music department. Gerdine played piano.
"He was the one who was known, but my mother often got much of the attention," Filcoff recalled.
Mrs. Filcoff was also a substitute violinist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra throughout the years and performed at The Muny. For more than a decade during her 60s and into her 70s, Mrs. Filcoff played with the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, often at the Kiel Opera House.
For many years, she belonged to the St. Louis Morning Etude Club, which Mrs. Filcoff said had been supporting women longer than women had had the vote. The Etude Club required an annual two-hour solo presentation by its members and each person's program was printed in advance.
"One year, my mom's program simply said, 'Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!'," Filcoff said. "She had gotten some Scott Joplin music and did her own scoring. Her performance was five Scott Joplin songs. She was often out of sync with the usual classical fare but her audiences loved it."
Her fellow Etude Music Club members also enjoyed her playing.
"She was a fine violinist who loved to play and played quite late in her life," said Carole Langley, a club member. "She always seemed to enjoy that and we loved hearing her. She was a very special person devoted to the Morning Etude and to music."
Like many talented musicians, Mrs. Filcoff's skill was not limited to one instrument or even one art. She was also a gifted pianist and painter.
Upstairs in her house, said her son as he carefully sorted through his mother's life of music and art, are two drafting tables for painting with canvases pinned to the corners to form a custom easel. He recalled that she only used the finest materials to paint, including camel-hair brushes that, when he was old enough, he was dispatched to purchase.
She painted scenery, still life and portraits, including a 20 x 24 self-portrait. But her painting wasn't merely a hobby. During the years of World War II, she supplemented the family's income by selling some paintings for as much as $500-$600 each, a princely sum in the 1940s.
Her formal artistic training came from Washington University School of Fine Arts, where she met her future husband, George Filcoff, who graduated from Washington University's school of engineering and became chief engineer at Union Electric (now Ameren).
Mrs. Filcoff encouraged young people to pursue music careers by not only performing at schools, but by frequently serving as a college music scholarship judge throughout the region. She promoted music widely by being an active member of several organizations, including the Etude Club, the Musical Research Club and the National Federation of Music Clubs. She also belonged to First Presbyterian Church in Granite City, New Hope Chapter 432, Order of the Eastern Star for more than 50 years, and Ladies Coterie.
"Music was my mother's life," Filcoff said. "While she was in the hospital, she asked for her scores - some weighed six to eight pounds - all for string instruments. She'd say, 'Give me a pen, give me a pen, there's a wrong note in here.' She knew the note was wrong, she said, because she could hear it in her head."
Mrs. Filcoff was preceded in death by her husband, George Filcoff Sr., her parents, Evanka and Christo Chasovnicarova, and her aunt and uncle.
In addition to her son, she is survived by her brother, Dr. Dimiter (Tim) Chasovnicarova of Sophia, Bulgaria; her grandchildren, Derek Filcoff of St. Louis, Kim Detheridge of Bradenton, Fla., Krista Allen of Troy, Ill., and Kitty Verville of Sarasota, Fla., along with six great-grandchildren.
Memorials to the American Heart Association would be appreciated.
Gloria Ross is the head of Okara Communications and the storywriter for AfterWords, an obituary-writing and production service.