Tossy Spivakovsky
Tossy Spivakovsky | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Nathan Davidovich Spivak |
Born | Odessa, Imperial Russia | December 23, 1906
Died | July 20, 1998 Westport, Connecticut | (aged 91)
Genres | Classical music |
Occupation(s) | Child prodigy, virtuoso, soloist, teacher |
Instrument(s) | Violin |
Nathan "Tossy" Spivakovsky (December 23, 1906 [
virtuoso, was considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.Biography
Tossy Spivakovsky was born in
During the 1920s, he and his brother Jascha performed together as the Spivakovsky Duo. In 1930, Tossy and Jascha established the highly acclaimed Spivakovsky-Kurtz Trio together with cellist Edmund Kurtz.[3] The trio was on a tour of Australia in 1933 when the Nazi Party took power in Germany, temporarily ending Spivakovsky's European career. As a result he remained in Melbourne, Australia. He sent a marriage proposal by telegram to a girl he had met in Germany, Dr. Erika Lipsker (or Zarden), philologist and Renaissance historian, who soon sailed to Melbourne and became his wife of 63 years.[4] All three members of the Spivakovsky-Kurtz trio joined the teaching staff of the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
The youngest of nine, Spivakovsky belonged to a musical as well as artistic family. His eldest brother Simeon, a photographer and sculptor, also produced fine drawings. His brother Albert, a distinguished pianist, also played the cello and conducted orchestras in Germany and Denmark. Another brother, the violinist and cellist Isaac 'Issy' (1902–1977), who had studied violin under Willy Hess, and cello with Hugo Becker and Gregor Piatigorsky, also migrated to Australia in 1934, and for 28 years (1937–1965) taught violin, viola and cello at Scotch College, Melbourne. Adolf (1891–1958), a bass-baritone, also migrated to Melbourne in 1934 and taught at the University Conservatorium where his students included the sopranos Glenda Raymond[5] and Sylvia Fisher. Of Spivakovsky's three sisters—Claire, Esfira and Betty—Claire and Betty were said to have had fine singing voices.
In 1939, Spivakovsky migrated to the
Spivakovsky was soloist in the premiere performances of Leon Kirchner's Sonata Concertante and David Diamond's Canticle and Perpetual Motion. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, he gave the New York premieres of violin concerti by Frank Martin and Carl Nielsen. He composed his own cadenzas for the Beethoven violin concerto that were published in 1964 by Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden, No. 6460. He also composed cadenzas for all five Mozart violin concerti that were published in 1967 by Wilhelm Zimmermann, Frankfurt am Main. For more than four decades, represented by Columbia Artists Management, he travelled extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Israel, and Europe giving solo performances. He also found time to teach violin and chamber music at the Juilliard School in New York City from 1974 to 1989.
In order to draw from his instrument the richest, most brilliant tone possible, Spivakovsky developed an innovative method of bowing that was described in detail in a book entitled "The Spivakovsky Way of Bowing," by Gaylord Yost.
Honorary doctorates
- Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, April 26, 1970
- The Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, Ohio, June 5, 1975
LP recordings
For the following LP recordings, Tossy Spivakovsky's violin, which he sold in 1972, was The Macmillan
- J.S. Bach, Sonata No. 1 in G minor, unaccompanied, on Columbia LP Masterworks, 1950.
- Bartók, Violin Sonata No. 2, Roumanian Dances, with Artur Balsam, piano, on Concert Hall Society. This was the first studio recording of Bartók's Violin Sonata No. 2 with Artur Balsam, issued in late 1947. (The earlier version by the composer accompanying Joseph Szigeti was a live performance, and only issued later.)
- Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 8 in G major, Op. 30, with Robert Cornman, piano, on Columbia LP Masterworks, 1950.
- Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96, with Rudolf Firkusny, piano, on Columbia LP Masterworks, 1951.
- Leon Kirchner, Concerto for Violin, Cello, 10 Winds & Percussion, conducted by the composer with Aldo Parisot, cello, on Epic Stereorama.
- Menotti, Violin Concerto, conducted by Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on RCA Victor, 1952.
- Leroy Robertson, Violin Concerto, conducted by Maurice Abravanel with the Utah Symphony Orchestra on Vanguard.
- Sibelius, Violin Concerto in D minor conducted by Tauno Hannikainen with the London Symphony Orchestra on Everest.
- Stravinsky, Violin Concerto, conducted by Maurice Abravanel with the Utah Symphony Orchestra on Vanguard.
- Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D major, conducted by Walter Goehr with the London Symphony Orchestra on Everest.
Recordings on CD
- Bartók Violin Concerto #2 on CD #6 of "Pierre Monteux in Boston" set: "Treasure of Concert Performances 1951–1958" on CODAEX Records.
- Collection of short pieces by Bazzini, Mouret, Raff, Gluck, Bloch, Kreisler, Paganini, Dvořák, Beethoven, Brahms, Wieniawski, Sarasate on PEARL, Pavilion Records LTD. (Reissued from a number of Spivakovsky's recordings that were made on the Deccalabels during the 1920s. He was accompanied on the piano by his brothers Jascha and Albert.)
- Paganini 24 Caprices for Violin & Piano, with Lester Taylor, piano, on Omega Record Group, Inc.
- Sibelius Violin Concerto conducted by Tauno Hannikainen with the London Symphony Orchestra on Omega, Everest Record Group, Inc.
- Stravinsky Violin Concerto conducted by Maurice Abravanel with the Utah Symphony Orchestra on Vanguard Classics, Omega Record Group, Inc.
- Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto conducted by Walter Goehr with the London Symphony Orchestra on Vanguard Classics, Omega Record Group, Inc.
Live recordings on CD
Production, restoration and remastering from reel-to-reel tapes and acetate, by DOREMI[1]
- Bach Chaconne for violin solo from Partita No. 2, Live Broadcast, performed with a VEGA BACH-Bow, Swedish Radio, Stockholm, January 26, 1969
- Beethoven Violin Concerto New York Philharmonic Orchestraconducted by Amerigo Marino, December 21, 1963
- Brahms Violin Concerto New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Josef Krips, December 7, 1961
- Mendelssohn Violin Concerto New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Paray, November 17, 1956
- Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński, originally recorded on acetate, October 14, 1943
- Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Thomas Schippers, November 19, 1959
- Martin, Frank Violin Concerto New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Robert La Marchina, December 19, 1963
- Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nils Grevillius, February 8, 1960
- Schuman, William Violin Concerto Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lukas Foss, January 23, 1966
Notes
- ^ Loppert, Max; Ramot, Naama (2007). "Spivakovsky, Tossy". Encyclopaedia Judaica.
- ^ Catherine J. Stevens (2002). "Spivakovsky, Jascha (1896–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- Independent.co.uk. October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Let's Talk of Interesting People: Dr. Erika Spivakovsky". The Australian Women's Weekly. January 9, 1937. p. 2.
- ^ "Glenda Raymond, soprano, 1922-2003". Music Web International.
- ^ Volkwein Bros. Inc., 1949, Pittsburgh.
- ^ "Shumsky".
Sources
- Jascha Spivakovsky, Australian Dictionary of Biography
- obituary, The New York Times, July 27, 1998
- Music web international
External links
- [2] Film of Tossy Spivakovsky, playing in 1950.