André Gertler (26 July 1907 – 23 July 1998) was a Hungarian classical

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 teacher. Professor at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

(1940–1977), Professor at the Cologne Academy of Music (1954–1957), Professor at the College of Music in Hannover (1964), founder and leader of the Gertler Quartet.

Biography

Andre Gertler (Hungarian name Gertler Endre) 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 ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The talent for arts manifested in his family in several fields: one of his two brothers, Pál Gertler, became a painter while

Viktor Gertler Viktor Gertler (24 August 1901 – 5 July 1969) was a Hungary, Hungarian film editor and film director, director active between the 1930s and 1960s.Burns p.15 Selected filmography Editor * ''The Three from the Filling Station (1930 film), The Th ...

was a famous movie director in

. He started his violin studies at the age of six in

, finishing it at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

with a degree recital in 1925, where his teachers were József Bloch, Oszkár Studer,

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay von Szalatna ( ; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a German family of musicians in Pest, Hungary ...

Leo Weiner Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually mas ...

(chamber music), and

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

(composition). As many other Hubay-students neither did Gertler continue his career in

, He settled in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1928, with recommendations of his teachers, where he could improve his technique by

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Early years Born in Liège, Ysaÿe began ...

. After his first concerts in Brussels followed several concert engagements in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He became a teacher at the

, in

. He founded the Gertler Quartett with the young violinist Baumann in 1931, leading his quartet he toured the world's stages for two decades (1931-1951). They performed yearly in

between 1932 and 1936, including Bartók's quartets among others in their programs. His reputation in

is shown by the fact, that already in 1937 he was a member of the Jury of the

Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...

in Brussels, but he was on the jury of several other international competitions, the

Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition The International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition ( Polish: ''Międzynarodowy Konkurs Skrzypcowy im. Henryka Wieniawskiego'') is a competition for violinists up to age 30 that takes place every five years in Poznań, Poland, in honor of the v ...

in 1952. (Poznan), where he made the acquaintance of the first prize winner

Igor Oistrakh Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (; April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as "noted for his lean, modernist interpretations". Life and career Oistrakh was born in Odessa, to ...

he tied to him a lifelong friendship. He was married to the Danish pianist Diane Andersen, with whom he regularly concertized and recorded.

Commitment to contemporary music

Although there were professional tensions between his master, the conservatively inclined Hubay and the progressively minded Bartók, both his master and Bartók's music were destined to play a major role in the activities of Gertler. His real debut at the

had been done some months before his degree recital. The program of this concert anticipated his commitment to the

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

: two new Swiss works, ''Violin Concerto'' of

Hermann Suter Hermann Suter (28 April 1870 – 22 June 1926) was a Swiss composer and conductor. Biography Born in Kaiserstuhl, Aargau, Suter studied in the conservatories at Basel, Stuttgart and Leipzig, under Hans Huber and Carl Reinecke. He was an organ ...

and

Volkmar Andreae Volkmar Andreae (5 July 1879 – 18 June 1962) was a Swiss conductor and composer. Life and career Andreae was born in Bern. He received piano instruction as a child and his first lessons in composition with Karl Munzinger. From 1897 to 1900, ...

's ''Rhapsody''. Gertler was a great admirer of

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 ...

. He recorded the complete violin works of the composer for the

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

label, including his two concertos, that was awarded Grand Prix du Disque in Paris (1967). He is considered one of the best players of Bartók's music. His recording of the ''44 duos for violins'', with Josef Suk, is considered one of the best versions available. Bartók and Gertler met first in connection with the transcribing of the ''Sonatina for violin'' and piano presumably in 1926, learning at first hand the composer's performance intentions for his own music. Bartók and Gertler gave concerts together, first at Papa (Hungary) in 1937, after it in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and

in 1938. He premiered the ''Violin Concerto No. 1'' - composed for

Stefi Geyer Stefi Geyer (June 28, 1888 in Budapest – December 11, 1956 in Zürich) was a Hungarian violinist who was considered one of the leading violinists of her generation. Biography Born in 1888 in Budapest, she was the daughter of Josef Geyer, a p ...

by the young Bartók - in

in 1960, and it was also he who premiered both ''Violin Concertos'' of Bartók in

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 ...

, as well as the ''Sonata for Solo Violin'' 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 ...

. He kept several masterworks of the twentieth century constantly on his repertoire. Gertler premiered the ''Violin Concerto'' of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

(1948) being unknown at that time there, and later he became well known 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 ...

- particularly for his performances of

's ''Violin Concerto'' both in the concert hall and for broadcasting. Recordings of the Hungarian immigrant composer,

Mátyás Seiber Mátyás György Seiber (, sometimes given as Matthis Seyber; 4 May 1905 – 24 September 1960) was a Hungarian-born British composer who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1935 onwards. His work linked many diverse musical influences, ...

: ''Fantasia concertante'', Rezső Kókai: ''Violin concerto'', Béla Tardos: ''Sonata'' is proving his commitment to the Hungarian music. He made the acquaintance of many of the twentieth century’s composers, as

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

and

Karl Amadeus Hartmann Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. A major figure of the musical life of post-war Germany, he has been described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century. Life Born in Munich, the son ...

Teaching

Gertler had a respectable career as a pedagogue, as well. He joined the staff of the

in 1940, first as chamber music professor, he was appointed the professor of violin a few years later - a post he held until the age of 70. In 1954, he became the professor at the Cologne Academy of Music for three years and ten years later, in 1964, he received a professorship at the College of Music in Hannover.

Graham Whettam Graham Whettam (7 September 1927 – 17 August 2007) was an English post-romantic composer. Biography Whettam was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and studied at St Luke's College, Exeter. Though he never formally studied at a music school and wa ...

commemorates the music pedagogue Gertler as „Andre Gertler was part of a link stretching back through only one intermediary teacher to another celebrated Hungarian, the violinist

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian Violin, violinist, Conducting, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely ...

, and through him directly to

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

.” Independent 18 August 1998
/ref> He shared his experiences gladly in his home country – he was a permanent guest professor of the International Bartók Seminars in Budapest and then in Szombathely. Among his foremost students were Joshua Epstein,

Rudolf Werthen Rudolf Werthen is a Belgian violinist, conductor and teacher. He is the founder and artistic director of the orchestra ''I Fiamminghi'' and was chief conductor of the symphonic orchestra of the Flemish Opera in 1989. He has taught at the Royal Co ...

Yair Kless Yair Kless (; born November 12, 1940) is an Israeli violinist and professor. Background Kless began performing at an early age, attaining a world-wide reputation in his activities like soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire includes works ...

André Rieu André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (, ; born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known as the founder of the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra tour worldwide, often playing in stadiums. He resides ...

, Yossi Zivoni, Carola Nasdala,

Hedwig Pirlet-Reiners Hedwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Hedwig (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist * Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist * Romanu ...

Bernardo Bessler Bernardo Bessler (born 24 May 1954) is a Brazilian violinist, conductor, teacher, and producer. Bessler was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is among the leading musicians of his country. His recordings have won for five consecutive years the Sh ...

, Michel Bessler, Nilla Pierrou, Daphne Godson, Jose Francisco Del Castillo, Felix Forrer.

In the Jury

* Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium in Brussels, *

Paganini Competition The Paganini Competition (aka Premio Paganini or Paganini Concore) is an international violin competition named after the famed virtuoso and founder of contemporary violin technique Niccolò Paganini. Created in 1954 it has been carried out ever s ...

in Genoa (Italy) *

in Poznan (Poland) *

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

(Switzerland) *

Vianna da Motta International Music Competition The Vianna da Motta International Music Competition was first constituted in 1957 in Lisbon in honor of José Vianna da Motta by his disciple Sequeira Costa, who remains its president; this inaugural edition was won by Naum Shtarkman. The competi ...

(Portugal) * Enescu Competition in Bucharest (Romania) * Bartók Competition in Budapest (Hungary) * Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (Finland) * Curci International Competition in Naples (Italy) * London International Violin Competition Flesch (UK)

Awards

* Commander of

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

(Belgium) * Officer of Order of Leopold II (Belgium) * Knight of Order of Leopold II (Belgium) *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) * Order of Pro Cultura Hungarica (Hungary) * Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (England)

External links

Biography in French in Internet Archive

Notable Alumni / Franz Liszt Academy of Music

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertler, Andre 1907 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Hungarian classical violinists 20th-century Belgian classical violinists Hungarian male classical violinists Belgian male classical violinists Jewish classical musicians Belgian music educators Hungarian music educators Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels Violin educators Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Hungarian Jews Belgian Jews Hungarian refugees Hungarian exiles Hungarian emigrants to Belgium Musicians from Budapest Musicians from Brussels 20th-century Belgian male musicians