Maurice Eisenberg (February 24, 1900 - December 13, 1972)Data web site of Bibliothèque Nationale de France
/ref> was a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, both performer and teacher.

Biography

Born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

in a family of a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

, he was brought to the United States when he was two years old as his parents moved there in 1902. He started learning

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 ...

and then studied

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

in the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

with such teachers as W. Wirts, Willem Willeke or

Leo Schulz Leo Schulz (March 28, 1865 – August 12, 1944) was a Kingdom of Prussia-born American cellist. Biography Schulz was born in Poznań, the then Kingdom of Prussia, currently Poland. His grandfather, a bandmaster in the Prussian army, was origina ...

.Lyse Vézina, ''Le violoncelle: Ses origines, son histoire, ses interprètes'', Varia (Editions), 2006, p. 285 ( fr) Soloist, as early as 1916, of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

under

Stokowski Stokowski (feminine: Stokowska, plural: Stokowscy) is a Polish-language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anne K. Stokowski (1925–2020), American politician * Eugene E. Stokowski (1921–1979), American politician * Ferdynan ...

’s conducting, he became in 1918 principal

of the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

, then conducted by

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...

. In 1921, he met and even played with

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Julius Klengel Julius Klengel (24 September 1859 – 27 October 1933) was a German cellist who is most famous for his études and solo pieces written for the instrument. He was the brother of Paul Klengel. A member of the Gewandhausorchester of Leipzig at fif ...

Hugo Becker Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden. Biogr ...

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

and Diran Alexanian;

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

and they became lifelong friends.Web site of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Cello Music Collections)
/ref> Eisenberg spent the years between 1926-1939 playing and teaching in Europe: * Soloist with the main European and American orchestras, he premiered, in 1938 with the

Pasdeloup Orchestra The Pasdeloup Orchestra (also referred to as Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup) is the oldest symphony orchestra in France. History Founded in 1861 by Jules Pasdeloup with the name Concerts Populaires, it is the oldest orchestra still in existe ...

, the Concerto ballata composed and conducted by

Glazunov Glazunov (masculine, ) or Glazunova (feminine, ) is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer ** Glazunov Glacier in Antarctica named after Alexander * Andrei Glazunov, 19th-cent ...

as well as the ''Rhapsodie Hébraïque

Schelomo ''Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra'' was the final work of composer Ernest Bloch's ''Jewish Cycle''. ''Schelomo'' (the Hebrew form of "Solomon"), which was written in 1915 to 1916, premiered on May 3, 1917, played by ce ...

'' composed and conducted by

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (; ; July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. Several of his most no ...

. His interpretations of the

Cello Suites (Bach) The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the p ...

were a reference and he was playing in the Trio

Menuhin Menuhin or Menuchin is the surname of: *Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), American-Jewish concert pianist * Joel Ryce-Menuhin (1933–1998), Jungian psychologist * Linda Menuhin (born 1950), Iraqi-born Israeli journalist, editor, and blogger ...

. * He founded and was the artistic director of the « London International Violoncello Center » and taught at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where he succeeded Diran Alexanian. In the U.S., he held teaching positions at the

Academy of Music (Philadelphia) The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at 240 S. Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Despite its name, the Academy has never contained a mu ...

, the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

as well as at the Cambridge Longy School and, for the ten last years of his life, at the International Summer Courses of

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

). At the end of his life, Maurice Eisenberg was also teaching at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts 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 the Juilliard School, named afte ...

, and he died in 1972 while giving a course there. Maurice Eisenberg's book, ''Cello Playing of Today'', first published in 1957, has been re-edited several times. Michael Masters, one of his students, organized the publication of the Eisenberg's annotated version of the

References

American classical cellists 1900 births 1972 deaths Peabody Institute alumni 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians Musicians from Königsberg Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States 20th-century cellists Jewish American classical musicians {{cellist-stub