Boris Kroyt
Boris Kroyt | |
---|---|
violist | |
Relatives | Anthony Brandt (grandson) |
Boris Kroyt (3 June 1897 – 15 November 1969) was a classical
Early life
Kroyt was born in Odessa to Osip Kroyt and his second wife Cecilia. His father, a tobacco merchant, had been born in Russia near the border with the
Kroyt's mother was initially opposed to her son becoming a musician, but on the advice of the violin virtuoso Alexander Fiedemann who had heard Boris playing a Haydn string trio with two other children, she eventually relented and enrolled him at the Imperial Music College of Odessa. His teacher there was Fiedemann's brother Max. Kroyt made his first concert appearance at the age of nine, accompanied by Max Fiedemann on the piano. At the age of ten, Kroyt's mother decided to send him to Berlin to study at the Stern Conservatory under Alexander Fiedemann who had offered to pay for his travel to Berlin and his living expenses. Before he left Odessa, Kroyt gave a concert to raise further funds for his study in Berlin. He raised 1400 rubles at the concert which had been attended by a thousand people.[3][2]
Once Kroyt arrived in Berlin, Fiedemann persuaded the banker Franz von Mendelssohn (a relative of the composer
Music career and marriage
After his graduation from the Stern Conservatory, Kroyt embarked on an international concert career as a violinist, playing in solo recitals and violin concertos, and with
In 1932 Kroyt married Sophie (Sonya) Blumin. Born in Lithuania in 1908, she was the daughter of a wealthy Jewish architect. The family had settled in Moscow but fled Russia for Germany during the
The Budapest String Quartet were in the United States when World War II broke out in Europe. They accepted an offer from the Library of Congress to become resident there, playing on the Stradivarius string instruments in the library's collection in an annual series of 20 concerts at the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium. The Kroyt family settled in a house in Northwest Washington, D.C. where they became known for their soirées which were attended by prominent musicians and political figures. Kroyt and his wife and daughter became naturalized U.S. citizens in 1944 and lived in the United States for the rest of their lives.[2][1]
Kroyt owned and played a Deconet viola. When the Budapest String Quartet took up residence at the Library of Congress, the library additionally loaned Stradivarius instruments to all its members.[3]
Later years
By 1964 the Budapest String Quartet's activities were starting to wind down. Kroyt increasingly appeared in solo viola recitals or with other ensembles. In 1964 he also joined the staff at Marlboro Music School and Festival where he coached the newly founded Guarneri Quartet. Their name was suggested by Kroyt who had played in a earlier quartet of the same name before he joined the Budapest Quartet. The young pianist Murray Perahia, whom he met there, became his protégé. Kroyt described him as his "musical godchild". Another Marlboro alumnus, the violinist Jaime Laredo, described Kroyt as one of the biggest musical influences in his life. Kroyt also coached student string quartets at the University at Buffalo where the Budapest Quartet had a residency. The quartet's last performances as an ensemble were three concerts in Buffalo in February 1967.[2][1][7][8]
The music critic Michael Steinberg recalled meeting Kroyt in Buffalo the previous year:
It was an evening that ended with the Kroyts driving us to our hotel in an absolutely awesome vehicle, about the size of a motor launch, furnished in rich blues, frighteningly quiet, and representing a life style I had not associated with the playing of chamber music. I remember, too, a man of rare warmth, charm and humor, who spoke generously, perceptively, and with pleasing irreverence, about his colleagues in the musical world.[9]
Kroyt was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1968. Despite an operation, his condition worsened and he had to cancel a planned South American tour with Murray Perahia. His last public appearance was on 18 October 1969 when he played in a performance of Beethoven's String Quintet at the Alice Tully Hall. He died less than a month later at the French Hospital in New York City. The Guarneri Quartet played at his funeral, and a few days later at his recital in Pittsburgh, Perahia dedicated a Bach sarabande to Kroyt's memory .[2][1][7]
After Kroyt's death, his widow Sophie continued the family's ties with the Marlboro Festival, serving as its social director until her death in 1980 at the age of 71.[10]
Family
Both of Kroyt's siblings also emigrated to the United States and became U.S. citizens. His older sister Bertha, the first to arrive in 1916, worked as a dressmaker in Chicago and died in 1947. His younger brother Miron was a piano teacher and concert pianist. He often performed with his wife Claire Sheftel, a violist. He died in New York in 1984. Kroyt's daughter Yanna was a television producer, primarily for CBS and WNET. Her television adaptation of The Nutcracker starring Mikhail Baryshnikov for CBS was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1978. Her husband Nathan Brandt is a history writer and the former managing editor of American Heritage. In 1993, he published Con Brio, a history of the Budapest String Quartet. He and Yanna also co-authored In the Shadow of the Civil War: Passmore Williamson and the Rescue of Jane Johnson published by University of South Carolina Press in 2007. Yanna Brandt died the following year in a car accident at the age of 74. Their son Anthony Brandt is a composer and Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
References
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0195081072)
- ^ ISBN 0960315020
- ISBN 0976002302
- ISBN 0786456264
- Sydney Morning Herald, p. 23. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ a b Steinfirst, Donald (20 November 1969). "Young Pianist Perahia Equal to Rave Judgments". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. 14. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- Boston Globe, p. 140. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- s.n. (22 July 1947). "Obituaries: Kroyt". Chicago Tribune, p. 20. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- Universität Hamburg. Retrieved 2 October 2019 (in German).
- ^ Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Emmy Awards: Yanna Kroyt Brandt. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ Smith, David G. (December 2009). "Review: In the Shadow of the Civil War: Passmore Williamson and the Rescue of Jane Johnson". Civil War History, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 514–516. Retrieved 2 October 2019 (subscription required for full access).
- s.n. (7 June 2008). "Woman killed in crash on Saw Mill River Parkway". News 12. Retrieved 2 October 2019.