Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer ( born June 7, 1845 in Veszprém, Veszprém county, † July 15, 1930 in Loschwitz in Dresden ) was a violinist, violin teacher and conductor.
Life
Leopold Auer began with five years to play the violin and was recorded with eight in the Conservatory of Budapest, where he stayed for three years. In 1855 he had his first public appearance with the Mendelssohn Concerto. The following year, Auer was sent to Vienna, where he studied with Jakob Dont at the Conservatory, as well as chamber music with Joseph Hellmesberger senior. As winner of the Conservatory in 1861 he goes to Paris, where it is included in the class of Jean- Delphin Alard. But it was only through his two years of studies with Joseph Joachim in Hanover opened a new world to him. With 19 years Auer solo violinist with the orchestra in Dusseldorf ( 1864-65 ), and then in Hamburg ( 1866-67 ). In 1868 he plays in London with Anton Rubinstein and cellist Alfredo Piatti Beethoven Trio for Piano and Strings No. 7 in B flat major Op.97 " Archduke ". Highly recommended by Rubinstein he succeeds Henryk Wieniawski the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he until 1917 he was a teacher from 1868. His students include, among others Mischa Elman, Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Toscha Seidel and Efrem Zimbalist. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky dedicated his violin concerto, which held Auer initially unplayable, as well as his Serenade in B flat minor op.26 melancholique of 1875. As a violinist at the Tsar's court he had at the same time a significant influence on the Russian music scene in the late 19th century, was it as a soloist or orchestra conductor. From 1906 taught Auer also in London, then in Dresden and in Norway.
Auer also had a residence in Loschwitz. Here he taught, among others 1908-1910 Georges Boulanger.
Relevant for the development of bow technique is propagated by Auer Petersburg bow grip in which the index finger at the proximal interphalangeal joint is (originally even near the carpal joint ) positioned on the bow stick.
In May 1917, on the eve of the October Revolution, he left Russia and in February 1918 he emigrated to the United States. With 73 years he built up a new life. Here he met his former student Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz, who had emigrated before him. Auer gave his first concert in May 1918 in New York. He first taught at the Institute of Musical Art in New York (now the Juilliard School) and in 1928 at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he is the successor of Carl Flesch. In 1926 he became an American citizen. He was a prolific concert pianist and conductor.
He wrote few works for the violin, most famously his Hungarian Rhapsody for Violin and Piano, and his cadenzas for the violin concertos of Beethoven and Brahms. A not only historically, but still practically valuable violin pedagogical legacy he left behind along with autobiographical notes in the booklet Violin playing as I teach it.
Largely unknown, but as educationally very valuable his Violin School Graded Course of Violin Playing is considered in eight volumes. The school is unique in its scope and in its exhaustive coverage of all the violin innovative aspects from beginner level to virtuoso stage of a budding concert violinist.
Auer died in Loschwitz, but was buried in New York.
He owned a Stradivarius of 1691, which played named after him, " Auer ", and he also several Strads, the ( 1690) " Hill " ( 1694 ), the " bang" and the (1700) " Russian".
Compositions
- Hungarian Rhapsody (Op. 2)