Efrem Zimbalist

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Efrem Zimbalist, photographed by Carl van Vechten , 1933

Efrem Zimbalist (born April 9 July / April 21,  1889 greg. In Rostov-on-Don , Russian Empire ; † February 22, 1985 in Reno , Nevada ) was an American composer , music teacher and conductor of Russian origin, as well as one of the important concert violinists of the 20th century.

Life

Efrem Zimbalist was born into a Jewish family. His father, Aaron Zimbalist, was the conductor of the Ukrainian Opera Orchestra. At the age of five he attended the Imperial Music School . At the age of nine he was first violinist in his father's orchestra. With a scholarship he entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory at the age of twelve and was taught by Leopold Auer . Here he won the gold medal for his violin playing and the Anton Rubinstein Prize, which was endowed with 1200 rubles. While still a student, he was a member of the group that played chamber music in the house of the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov .

After graduating, Zimbalist made his debut in Berlin on October 28, 1907 . His lecture program included: the Chaconne by Tomaso Antonio Vitali , the legend by Henryk Wieniawski , Harlequin Serenade by Riccardo Drigo , suite by Christian Sinding and the violin concerto by Alexander Glasunow . This secured his future. He has given concerts in Vienna and London as well as in Eastern Europe and Russia. On October 27, 1911, Zimbalist made his US debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Max Fiedler . Performances at Carnegie Hall followed . In 1912 he played the Glasunow Concerto under Leopold Stokowski , who conducted the London Symphony Orchestra for the first time .

On June 15, 1914, Efrem Zimbalist married the famous American soprano Alma Gluck , with whom he went on concert tours for a while. They had two children: a daughter, Maria Virginia, and a son, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. , who became a well-known actor, as did his granddaughter, Stephanie Zimbalist . Alma Gluck died on October 27, 1938.

In the summer of 1940 Mary Louise Curtis Bok asked him to come to Philadelphia to "get back on its feet" at her Curtis Institute of Music Philadelphia. Not only did he accept and teach the violinists, but he also took over the administration of the school. On July 6, 1943, he married the widow Mary Louise Curtis Bok, who was 13 years his senior, and the founder of this music school, of which he was director from 1941 to 1968. Among his more than 70 students were the later known: Jascha Brodsky , Anshel Brusilow , Rafael Druian , Daniel Heifetz , Aaron Rosand , Eudice Shapiro , Oscar Shumsky , Joseph Silverstein , Felix Slatkin , Shmuel Ashkenasi and Toshiya Etô .

In 1949 Efrem Zimbalist ended his career as a violinist, but in 1952 he appeared again for the world premiere of a violin concerto by Gian Carlo Menotti , which was dedicated to him. In 1955 he finally withdrew. In 1962 and 1966 he was on the jury of the Tchaikovsky violin competition .

His own compositions include the violin concerto American Rhapsody and the tone poem Daphne and Chloe as well as the fantasies Carmen and The golden cock based on the operas by Bizet and Rimski-Korsakow .

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Zimbalist, Efrem
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer, music educator and conductor of Russian descent and concert violinist
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Rostov-on-Don , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1985
Place of death Reno , Nevada, United States