Erich Gruenberg (12 October 19247 August 2020) was an Austrian-born British violinist and teacher. Following studies in Israel, he was a principal violinist of major orchestras, including the

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. History The orchestra was foun ...

, the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. He was an international soloist, playing the first performance of Britten's

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 ...

in Moscow. As a chamber musician, he was leader of the London String Quartet and recorded all Beethoven

violin sonatas A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed for ...

with pianist

David Wilde David Wilde (born 1935 in Manchester) is an English pianist and composer. As a boy he studied with Solomon and his pupil Franz Reizenstein, who had also studied composition with Hindemith and Vaughan Williams. A frequent soloist at the Henry ...

. He was the lead violinist for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' album, ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

''. Gruenberg taught at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

until age 95, influencing generations of violinists.

Life and career

Gruenberg was born in Vienna in 1924, the son of Kathrine and Herman Gruenberg. He studied in Vienna and at the Jerusalem Conservatory. He was

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, 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 Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

of the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra from 1938 to 1945. In 1946, he moved to London where he lived until his death, becoming a British subject in 1950. In 1947 he won the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition, which at the time came with no monetary prize but international recognition. Gruenberg appeared as a soloist in many countries. He gave the first Russian performance of Benjamin Britten's

, in Moscow. His first concert at the Proms was on 10 August 1955, when he played Bach's Concerto in D minor for two violins, BWV 1043, with Manoug Parikian. He made subsequent performances as a soloist at the Proms in 1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, and 1982. In a concert at the Proms on 11 August 1971, he played Beethoven's

at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, with the

BBC Orchestra BBC Orchestras and Singers refers collectively to a number of orchestras, choirs and other musical ensembles, maintained by the BBC. Current operation All of the BBC’s Orchestras and Singers record performances primarily for BBC Radio 3, with t ...

conducted by

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

. In a concert on 24 August 1982, he played the Proms premiere of

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

's Violin Concerto No. 3, conducted by

Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas "Ted" Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his ...

. He was Concertmaster of the

Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. History The orchestra was found ...

from 1955, the

from 1962 to 1965, and the

from 1972 to 1975. In addition, he was first violin with the London String Quartet (a later ensemble than the London Quartet), and he played chamber music on numerous occasions. Gruenberg taught at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

from 1982 and at the

in London from 1989, continuing to teach to age 95. He participated as an international music competition juror many times. Gruenberg made numerous recordings, including Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Beethoven's complete

with pianist

. He also played

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 ...

such as works by

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish and British composer, musical scholar, and writer, generally known outside his native region of Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' ...

Berthold Goldschmidt Berthold Goldschmidt (18 January 190317 October 1996) was a German Jewish composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many modernist critics elsewhere dismissed hi ...

and

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

. In 1976, he played the first recording of David Morgan's 1966 Violin Concerto with the

conducted by

Vernon Handley Vernon George "Tod" Handley (11 November 1930 – 10 September 2008) was a British conductor (music), conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. Early life and education He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mothe ...

. Gruenberg also played on several recordings by

, including as the lead violinist for their iconic album, '' Sgt. Pepper'', on the songs "

A Day in the Life "A Day in the Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as the final track of their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the opening and closing sections of the s ...

", "

She's Leaving Home "She's Leaving Home" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and released on their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the verse and John Lenno ...

" and "

Within You Without You "Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, it was his second composition in the Indian classical style, a ...

". The group whimsically had him play wearing a prop gorilla paw on his bow hand. Gruenberg was made an OBE in 1994. He played a

Stradivarius violin A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

, dated 1731. Gruenberg died in

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is a suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century ...

on 7 August 2020 at age 95. Jo Cole, head of strings at the Royal Academy, wrote in a tribute:

References

External links

* * *
Erich Gruenberg
International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2003

* David Morgan: (1966) (from Lyrita SRCD 276, track 5, initially from Lyrita SRCS 97 (1978) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruenberg, Erich 1924 births 2020 deaths Jewish classical musicians British classical violinists British male violinists Austrian classical violinists 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century British male musicians Male classical violinists Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music Austrian Jews Jews from Mandatory Palestine Austrian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Austrian emigrants to England British people of Austrian-Jewish descent British Jews British expatriates in Sweden Musicians from Vienna Musicians from London Officers of the Order of the British Empire Emigrants from Mandatory Palestine to the United Kingdom Leaders of the London Symphony Orchestra People of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Leaders of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra