Franz Kneisel

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Franz Kneisel (born January 26, 1865 in Bucharest , † March 26, 1926 in New York City ) was an American violist and music teacher of German-Romanian origin.

Kneisel, born in the then Principality of Romania to German parents, studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Jakob Grün and Joseph Hellmesberger . He made his debut in 1882 with a performance of Joseph Joachim's Hungarian Concerto; In 1883 he became concertmaster at the court theater. In 1884 he took over the management of the Bilse Orchestra in Berlin . In 1885 Wilhelm Gericke brought him to the Boston Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster , which he also conducted in the absence of Artur Nikisch .

In the same year he founded the Kneisel Quartet , which included Julius Theodorowicz as second violinist, Louis Svećenski as violist and Alwin Schroeder as cellist. After Theodorowicz and Schroeder left in 1907, he hired Julius Roentgen and Willem Willeke - who later became his son-in-law - as their successors on a European trip . The quartet existed until 1917. The quartet gave many premieres of works by recent European and American composers. It was one of the leading chamber music ensembles in the USA and made a significant contribution to the establishment of chamber music there.

In 1904 Kneisel left the Boston Symphony Orchestra; In 1905 he took over the direction of the violin classes at the New York Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard School ). The Yale University and Princeton University , where he also taught, awarded him an honorary doctorate. His students included Joseph Fuchs , Sascha Jacobsen , Elias Breeskin , Jacques Gordon , Helen Jeffrey , Amy Neil , William Kroll , Cyril Towgin and Karl Kraeuter . His summer residence in Blue Hill was later expanded by his daughter Marianne Kneisel and her husband into Kneisel Hall , which serves as a music school and festival venue.

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personal data
SURNAME Kneisel, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American violist and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Bucharest
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1926
Place of death New York City