Oscar Shumsky

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Oscar Shumsky (March 23, 1917 in

Rye, New York) was an American violinist and conductor
.

Biography

Oscar Shumsky was born to

U.S. Navy
.

His violin was a

Stradivari of 1715 known as 'Ex-Pierre Rode
' or the 'Duke of Cambridge' (previously owned by Pierre Rode). It was used by Shumsky to record the complete 24 Caprices by Rode. He tells how he came to acquire the instrument:

It was a case of "love at first sound". During the period of readjustment after the

Strads
, but always came away disappointed. Then on one of my innumerable visits to the
bank loan, but I have never had a moment's cause for regret. The fact that it somehow came by way of my old teacher Leopold Auer is a fascinating bit of mysticism.

— Oscar Shumsky, The Strad
, April 1985

He taught at the

T.V. broadcast. Around this time, he appeared regularly as a soloist with American orchestras. His conducting debut was in 1959 with the Canadian National Festival Orchestra; he later conducted the Orchestral Workshop of Westchester, the Westchester Symphony Orchestra, and the Empire Sinfonietta in New York, and the New Jersey Colonial Symphony Orchestra. He joined the Bach Aria Group in the early 1960s. He was granted a Ford Foundation Award
in 1965.

He returned to concerts and recordings in 1981, performing in the USA and in Britain for the first time in 30 years; a programme he gave for solo violin led to great acclaim:

It is not common practice here for audience members to leap on their feet in acknowledgement of outstanding playing and it is a mark of Oscar Shumsky's achievement at the Queen Elizabeth Hall that so many did spontaneously do just that.

— The Daily Telegraph

He recorded

CD
.

Many fellow violinists consider him to be one of the great violinists of the century;

New Grove
dictionary says of him: 'He was a player of virtuoso technique, pure style and refined taste; yet never sought recognition as a soloist, preferring to concentrate on teaching, chamber music playing and conducting.'

Shumsky married Louise Sophia Carboni on October 4, 1939. Together they had two sons; Noel (a business executive & teacher) and Eric (a violist & teacher).

A great deal has been written about Shumsky’s musical artistry; however, little is known about his “other interests”. Since his childhood in Philadelphia Shumsky was fascinated with photography. He was an avid amateur photographer who could often be found with a camera. His photographic skills and knowledge were recognized by the great American photographer- Ansel Adams. The two men became friends drawn together by their mutual interests and respect; Shumsky a professional musician and amateur photographer and Adams a professional photographer and amateur musician (pianist).

Shumsky had a curiosity with the world around him. He was drawn to biology and microbiology which led him to the field of photo microscopy. He would often find himself in a situation where he needed a special mounting to marry one optical device to another. He taught himself how to use a metal lathe and other machining tools to build whatever was needed to accomplish the task.

References

  1. ^ He recorded Beethoven’s Ghost Trio with Gould and cellist Leonard Rose. See Review of the album Glenn Gould in Concert
  2. ^ New York Viola Society list of recordings

Further reading

  • M. Campbell: The Great Violinists
  • B. Schwarz: Great Masters of the Violin
  • J. Creighton: Discopaedia of the Violin, 1889–1971 (Toronto, 1974)
  • D. Rooney: Unshaken Ideals, in The Strad XCVIII (1987)

External links

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