Antonio Brosa

Antonio Brosa (27 June 1894 – 23 March 1979) was a Spanish violinist.

He was a great friend of Benjamin Britten, who consulted him on the difficulties of Britten's Violin Concerto, Op. 15. He gave the first performance of the concerto at Carnegie Hall on 28 March 1940, playing on his Vesuvius Stradivarius of 1727 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, with John Barbirolli conducting. This performance launched his career as a solo violinist. The Vesuvius Strad later belonged to Remo Lauricella, UK based concert violinist/composer

Orchestral associations

He was the leader of a famous string quartet of his own name. He disbanded this quartet in 1939 and he played modern works of Michael Berkeley, Edmund Rubbra and Michael Tippett. He was also the leader of the Pro Arte Quartet in the US. Brosa was fluent in five languages.^[1]

References