János Starker

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

János Starker
Hungary
DiedApril 28, 2013(2013-04-28) (aged 88)
, U.S.
OccupationCellist

János Starker (/ˈstɑːrkər/;[1] Hungarian: [ˈʃtɒrkɛr]; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is considered one of the greatest cellists of all time.[2]

Biography

Child prodigy

Starker was born in

Ernő Dohnányi were also members of the Liszt Academy faculty. In his autobiography, Starker wrote that at the age of 13 he played Dohnányi's Konzertstuck for Cello for the composer (who was then the director of the Academy), who accompanied him at the piano.[3]

Starker made his professional debut at age 14, playing the Dvořák concerto with three hours' notice when the originally scheduled soloist was unable to play.[4] He left the Liszt Academy in 1939 and spent most of the war in Budapest. Because of his youth, Starker escaped the tragic fate of his older brothers, who were pressed into forced labor and eventually murdered by the Nazis. Starker nevertheless spent three months in a Nazi internment camp.[5]

Professional career

Starker (right) in 1995

After the war, Starker became principal cellist of the

Budapest Opera and the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.[6] Starker left Hungary in 1946.[7]

He gave a successful concert in Vienna, then remained there to prepare for the Geneva Cello Competition. At the competition, held in October 1946, he received a bronze medal.[8]

After competing in Geneva, Starker spent a year working on his technique in Paris. "I played like a blind man," he said. "What happens to the bird who flies and doesn't know how it flies? That's what happens to child prodigies."

Grand Prix du Disque.[9] He went on to make three more recordings of the work.[6]

Starker emigrated to the United States in 1948 to become principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Antal Doráti.[10] In 1949, he moved to New York City to become principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera under Fritz Reiner.[10] It was in New York that Starker made the first of his recordings of the Bach Cello Suites.[11]

In 1953, Starker became principal cellist of the

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
he became a professor and resumed his solo career.

Recorded repertoire

External audio
audio icon You may hear Starker performing:
Franz Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto
Luigi Boccherini's Cello Concerto
with Carlo Maria Giulini conducing the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1959
Here on archive.org

Starker made over 150 recordings.

Seattle Symphony Orchestra led by Gerard Schwarz
in 1990.

Cellos

From 1950 to 1965, Starker played and recorded on the Lord Aylesford Stradivarius, the largest instrument made by

Antonio Stradivarius. In 1965 Starker acquired a Matteo Goffriller cello believed to have been made in Venice in 1705; known previously as the "Ivor James Goffriller" cello, Starker renamed it for its certification as "The Star" cello.[15]

Reviews and published works

External audio
audio icon You may hear Starker performing Beethoven's Concerto in C, Op. 56 For Piano, Violin, Cello, and Orchestra with Eliahu Inbal conducing the New Philharmonia Orchestra in 1970
Here on archive.org

Many documentaries, articles in magazines, and newspaper stories have acknowledged János Starker's

Schirmer, and International Music.[citation needed
] His autobiography, The World of Music According to Starker, was published in 2004 by Indiana University Press.

Playing style

Starker's playing style was intense and involved great technical mastery. According to some of his students, his technique revolved around long, legato notes, with very little shifting noise from his left hand, resulting in smooth, pure tones, "each note sounding like a jewel." Starker himself described his sound as "centered" and "focused." He was known for his ability to produce an extremely wide range of sounds and tone shading. He eschewed the wide vibrato favored by some of his peers—which he viewed as a cover for poor intonation—and was known for his patrician stage presence, preferring to let the music do the emoting. He quoted his long-time friend and colleague, György Sebők, who said, "Create excitement. Don't get excited."

Personal habits

Starker was a lifelong smoker with a sixty-cigarette-per-day habit.[1] He also drank copious amounts of scotch whiskey.[1] He once refused to perform a concert in Columbia, South Carolina, that he was supposed to play because he was not allowed to smoke his "pre-concert cigarette" backstage.[1]

Bibliography

  • János Starker: The World of Music According to Starker. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2004. .

References

  1. ^ a b c d The New York Times obituary
  2. ^ Classic FM, "These are the 16 greatest cellists of all time", November 15, 2016, Updated: October 24, 2019
  3. ^ "Indianapublicmedia.org Obituary". Archived from the original on May 3, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  4. ^ János Starker, Encyclopaedia Britannica
  5. ^ a b c "The cellist János Starker has died". Gramophone. April 28, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Famed cellist Janos Starker dead at 88". Chicago Tribune. April 28, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Campbell, Margaret (April 30, 2013). "Janos Starker: Cello virtuoso whose teaching had as big an impact as his own playing". The Independent. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Potter, Tully (May 2, 2013). "János Starker obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "János Starker". The Daily Telegraph. April 29, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  10. ^ "'Tell a Story, Don't Just Play Notes'". Local 802 AFM. October 1, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Wise, Brian (April 29, 2013). "Revered Cellist Janos Starker Dies at 88". WQXR. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. ^ "Janos Starker". GRAMMY.com. February 15, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Adam Stern, booklet notes to Delos CD 3095
  14. ^ "Property". Tarisio. Retrieved September 13, 2021.

Further reading

External links