Saturday, June 18, 2011

Max Rostal

Max Rostal was an Austrian violinist, arranger, and teacher born (in Teschen) on July 7, 1905 (Heifetz was four years old.)  He is not particularly well-known for anything other than that he had a long teaching career and was under-rated as a violinist.  He began his violin studies at age 5.  He began playing in public from age 6 (1911.)  From the age of 8, after arriving in Vienna, one of his teachers was Arnold Rose, concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic for many years.  (When Fritz Kreisler - as a teenager - applied to the Vienna Philharmonic, it was Arnold Rose who turned him down.)  In 1920, his mother took Rostal to Berlin, along with his siblings. There, he took private lessons with Carl Flesch, when Flesch was still teaching there.  According to at least one source, Rostal was often compared to Bronislaw Huberman, Fritz Kreisler, and Eugene Ysaye. Rostal made his formal debut in Berlin on February 3, 1923. He was 17 years old. Although he played pieces by Reger, Vivaldi, Dvorak, and Paganini, the main work on the program was the violin concerto by Alexander Glazunov. In 1925, he won the Mendelssohn Scholarship.  Another obscure violinist who won this prize was Leonora Jackson in 1897.  In 1926, Rostal moved to Vienna, where he made a living mostly by giving private lessons.  In 1927, he was offered the position of concertmaster of the Oslo Philharmonic. In 1928, he returned to Berlin to become assistant to Carl Flesch at the Berlin Music Academy. From 1930 to 1933 he taught at the Advanced School for Music in Berlin.  Rostal organized the Rostal String Quartet in 1930. The quartet enjoyed great success for the duration of its existence (three years.)  In April of 1933, he was dismissed from his teaching position and subsequently (in 1934) moved to England, where he established himself, primarily as a teacher. From 1944 to 1958, he taught at the Guildhall School of Music in London and played many concerts broadcast over the BBC.  He then taught in Cologne (Germany) from 1957 to 1982.  Simultaneously, he was a violin teacher at the Conservatory in Bern, Switzerland (1958-1985.)  Several recordings of his are posted on YouTube and it is said that his few recordings are now treasured by collectors.  Many critics have also said that he had a very individual style.  He was especially praised for his interpretation of Bartok’s second concerto (as is Silvia Marcovici nowadays) and was known to champion contemporary music.  Rostal premiered Alan Bush’s violin concerto in 1949, a work which has not been heard from since.  He also edited quite a few works for violin and wrote a method book as well.  These works can easily be found on the internet.  A violin (and viola) competition (begun in Bern in 1991 and now held in Berlin) is named after him.  In 1944, Rostal was instrumental in organizing the Carl Flesch violin competition (which ran from 1945 until 1992. Raymond Cohen was the first winner of that competition.)  Among his pupils were Sergiu Luca, Norbert Brainin, Yfrah Neaman, Desmond Cecil, Edith Peinemann, and Igor Ozim.  His Guarnerius del Gesu is now owned by the Stradivari Society (Chicago, USA.)  Max Rostal died in Switzerland on August 6, 1991, at age 86.

7 comments:

  1. I recently acquired a CD featuring Max Rostal accompanied by composer-pianist Franz Reizenstein, recorded during WW2 at Decca Studios in London. I googled for info about him (Rostal) and discovered your amazingly comprehensive blog. What a find.
    I know Reizenstein came to Britain in 1934 when the Nazis came to power. I wonder if Rostal did the same?

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    1. Thank you so much for your comment. Rostal recorded a few large works but his discography is relatively small. The recording you have must be very rare indeed. Rostal and his family did leave Germany in 1934 - March of 1934 to be a little more precise.

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  2. I never heard of Rostal until today when I pulled out his 1952 recording of the Kreutzer in a collection of records I inherited 20 years ago and hadn't had time to explore until now. Wow, it's great! Pristine after all these years, with a Record Hunter stamp on the jacket that made me mourn for the days when I haunted the bargain bins of TRH and Goody's on 49th stret. Add me to the list of collectors who treasure Rostal's performances. Love your site.

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    1. Thank you for your comment and sharing this story. I too used to browse diligently through bargain bins though not at the same store - far away from there in fact. Mrs Shapiro owned the store and was very kind to me. More information on Rostal (covering the years 1934 through 1944) has been made available so this profile will be expanded in the very near future. Stay tuned.

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  3. It is my understanding that Rostal also did quite a lot of subbing in orchestras in Vienna. Is it possible he performed in Vienna in 1929? I have a photo, possibly showing Rostal in the first violins in Vienna, Konzerthaus with Strauss conducting.

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  4. It is quite possible that was indeed Max Rostal as his family was at the time spending considerable time in Vienna where his daughter (my late mother in law) was born just two years earlier. It would be great to have the photo for the family album if you would not mind contacting me

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I hope you get the photo and can confirm that it is indeed Rostal. Good luck!!

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