Lionel Tertis

Lionel Tertis

Lionel Tertis CBE (born December 29, 1876 in West Hartlepool , † February 22, 1975 in London ) was an English violist .

Lionel Tertis, the son of Jewish immigrants (father Russian, mother Polish), began playing the piano at an early age and left his family at the age of 13 to earn money as a pianist on his own. He later studied violin for a few months at the Leipzig University of Music and then moved to the Royal Academy of Music in London. There he specialized in the viola on the advice of the director Alexander Mackenzie . At the turn of the century he received a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music. As a result, he undertook numerous concert tours through Europe and the USA and performed together with other famous instrumental soloists, including Arthur Rubinstein and Pablo Casals , often with Eugène Ysaÿe during the First World War . Tertis became one of the first violists to gain international recognition as a soloist. Tertis retired in 1936, but still performed publicly until the age of 87, teaching and promoting a viola model he had developed (Tertis Viola). In 1950 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire .

Numerous British composers wrote works for him, including William Walton , John Blackwood McEwen , Arnold Bax , Benjamin Dale , York Bowen , Frank Bridge and Harry Farjeon . Tertis himself created numerous transcriptions and arrangements for the viola. In 1974 his autobiography was published under the title "My viola and I".

In 1980, the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition was launched in memory of Tertis .

literature

• The New Grove, 2nd edition

Web links

Commons : Lionel Tertis  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography at naxos.com (English)
• Information at viola-in-music.com (English)
• Erin Arts Center: Lionel Tertis photo gallery