Josef Isaakovitch Press (; 1882 or 1883 – October 4, 1924) was a Russian-American cellist.

Biography

Joseph Press was born in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

in 1882 or 1883. He won a gold prize scholarship to the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

. After graduating, he performed as a soloist, and became head of the cello department at the Petrograd Conservatory. He performed in the concerts of the

Society for Jewish Folk Music The Jewish art music movement began at the end of the 19th century in Russia, with a group of Russian Jewish classical composers dedicated to preserving Jewish folk music and creating a new, characteristically Jewish genre of classical music. The ...

which also featured violinists

Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (; December 10, 1987) was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin styl ...

and

Efrem Zimbalist Efrem Zimbalist (April 21 .S. April 9 1889 – February 22, 1985) was a Russian and American concert violinist, composer, conducting, conductor and director of the Curtis Institute of Music. Early life Efrem Zimbalist was born on April 9, 1 ...

the bass

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...

. In 1921, he emigrated to America with his brother, Michael Press. He began teaching at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

in 1922. He died of pneumonia in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

on October 4, 1924.''George Eastman: A Biography'' by Elizabeth Brayer (2006), page 322
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Joseph 1880s births 1924 deaths Cellists from the Russian Empire Musicians from Vilnius Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) 20th-century American cellists Soviet emigrants to the United States Moscow Conservatory alumni