Ruth Pierce Posselt (

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus al ...

, September 6, 1911''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Seventh Edition, Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Schirmer Books, New York, 1984, page 1804 – Gulfport, Florida, February 19, 2007''Florida State Times'', Alumni News, November 2007, page 11) was an American violinist and educator.

Studies and early career

Posselt studied violin with Emanuel Ondříček, a former student of

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". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...

, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1923. She won the Schubert Memorial Prize in 1929, toured

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the early 1930s and made her first tour of the United States in 1935. She performed with the National Orchestral Association, the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Me ...

, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and frequently with the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1 ...

. She was invited to perform at

The White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

by President and Mrs. Roosevelt in 1937. Posselt toured frequently as a recitalist, and formed a duo with pianist Luise Vosgerchian in 1958.

Premieres

Posselt performed several world premieres in her career, including

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...

's First Violin Concerto, a piece which was written for her, in 1940. (Violin Concerto No. 1) She also premiered a violin concerto by

Vladimir Dukelsky Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can't ...

, a.k.a. Vernon Duke, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conductor

Serge Koussevitsky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling " Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevi ...

in March 1943. Also with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Posselt premiered violin concertos by composers

Edward Burlingame Hill Edward Burlingame Hill (September 9, 1872 in Cambridge, Massachusetts – July 9, 1960 in Francestown, New Hampshire) was an American composer. Career After graduating from Harvard University in 1894, Hill studied music in Boston with John Knowl ...

(Concerto for Violin, Opus 38), in 1939, and

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

(revised version of Concerto for Violin and Orchestra), in 1949, and played the New York premiere of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the '' ...

's Violin Concerto in 1941.''New York Times'' review, "Boston Symphony Plays New Work," by Howard Taubman, January 10, 1941 In 1944, Posselt premiered

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

's Violin Sonata with the composer at the piano. She married violinist, concertmaster, and conductor Richard Burgin on July 3, 1940. Their son, Richard W. Burgin, was the author of numerous short-story collections and novels. Their daughter, Diana Lewis Burgin, is an author and professor of Russian at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

From 1958, Posselt performed on a 1732 Giuseppe Guarneri "Del Gesu" known as the "Posselt, Phillip".

Recordings

*BOSTON B-209 LP 195x ** Brahms / Wenzel (Posselt) *DECCA DL 9635 LP 1952 **Beethoven Trios – Bel Arte Trio *DECCA DL 9659 LP 1952 / BRUNSWICK(UK) AXTL 1031 **MOZART: Divertimento: for Violin, Viola & Cello ***THE BEL ARTE TRIO Ruth Posselt, violin; Joseph DePasquale, viola; Samuel Mayes, 'cello *KAPP KCL 9024 LP / UNICORN UNLP 1030 (reissue). **Italian music for strings of the baroque period. **Cambridge Society for Early Music; Erwin Bodky, director; ***Concerto in A major for violin, strings and continuo (The Pisendel-Concerto) / Vivaldi -- ***Sonata for violin and continuo in B minor, op. 1, no. 3 / Veracini -- ***Sonata in C major for 2 violins and continuo, op. 3, no. 1 / Dall'Abaco -- ***Concerto in D minor for violin, strings and continuo / Torelli -- ***Trio sonata in A major, op. 1, no. 3 for 2 violins and continuo / Albinoni. *COLUMBIA ML 4996 LP 1955 / SONY SMK 60725 CD **Lopatnikoff: Concertino; Dallapiccola: Tartiniana (POSSELT, vln); Shapero: Symphony for Classical Orchestra.

Teaching

Posselt taught and performed at Florida State University from 1963 to 1978, coming to the school as a visiting artist, continuing her stay as an artist in residence and member of the Florestan String Quartet, with her husband. Posselt eventually became a professor at the University. She also taught privately at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficia ...

and

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

Studies and early career

Premieres

Recordings

Teaching

References

Further reading