Sadie Koninsky

Sadie was the youngest of the five children born to Harris and Mary Koninsky of Troy, New York. Both parents were of European extraction. As a child, she received classical training in violin. Her first published compositions, "The Belles of Andalusia" (a waltz) and "The Minstrel King" (a march) appeared in 1894 and 1895, respectively. In 1896, she sold "Eli Green's Cake Walk" to Joseph W. Stern, a music publisher in New York City, who published it (under her legal name) with lyrics added by a staff writer. After studying piano with Harriet Brower, she took a job at Stern's company as an arranger. Soon afterward, Sadie and her brother Maurice went into the music business. By 1899, the family business, then known as "Edw. M. Koninsky & Brothers", was publishing music, including Sadie's sequel titled "Phoebe Thompson's Cake Walk". She became the main arranger and composer at Koninsky Music. During this time, her marches appeared under the name of "Jerome Hartman". During the 1920s, Sadie launched a publishing house of her own (Goodwyn Music Publishers) and also taught music and violin. She was still teaching in 1947. She died on January 2, 1952, and was buried at B'rith Sholom Cemetery in Troy.