George Neikrug

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George Neikrug (born March 7, 1919 in New York , NY , USA - † March 8, 2019 ) was an American cellist and string teacher.

He studied with Joseph Schuster and Emanuel Feuermann , but he only acquired his virtuosity with Demetrius Constantine Dounis , whose assistant he was for many years.

Neikrug has played as principal cellist in the orchestras of Baltimore , Los Angeles and the studio orchestras of Paramount , Columbia and Universal .

From 1947 to the late 1960s he performed as a soloist with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein , Václav Neumann , Wolfgang Sawallisch and Leopold Stokowski and took on various American premieres such as the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Dmitri Shostakowitsch in 1938 and the world premiere of the solo sonata Artur Schnabels (1955) and several works by Fred Katz and his son Marc Neikrug .

In 1962 he became a Fulbright Professor in Frankfurt am Main , and in 1963/1964 he held a professorship for all string instruments at the Detmold University of Music . Further calls to Oberlin / Ohio and Austin / Texas followed before he went to Boston University in 1971 . Along with Emanuel Feuermann, Neikrug is one of the cellists of the 20th century who were most influenced by violin technique.

His exceptionally analytical lessons (for all strings up to the double bass player) aimed at imparting expressive technique that takes into account all musically relevant phenomena, with practice becoming a central part of the lesson.

His teaching skills are testimony to his students, who have been appointed section leader positions in North American and European orchestras or have been appointed to professorships, among them Dietmar Mantel (HfM Mannheim), Andor Toth ( Oberlin College ) and Ulrich von Wrochem (solo violist Deutsche Oper Berlin , La Scala , Milan ), or made a name for themselves as soloists or chamber musicians such as Claudius von Wrochem or Frances-Marie Uitti .

Discography (selection)

  • E. Bloch Schelomo (L. Stokowski, EMI)
  • F. Katz Concerto for Cello and Jazz Wind Orchestra as well as short virtuoso pieces based on Chopin, Ravel, Schubert, Tartini, Wieniawski (Evergreen Music)
  • Z. Kodály Duo op.7 and B. Martinů Duo (both with Wolfgang Marschner, Vl, RBM)
  • A. Schönberg Suite op. 29 (Col. 1956), StrTrio (1950);
  • I. Stravinsky In memoriam Dylan Thomas, Firebird Suite (as solo cellist under the direction of Stravinsky) (CR, now Sony);

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Neikrug, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American cellist and string teacher
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , NY
DATE OF DEATH March 8, 2019