Adolf Pollitzer, also Adolph Pollitzer (; 23 July 1832 – 14 November 1900) was a
Hungarian Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
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.
Biography
Pollitzer was born in
Pest, Hungary
Pest () is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the eastern bank of the Danube. Pest was administratively unified with Buda and Óbuda in 1873; prior to this, it was an independent city. In colloquial Hungarian langua ...
. In 1842, he left Pest for
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, where he studied the
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 ...
under
Joseph Böhm at the
Vienna Conservatory; and in his 14th year he took the first prize at the Conservatory. After a
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, he went to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and studied under
Jean-Delphin Alard. In 1850 he crossed the
Channel, and in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
his remarkable talents as a violinist were recognized after a short time. He became leader at
Her Majesty's Theatre
His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...
under Sir
Michael Costa and also led the new
Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Royal Choral Society.
Pollitzer was a preeminent in his day as an interpreter of classic
chamber-music, his playing attaining to what may be called "the great style". As a teacher of his instrument, he was regarded as the most eminent of his time in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and many pupils who attained distinction had studied under him. In 1861, on the establishment of the
London Academy of Music, he was appointed professor of violin. He held this position until 1870, when he succeeded Dr.
Henry Wylde as principal of the academy and retained this position until his death, which occurred in London on 14 November 1900.
Pollitzer's pupils include
Harold Bauer and
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
.
See also
*
Pollitzer
References
*
* ''
Jewish Chronicle'', 23 November 1900
External links
Obituary Adolphe Pollitzer – the Jewish Museum LondonAdolf Pollitzerfrom website of
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
A Gold Watch for Adolphe PollitzerViolin Giuseppe Guarnerius Del Gesù 1736
*
Hungarian classical violinists
Musicians from the Austrian Empire
Immigrants to the United Kingdom
British violinists
British people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Hungarian Jews
Jews from Austria-Hungary
People from Pest, Hungary
1832 births
1900 deaths
19th-century classical violinists
British male violinists
19th-century British male musicians
Hungarian male classical violinists
Jewish British musicians
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