Alma Roseˊ

Alma Roseˊ (Alma Maria Rose´) was an Austrian violinist and conductor born (in Vienna) on November 3, 1906 (Heifetz was 5 years old and would live an additional 81.) She is remembered for having (for ten months) conducted the world’s, and possibly history’s, most notorious orchestra – the all-female orchestra which played for inmates at the Auschwitz-Birkenau prisoners’ camp (in Poland, also known as Auschwitz II – there were three Auschwitz camps, Birkenau being the largest) during the final days of World War Two. It is important to point out at this juncture that Alma Rose´ was Jewish, although both parents were converts and were well-assimilated into Viennese Christian society, as she was. Her father was long-time Vienna Philharmonic concertmaster Arnold Rose´ (one and the same who turned Fritz Kreisler down after Kreisler’s audition to join the orchestra. He was highly respected and esteemed all over Europe.) Her uncle was composer-conductor Gustav Mahler, on her mother’s side. She may even have been named after Mahler’s wife, Alma Mahler. She was also at one time married (1930-1935) to brilliant Czech violinist Vasa Prihoda (1900-1960.) Books have been written (by Fania Fenelon and Richard Newman) and films produced about her (one of them using an Arthur Miller script) which go into great detail concerning her activities during her tenure at Auschwitz-Birkenau, if one can call it that. It is generally agreed that her talent was modest but that she had great ambition. She studied at the Vienna Conservatory and at the Vienna State Academy. Her debut came in 1926, playing the Bach double concerto alongside her father – that in itself is indicative of her abilities. (They recorded the concerto two years later and – amazingly - an audio version is available on YouTube, here. If you choose to listen to it, be prepared to hear a bombastic cadenza, some odd-sounding glissandi, and a style of playing which is very much from a long, long time ago. Don’t say I did not warn you.) She never became a full-fledged solo artist or an acclaimed concert violinist. However, in 1932, she formed an all-female orchestra called The Vienna Waltzing Girls (or The Waltzing Girls of Vienna) and enjoyed great success with the highly-accomplished ensemble, which toured all over Europe. It was a wonderful life – while it lasted. The orchestra quickly disbanded after the German annexation of Austria in March of 1938. Shortly thereafter, a few months before the outbreak of World War Two (September of 1939), with the help of several friends, including Bruno Walter, Carl Flesch, and Adrian Boult, she and her father managed to make their way to London. Since Arnold Rose’s pension had been terminated by the Nazis, they experienced acute financial difficulties. In England, they played where they could. At this point, Arnold Rose´ was 76 years old. Alma returned to Holland to play and earn money for expenses back in London. She considered it safe to do so and she had many engagements. However, after the German invasion of the Netherlands in May of 1940, she could no longer perform openly and went into hiding for many months, eventually making her way to France, from where she hoped to get away to safety. In late 1942, she tried to transfer herself to (neutral) Switzerland but was betrayed to the Gestapo and captured before she could do so. She was then interned at Drancy (near Paris.) A few months later, in July 1943, she was sent from Drancy to Auschwitz. When she arrived, she was not immediately recognized. She was placed in a block from which inmates were taken for medical research purposes - experiments. In the nick of time, someone identified her and she was then engaged as a musician for a rag tag orchestra which then already existed at the camp. Among them were at least three professional musicians. The camp commander was a serious music lover. Eventually, Rose´ took over the duties of a full-fledged conductor and arranger and built it up to include 45 members, much larger than a typical chamber orchestra. She would also occasionally play violin solos with the orchestra.  It is generally agreed that she treated the players quite harshly.  On or about April 2, 1944, Rose´ attended a birthday party for one of the camp’s block leaders where, it has been said, she ate some bad meat. As soon as she arrived back at her private quarters, she exhibited symptoms of food poisoning. She was taken to the camp infirmary and, despite treatment, died two days later – April 4, 1944. She was 37 years old. During her tenure, none of the orchestra members died – whether from natural or other causes. Her 1757 Guadagnini violin – which she had entrusted to some friends in Europe – made its way to London in 1945 or 1946 and was soon sold to Felix Eyle, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at the time. A usually reliable source has it that Zakhar Bron (Russian violin pedagogue) now owns it.

Joseph Lambert Massart

Joseph Lambert Massart was a Belgian violinist and teacher born (in Liege) on July 19, 1811 (Paganini was 29 years old and would live another 29.)  He performed as a soloist only infrequently and devoted most of his time to teaching. As a young student, because he was not admitted to the Paris Conservatory (because he was a foreigner), he took private lessons with Rodolphe Kreutzer.  Luigi Cherubini (the Italian composer) was the Conservatory Director at the time. Paradoxically, at age 32, he was accepted as a Professor at the same Conservatory (1843.)  He then taught there for 47 years.  Massart performed Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata with none other than Franz Liszt – his teacher had previously rejected it as unintelligible.  Among Massart’s students were legendary violinists Isidor Lotto, Fritz Kreisler, Franz Reis, Eugene Ysaye, Pablo Sarasate, Julius Conus, Teresina Tua, Arma Senkrah, and Henryk Wieniawski.  When one teaches for forty seven years, one is bound to find at least a few good students.  Among this group, Pablo Sarasate and Fritz Kreisler are the only ones who produced no extraordinary students although, to be fair, Kreisler did teach Samuel Dushkin, the violinist who premiered Stravinsky's violin concerto.  Massart has been credited with the origination of the systematic vibrato.  This is his claim to fame, since he is not among the trio of violinists who earlier established the violin method taught at the Paris Conservatory – Rode, Baillot, and Kreutzer.  It has been conjectured that Kreisler championed such a system, though it was widely criticized at the time, being considered a little too emotive and perhaps even vulgar.  Massart was also a chamber music player and gave many concerts with his wife (Louise Aglae Marson), who was a pianist.  He died in Paris on February 13, 1892, at age 80.  Other than in connection with his famous pupils, his name is infrequently mentioned nowadays.

Johanna Martzy

Johanna Martzy was a Hungarian violinist born on October 26, 1924 (Heifetz was 23 years old.)  She is remembered for her short career.  Martzy began studying violin at age six.  Soon afterward she started lessons with Jeno Hubay at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and continued with him until 1937.  By age 13 she was already touring Hungary and Romania.  Her debut, playing the Tchaikovsky concerto, took place in 1943 with Mengelberg conducting the Budapest Philharmonic.  In October of 1947, she won first prize in a competition in Geneva, Switzerland.  In February of 1949 she made her debut in Amsterdam (again with the Tchaikovsky concerto), accompanied by the orchestra of the Concertgebouw.  Once established, Martzy enjoyed great success throughout Europe.  Her first appearance in England was in 1953.  Her New York City debut, with the New York Philharmonic, came in November 1957 playing Bach’s E Major concerto, an unusual work with which to debut.  In December 1958, she played the Mendelssohn concerto with this same orchestra with Bernstein at the podium.  Bernstein had just been appointed chief conductor of the Philharmonic.  She continued touring worldwide until 1976 though by 1969 she had effectively slipped from the limelight.  Some say it was because she had by then married a very rich man – Daniel Tschudi – and lacked any financial incentive to stay active.  She did comparatively little recording – Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Dvorak, Bartok, Stravinsky - though many tapes of radio broadcasts still exist.  Rumors have circulated that she chose to give up her recording career rather than give in to Walter Legge (EMI’s Director.)  Martzy mostly played a Carlo Bergonzi violin (1733) though she also owned a 1733 Stradivari (previously owned by Kreisler and Huberman) and a Peter Guarnerius - Carl Flesch’s old violin.  She died in Switzerland, her death virtually unnoticed, on August 13, 1979, at age 54. 

Fritz Kreisler

Friedrich (Fritz) Kreisler was an Austrian violinist and composer born on February 2, 1875 - it is assumed that Jascha Heifetz was born on the same day in February in 1901. Kreisler is rememberd for his warm sound, his singing style of playing, and for the many violin pieces he composed which became a permanent part of the violin repertory. As were Tartini, Vivaldi, Paganini, Spohr, Wieniawski, and Sarasate, he was a violinist whose compositions were not quickly forgotten. His attention was never spent on a showy display of brilliant technique. It has been said that he practiced sparingly or not at all. His early studies were at the Vienna Conservatory under Jacob Dont and Joseph Hellmesberger (Jr.), among many others. He also studied with Joseph Lambert Massart, from whom he almost certainly picked up a new thing for violinists (back then) called the continuous vibrato. On November 10, 1888, he made his U.S. debut (age 12) in New York City. He then toured the U.S. for a brief time. As a teenager, he tried joining the Vienna Philharmonic but was not accepted. Shortly thereafter, he gave music up entirely in order to study medicine. Then, in 1899, he took up the violin again and did not stop concertizing until about 1950. In 1910, he commissioned Edward Elgar's violin concerto which he subsequently premiered, though he never recorded the work. Between 1924 and 1938 he lived in Berlin (despite being semi-Jewish) then in France (until 1939.) He lived in the U.S. from 1940 until his death on January 29, 1962, at (almost) age 87. Several recordings of his are posted on YouTube, including an arrangement of the first Paganini Concerto in D, re-orchestrated and re-harmonized.

Samuel Dushkin

Samuel Dushkin was a Polish (some would say American) violinist born on December 13, 1891 (Stravinsky was 9 years old.) He is remembered as the violinist who premiered the Stravinsky violin concerto and who collaborated with this Russian composer in nearly all of his works for violin. He was never considered a virtuoso violinist but rather a very respectable musician. A not-too-flattering review of his New York Town Hall recital of February 9, 1943 is fairly typical. He initially studied at the Paris Conservatory and later with Leopold Auer and Fritz Kreisler. His European debut took place in 1918. He also premiered Prokofiev's Sonata for Two Violins (with Robert Soetens) in 1932. The famous Stravinsky violin concerto premiere was given on October 23, 1931 with the Berlin Radio Orchestra with Stravinsky himself conducting. The premiere was also broadcast. Dushkin premiered the work in the U.S. as well. Later on, with Stravinsky on the podium, he was the first to record the work. The well-known Dushkin Stradivarius (1701) is named after him, although he also owned one other Strad, a Guarnerius, and a Guadagnini. His widow (Louise) was the founder of the Harlem School of the Arts. (She died in Santa Fe, New Mexico.) Dushkin died on June 24, 1976, in obscurity, at age 84.

Josef Hellmesberger

Josef Hellmesberger (Sr.) was an Austrian violinist, conductor, composer, and teacher born on November 23, 1828 (Paganini was 46 years old.) He is related to four other famous Viennese musicians. (His son, Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. taught Leopold Auer and Fritz Kreisler.) Hellmesberger actually learned violin from his father (Georg Hellmesberger Sr.) from childhood until he graduated from the Vienna Conservatory, where his father was violin professor. In 1849, he founded the Hellmesberger Quartet. In 1851, he became director of the Vienna Conservatory, where he continued until his death. In 1860, he was appointed concertmaster of the Court Opera Orchestra. Hellmesberger died on October 24, 1893, at age 64.

William Reed

William Reed (William Henry Reed) was an English violinist, teacher, composer, and conductor born on July 29, 1876 (Brahms was 43 years old.) Though he was concertmaster of the London Symphony for 23 years (1912-1935) and had a very busy career as a violinist, he is now best remembered as Edward Elgar’s biographer (1936.) Reed studied under Emile Sauret at the Royal Academy of Music (London.) In 1904, Reed was one of the founding members of the London Symphony. By 1910, he was assisting Elgar with technical problems in his violin concerto. Reed even played the concerto in a public performance of the work (off Broadway, so to speak) on September 4, 1910. The concerto was later dedicated to Fritz Kreisler, who premiered it on November 10, 1910 (presumably with the Royal Philharmonic in London.) Reed taught violin at the Royal College of Music for many years, where one of his pupils was the mother (Jean Hermione Johnstone) of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the popular music composer. Reed composed works large and small, most notably a violin concerto and a viola concerto which are now never performed. Reed died in Scotland on July 2, 1942, at age 66.

Nico Richter

Nico Richter was a Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor born on this day (December 2) in 1915. He began his violin studies at age 5, though I’m not sure about that – it could have been age 4. He entered medical school in Amsterdam and graduated in 1941, though he always worked hard at composition and violin. He was 26 years old.  Fritz Kreisler was another violinist who studied Medicine. Between 1929 and 1934, Richter composed many works – most of them short – including a violin concerto (1933) and four symphonies. He studied conducting with Herman Scherchen in Belgium and wrote an award winning cello concerto (1935) which was premiered in Brussels’ Palace of Fine Arts with Emanuel Feuermann as soloist. Richter died at age 29 (August 16, 1945) as a result of frail health. Some of his chamber music has been recorded.