Franz von Vecsey (born Ferenc Vecsey; 23 March 18935 April 1935) was a Hungarian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and

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, who became a well-known virtuoso in Europe through the early 20th century. He made his first public debut at the age of 10. An accomplished violinist, he went onto perform concerts in the early twentieth century in the

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and both

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and

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Early life and career

He was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and began his violin studies with his father, Lajos Vecsey. At the age of 8 he entered the studio of Jenő Hubay. Two years later, aged 10, he played for Joseph Joachim in

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(making his début at "Beethoven Halle" on 17 May 1903) and subsequently became known as a child prodigy virtuoso. He became one of the pre-eminent violinists in Europe in the 1910s and 1920s, at one point touring with

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

as his piano accompanist. Aged only 12, he became the re-dedicatee of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

' Violin Concerto in D minor in 1905, when the original dedicatee, Willy Burmester, refused to play the work after he was unable to appear at the premiere of the revised version, which was premiered by Karel Halíř instead. Vecsey championed the Sibelius concerto, first performing it when he was only 13. He was the dedicatee of Hubay's Violin Concerto No.3. He also spent time composing, and wrote a number of virtuosic salon pieces for the violin.

Later life and career

From 1926 until his death, he lived with his wife in

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, at the " Palazzo Giustinian de'Vescovi" on '' Canal Grande''. His career steadily faltered after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as he grew tired of constant touring and wanted to concentrate more on conducting.

Illness and death

By the 1930s, he was about to embark on that dream, but it suddenly curtailed in 1935, when he became seriously ill with a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

that grew through much of his life. He sought medical care in

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, where he received surgery. The operation was unsuccessful, and Vecsey succumbed to the disease at the age of 42.

Selected compositions

Violin solo * in C minor (1914); dedicated to Jenő Hubay Violin and piano * (1934); transcription based on the ''Rondo'' from Violin Concerto No. 2 by

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

* ''Caprice'' in F major (1913) * (1933) * ''Caprice No. 1 "'"'' in A minor (1916) * ''Caprice No. 2 "'"'' in F major (1916) * ''Caprice No. 3 "'"'' * ''Caprice No. 4 "'"'' * ''Caprice No. 5 "'"'' (1917) * ''Caprice No. 6 "'"'' * ''Caprice No. 7 "'"'' * ''Caprice No. 8 "'"'' * ''Caprice No. 9 "'"'' * ''Caprice No. 10 "'"'' * * (1933) * (1913) * in G major (1913) * (1921) :: No. 1 – * ''Mariä Wiegenlied'' (1934); transcription of Max Reger's Op. 76, No. 52 * (1912) :: No. 1 – (A minor) :: No. 2 – (E minor) :: No. 3 – (E major) * * * in G minor (1924) * (1921); Nos. 3~5 also for 2 violins and piano :: No. 1 – :: No. 2 – :: No. 3 – :: No. 4 – :: No. 5 – ... :: No. 6 – :: No. 7 – :: No. 8 – * (1913) * (1933) * in C minor (1913)

References

External links

* * https://classicmusiccds.com/product/324/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Vecsey, Franz von 1893 births 1935 deaths Hungarian classical musicians Hungarian male classical violinists Hungarian composers Hungarian male composers Fonotipia Records artists 20th-century Hungarian composers 20th-century Hungarian classical violinists Deaths from pulmonary embolism 20th-century Hungarian male musicians