| Roman Totenberg | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | January 1, 1911 Łódź, Poland |
| Genres | Classical music |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Years active | 1923 - present |
| Website | http://www.romantotenberg.com |
Roman Totenberg (born January 1, 1911) is a Polish-American violinist and educator.
He is the father of National Public Radio journalist Nina Totenberg. His wife, Melanie Shroder Totenberg (1917–1996), acted as business manager for her husband for 50 years.[1]
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Born in Łódź in a Jewish family, Totenberg was a child prodigy, studied with Michalowicz in Warsaw, and made his debut at the age of twelve as soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in 1923. He was also awarded the gold medal at the Chopin Conservatory/Warsaw and continued his studies with Carl Flesch in Berlin, where he won the International Mendelssohn Prize in 1931,[2] and later with George Enescu and Pierre Monteux in Paris. He made both his British debut in London and his American debut in New York in 1935.
Totenberg has toured South America with Arthur Rubinstein, and has given joint recitals with Karol Szymanowski. He has given many concerts comprising the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas and all Brandenburg concertos. His diversified repertoire includes more than thirty concerti. Among the many contemporary works he has introduced are the Darius Milhaud Violin Concerto No. 2, the William Schuman Concerto, and the Krzysztof Penderecki Capriccio. He also premiered Paul Hindemith's Sonata in E (1935), the Samuel Barber Concerto (new version) and the Bohuslav Martinů Sonata, as well as giving the American premiere of Arthur Honegger's Sonate for violin solo. Under the patronage of the eminent violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Roman Totenberg along with pianist Adolph Baller and cellist Gabor Rejto formed the Alma Trio in 1942-43 at Menuhin's Alma estate in California.
Totenberg has appeared with numerous American orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Washington Symphonies. In Europe he has performed with all major orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic and the Concertgebouw. He performed with such a great conductors as Stokowski, Kubelik, Szell, Rodzinski, Fitelberg, Jochum, Rowicki, Krenz, Monteux, Wit, Steinberg and Golschmann. In recital he has appeared at the White House, Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in every major American and European city. He has been featured with the most important music festivals of the world, notably at Salzburg's Mozarteum, the Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara where he became chairman of the string department in 1947.
Beside his concert activities, Totenberg now holds the position of Professor of Music at Boston University, where he headed the String Department from 1961 to 1978. He has also taught at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen School of Music, the Mannes College of Music, and at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was the Director from 1978 to 1985.
His notable students include: Yevgeny Kutik,[3] Mira Wang,[4] Daniel Han,[5] Rachel Vetter Huang, Na Sun,[6] Ikuko Mizuno,[7] and Marcin Markowicz.
In 1983 he was named Artist Teacher of the Year by the American String Teachers Association and in April 2007 he was honored with the New England String Ensemble's Muses & Mentors Award for his great artistry and significant contributions to string education.
In 1988 he was awarded the highest Medal of Merit by the Polish Government for his life-long contributions to Polish society.
Totenberg has recorded under various labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Telefunken, Philips, Da Camera, Musical Heritage, Vanguard, Titanic and VQR.