Edwin Grasse (13 August 1884 – 8 April 1954) was an 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,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and composer. Among his compositions were

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l works, including a

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

and a

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, and much

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, including 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 ...

. Born 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 ...

, Grasse was blind from infancy. He began studying the piano at the age of 3 and the violin at age 5. He studied the violin in his native city with Carl Hauser for nine years before entering 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 ...

in 1899. There he excelled under the instruction of

César Thomson César Thomson (18 March 1857 – 21 August 1931) was a Belgian violinist, teacher, and composer. Biography He was born in Liège in 1857. At age seven, he entered the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and studied under Désiré Heynberg, Rodolp ...

, earning a premier prix in violin and winning the Prix de Capacité in 1901. The latter prize had not been awarded in a decade. In 1902 he made his debut as a concert violinist in Berlin. He spent the next few years performing throughout Europe. After returning to New York City he studied organ with Daniel Philippi. He was active as a performer mainly in New York City through 1940, appearing regularly in concerts at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities suc ...

, and

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. He died in New York City at the age of 69.

Selected works

* Sonata in C for violin and piano, Op. 14 (1912) * ''Scherzo capriccioso'' for violin and piano, Op. 19 (1912) * ''Wellenspiel'' (Waves at Play), Character Piece for violin and piano (1914) * ''Song without Words'' in G major for violin and piano (1915) * ''Im Ruderboot'' (In a Row Boat) for violin and piano (1915) * ''Polonaise No. 1'' in C major for violin and piano (1915) * ''Promenades à cheval'' for violin and piano (1932)

References

External links

* 1884 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American male composers American composers American male violinists Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni 20th-century American violinists American blind organists American blind violinists American blind pianists Blind classical musicians {{US-composer-19thC-stub