Maurice Hasson

Maurice Hasson is a French violinist and teacher born on July 6, 1934.  He is recognized as a long-time violin professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.  He is also known for having spent thirteen years of his music career in Venezuela (1960-1973), contributing greatly to that country’s cultural life.  He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1950.  He was 16 years old.  I do not know who his teachers were before his conservatory days.  After graduation, he studied privately with Polish violinist Henryk Szeryng.  In Venezuela, he taught at the University of the Andes, after which he relocated his career to England.  Though he has dedicated a great deal of time to teaching, he has also been very busy concertizing around the globe since the early 1960s.  He owned and played a 1727 Stradivarius for quite some time (the Halphen Strad, also known as the Benvenuti Strad) but now plays a Domenico Montagnana and a Guadagnini, although I don’t know the years of his current instruments.  It is said he also owns several other fine violins.  The 1727 Strad is now being played (though not owned) by Eckhard Seifert, a violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic.  Hasson made his American debut on January 19, 1978, playing Paganini's first concerto (in D) with the Cleveland Orchestra.  Lorin Maazel was on the podium.  Hasson has been teaching at the Royal Academy of Music since 1986.  He has approximately 20 CDs to his credit and has recorded most of the standard repertoire for various labels, including EMI, Philips, and Pickwick.  He is also known for master-classes all over the world.  Here is a fascinating YouTube video of him playing “Summer” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in 1987.  It is very interesting and very rare – apart from the brilliant performance – in that Yehudi Menuhin is the conductor.  You can marvel at how unobtrusive Menuhin was as a conductor.  The governments of France and Venezuela have bestowed several honors on Hasson in recognition of his service to their countries.  His best-known pupil is probably brilliant Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma.  Among his other pupils are Cassandra Hamilton, Catherine Geach, Gill Austin, Diana Yukawa, Amy Yuan, Marisol Lee, Tereza Privratska, Daniel Pioro, Laurence Kempton, Luis Cuevas, Mark Wilson, Nathaniel Anderson, Patrick Sabberton, Pierre Bensaid, Giovanni Guzzo, Remus Azoitei, and Eloisa-Fleur Thom.