Squirrel Hill musician was boon to cultural community

When Sonya Goldsmith lost her piano and an extensive collection of sheet music to Hurricane Frances in 2004, she turned to CDs and DVDs to carry on her passion for classical music.

"It made her sad, but she was a very upbeat person," said Marsha Bramowitz of Squirrel Hill, her daughter-in-law.

Sonya Tureck Bramowitz Goldsmith died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007, at the Charles M. Morris Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Squirrel Hill. She was 98.

Bedridden and unable to communicate recently, her family played the music she so loved through an iPhone placed on her pillow. The selections of Bach and Beethoven brought a response, her daughter-in-law said.

"I put it right next to her ear, and I saw her index finger tapping," Bramowitz said.

An accomplished pianist, Mrs. Goldsmith loved to entertain her neighbors and visitors at her Florida retirement community. After being diagnosed with macular degeneration, she moved to Weinberg Terrace in Squirrel Hill, where she lived for seven years.

"She shared her enthusiasm for the cultural community with friends and family," Bramowitz said. "Her special skills helped a lot of others."

Mrs. Goldsmith volunteered for WQED-FM and frequently attended performances of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

She spent a lot of time in the station's record library working to categorize the collection, said WQED "Morning Show" host Jim Cunningham.

"She was just the sweetest, nicest person. She loved her sister and the music very much," he said.

Mrs. Goldsmith was a Pittsburgh Symphony subscriber for seven years, attending 14 concerts each season. She attended her final symphony performance in early November.

Born in Chicago on Oct. 14, 1909, Mrs. Goldsmith was inspired by her mother, a Russian immigrant who sang opera at a young age.

Her sister, renowned Bach pianist Rosalyn Tureck, died at age 88 in 2003. Mrs. Goldsmith felt strongly about perpetuating the memory of her sister, Bramowitz said.

Mrs. Goldsmith recently packed boxes of memorabilia about her sister and donated them to Boston University. She underwrote a day of her sister's music on WQED-FM each Dec. 14 and included Tureck's interpretation of the Goldberg Variations by Bach.

The Goldberg Variations is the last of a series of keyboard music Bach published under the title of Clavierubung, and is often regarded as the most ambitious composition written for harpsichord.

Mrs. Goldsmith dropped out of school at 15 to help provide for her family, said her son, Alan Bramowitz. Her sister, Rosalyn attended Juilliard on a scholarship.

Mrs. Goldsmith passed her love of music on to her two sons, Alan Bramowitz said.

She liked to travel and included Europe and Southeast Asia among her destinations, often scheduling her trips around concert schedules.

"She was dynamic, independent-minded," Alan Bramowitz said.

Mrs. Goldsmith is survived by her sons, Alan Bramowitz of Squirrel Hill, and Stewart Bramson of Gransonville, Md.; and four granddaughters.

Services and interment will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Ralph Schugar Funeral Chapel, Shadyside.