Robert Mann

Robert Mann is an American violinist, composer, conductor, and teacher born on July 19, 1920 (Heifetz was 19 years old.) More than anything, he is identified with the Juilliard String Quartet, which he founded (as first violinist) in 1946. As violinists go, he actually got a late start, beginning lessons, not at age 4 or 5, but at the age of 9. When he was 18, he enrolled at Juilliard. One of his teachers there was Edouard Dethier. He made his New York debut in 1941 but was not able to begin his career – due to the war - until 1946. He devoted a great deal of his time to the quartet, from which he finally retired in 1997. Mann’s discography covers virtually the entire quartet literature. However, he has also recorded as a soloist, including the entire set of Beethoven Sonatas for violin and piano. His compositions include many chamber music works and a few orchestral pieces. All of them have been performed and most of them have been recorded. At age 68, he made his conducting debut with the Seattle Symphony. Mann has taught at Juilliard and at the Manhattan School of Music.