Richard Burgin (violinist)
Richard Burgin (October 11, 1892 – April 29, 1981) was a
Early life
Burgin was born in Siedlce, Poland, and first performed in public at age 11, as a soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic Society. In 1906 he studied with Joseph Joachim in Berlin, and from 1908 to 1912 with Leopold Auer at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.[1] Then he worked in Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo.
Concertmaster
Burgin was appointed concertmaster of the BSO in 1920 when Pierre Monteux was the principal conductor, and assistant conductor in 1927 early in Serge Koussevitzky's tenure as principal conductor (1924-1949).[1] He conducted the BSO in 308 concerts in the United States, Australia and Japan, and was associate conductor for seven world premieres and 25 Boston premieres. He continued as concertmaster through Charles Munch's tenure as principal conductor (1949-1962), retiring in 1962 when Munch went back to Europe to conduct until his death in 1968.[2]
Earlier, he had been concertmaster of the
In 1957, Burgin told TIME Magazine, "I know many virtuosos and I do not envy them. They tell me what it's like to play the same few pieces over and over and know they have to go here and then be there. Not for me. I like the orchestra."[4]
As a violin soloist, he played the U.S. premiere of
Teaching and Chamber Music Performance
Within a year of coming to Boston, Burgin founded his own Burgin String Quartet. He also headed the string department of the
Awards
Burgin was a chevalier officer of the French
Family
Burgin married
He died in Gulfport, Florida, on 29 April 1981.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Seventh Edition, Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky. New York: Schirmer Books, 1984, p. 379
- ^ New York Times, obituary, "Richard Burgin, Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony, Dead," May 1, 1981, page B38
- ^ a b c Boston Globe, obituary, By Globe Staff, April 30, 1981
- ^ TIME Magazine, article, "Concertmaster," January 21, 1957
- ^ "BSO Program Notes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-24. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ RICHARD BURGIN: A LIFE IN VERSE by Diana Lewis Burgin. Foreword