Louis Persinger (11 February 1887, Rochester, Illinois31 December 1966, New York, New York) 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,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and professor of violin. Persinger had early lessons in Colorado, appearing in public by the age of 12. His main studies were at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

where he studied violin with Hans Becker, piano with Carl Beving, conducting with

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

before finishing with

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 ...

in Brussels and then studying with

Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won th ...

in France for two summers. Arthur Nikisch described him as "one of the most talented pupils the Leipzig Conservatory ever had." He served as leader of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

orchestra and the Royal Opera Orchestra in Brussels before being appointed leader and assistant conductor of the

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Franci ...

in 1915 and succeeding

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer (; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Auer was born in ...

at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York in 1930. He was best known as the teacher of great violinists

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

Ruggiero Ricci Ruggiero Ricci (24 July 1918 – 5 August 2012) was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini. Biography He was born in San Bruno, California, the son of Italian immigrants who first named him Woodr ...

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Ukraine, Stern moved to the United States when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union a ...

, Myriam Solovieff, Stephan Hero, Camilla Wicks,

Almita Vamos Roland and Almita Vamos are a husband and wife who are violin and viola instructors. The Vamoses have been recognized at the White House seven times and were named Distinguished Teachers by the National Endowment for the Arts. They have been hono ...

Fredell Lack Fredell Lack (February 19, 1922 – August 20, 2017) was an American violinist. Noted as a concert soloist, recording artist, chamber musician, and teacher, she was the C. W. Moores Distinguished Professor of Violin at the Moores School of ...

, Guila Bustabo,

Arnold Eidus Arnold Eidus (28 November 1922 – 3 June 2013) was a concert violinist and recording artist. Life Eidus's father (Harry Eidus, 1897–1984), a Jewish immigrant from Dvinsk, Latvia, was a violinist; his mother (Sadie "Sonia" Birkenfeld, 1901–1 ...

, Donald Erickson,

Zvi Zeitlin Zvi Zeitlin (21 February 19222 May 2012) was a Russian-born American classical violinist and teacher. Born in Dubroŭna, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (now in Belarus), the son of Jewish parents: a doctor and amateur violinist, Zeitlin w ...

, Leonard Posner, Enrique Danowicz and Louise Behrend. He was also Ricci's piano accompanist for many recitals and recordings, and Menuhin's for his first few recordings.

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(1996), Flammarion. * ''The Violin and I'', by Kato Havas (1968/1975), Bosworth & Co. Ltd. * ''Violins & Violinists'', by Franz Farga (1950), Rockliff Publishing Corporation Ltd. * '' Ysaÿe'', by Prof. Dr. Lev Ginsburg (1980), Paganiniana Publications Inc. American male classical violinists Concertmasters American male classical pianists American male pianists 20th-century male pianists Juilliard School faculty 1887 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American classical pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical violinists San Francisco Symphony Berlin Philharmonic {{US-classical-pianist-stub

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