Toscha Seidel (November 17, 1899 – November 15, 1962) was a Russian

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

Biography

Seidel was born in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

on November 17, 1899, to a Jewish family. A student of

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 ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Seidel became known for a lush, romantic tone and unique and free rubato. In the 1930s he emigrated to the United States. Before making his way to Hollywood where he made a career in the studios of motion pictures, he had a show on CBS radio called The Toscha Seidel Program; he was also that radio network's musical director. He was featured (as soloist) in several Hollywood productions, including the movies ''

Intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

'', '' Melody for Three,'' and even ''The Wizard of Oz''. He was also an avid chess player (like

Mischa Elman Mischa (Mikhail Saulovich) Elman (; January 20, 1891April 5, 1967) was a Russian-American violinist famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality. Early life Moses or Moishe Elman was born to a Jewish fa ...

). In 1922, George Gershwin wrote a song about him and his fellow Russian-Jewish virtuoso violinists called, " Mischa, Jascha, Toscha, Sascha." Seidel had a weekly broadcast on the CBS radio network in the 1930s. In 1934 Seidel gave violin instruction to

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

, and received a sketch in return, reportedly diagramming length contraction of his

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

. He died on November 15, 1962.

Instruments

Seidel performed on several well-known violins including: *

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...

, the "da Vinci" 1714 (now known as the Ex-Seidel), which he purchased in 1924 for $25,000 and said he wouldn't trade it for a million *

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (often shortened to G. B. Guadagnini; 23 June 1711 – 18 September 1786) was an Italian luthier, regarded as one of the finest craftsmen of string instruments in history. Reprint with new introduction by Stewart Po ...

1786 (now known as the Ex-Seidel) * a copy of the "Alard Stradivari" by

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (; 7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. He was one of the finest French luthiers of the 19th century and a key figure in the world of violin making. ...

1860.

Quotes

* "The boy (

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 ...

) was one of those in a group of young Jewish violinists who later startled the world. The others would include

, Tosha Seidel,

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 ...

and

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian and American virtuoso violinist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for wo ...

." —New York Times by Harold Schonberg, Published: December 12, 1987

References

External links

Toscha Seidel recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

.
Toscha Seidel plays ''Intermezzo'' by Heinz Provost

Toscha Seidel plays ''Hungarian Dance No. 5'' by Johannes Brahms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seidel, Toscha 1899 births 1962 deaths Russian classical violinists American male violinists Jewish classical musicians Jewish Ukrainian musicians 20th-century American male musicians Russian male classical violinists Soviet violinists 20th-century American classical violinists