Simon E. Jacobsohn (December 24, 1839 in

Mitau Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

, Kurland,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

– October 3, 1902 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States) was a Latvian-American

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. Jacobsohn was born in Latvia to a Jewish family. He was educated in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

under Ferdinand Davis. In 1872 he immigrated to the United States to become concertmeister and solo violinist in the orchestra which Theodore Thomas was at that time conducting in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Before going to the US, Jacobsohn had been concertmeister at

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, at which time he organized a

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

which became very famous throughout Europe. His musicianship in this capacity was so highly esteemed, that for fifteen or twenty years after he moved to the US, European musical critics made favorable comparison of the Jacobsohn quartet with later quartets. After several years in New York, the Cincinnati College of Music (now the

University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the ...

) engaged Jacobsohn to direct their violin department. Jacobsohn developed an immense following, leading to the establishment of the Jacobsohn Violin School. Among his noted pupils while in Cincinnati were

Max Bendix Max Bendix (March 28, 1866 – December 6, 1945) was an American concert violinist, conductor, and teacher. He was the first concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was also the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra. Bendi ...

Nahan Franko Nahan Franko (July 23, 1861 - June 7, 1930) was an American violinist, conductor and concert promoter. His brother was violinist and conductor Sam Franko. Biography Franko was born in New Orleans on July 23, 1861. He studied the violin in Eu ...

, Nicholas Longworth, Henry Burck, Michael Banner, Miss Currie-Duke, Theodore Binder, Carl Heinzen, Ollie Torbett, Madge Wickham, and Hugh McGibeny. In the fall of 1887 Jacobsohn moved to Chicago, and many of his pupils went with him. There he established his Violin School and organized a string quartet. He also established the Chicago Orchestral Club, an organization for the benefit of amateurs only; and this orchestra of amateurs gave series of concerts, played important orchestral composition and from this source came the impetus which carried many of them into the professional field. Jacobsohn was instrumental in raising Chicago's profile as a musical center. Jacobsohn also toured the United States with pianist William H. Sherwood, his good friend. Many of the members of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra (Chicago),

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...

amid scores of private and conservatory teachers throughout the US were trained by Jacobsohn. The Jacobsohn Quartet which was here established contained the famous names of Simon E. Jacobsohn,

first violin The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the most significant ...

; Theodore Thomas,

second violin The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...

;

Carl Baetens Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

, M. Dr.,

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, and

Adolf Hartdegan Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', meani ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(afterwards

Michael Brandt Michael Brandt (born October 1, 1968) is an American screenwriter. Life and career Brandt is an alumnus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where as an undergrad he earned a BBA and in graduate school earned Master of Arts in Communication Stu ...

). Jacobsohn and Thomas alternated in playing first and second violin. Jacobsohn considered Thomas one of the finest interpreters of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

in the world; and so, when Mozart was played, Thomas always played first violin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsohn, Simon E 1839 births 1902 deaths People from Jelgava American violinists American male violinists Latvian Jews Jews from the Russian Empire Violinists from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States University of Cincinnati faculty 19th-century male musicians