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Victor Rosenbaum (born 1941) is an American pianist, teacher, educator and administrator.


Early life

Rosenbaum was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, but spent most of his childhood, from age 5, in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. Showing an early interest in music, he began piano lessons at age 5 with Elizabeth Brock with whom he studied for eight years, later studying with Martin Marks of
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...
's Jordan College of Music. Rosenbaum also studied with Rosina Lhevinne for two summers at the Aspen Music School. His principal teacher during his college years and beyond was Leonard Shure, who himself had been a student and disciple of Artur Schnabel. Rosenbaum earned his BA degree at
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
and MFA at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
.


Career as pianist

As a pianist, Rosenbaum has performed in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Israel, Brazil, and in Europe. He was a member of two trios, the Wheaton Trio and the Figaro Trio. His recitals have taken him to Chicago, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, St. Petersburg (Russia), New York, and his long-time home, Boston, among many other places. His chamber music partners have included the Cleveland, Borromeo, and Brentano String Quartets, cellists
Leonard Rose Leonard Joseph Rose (July 27, 1918 – November 16, 1984) was an American cellist and pedagogue. Biography Rose was born in Washington, D.C. His parents were Jewish immigrants, his father from Bragin, Belarus, and his mother from Kyiv, ...
,
Paul Katz Paul Katz is an American cellist, who was a member of the Cleveland Quartet from 1969 to 1995.Katherine Millett "Cellist Paul Katz Puts His Students on Equal Footing" ''Strings'' August/Sept, 2007 He and his wife, pianist Pei-Shan Lee, reside in ...
, Laurence Lesser,
Colin Carr Colin Carr (born 25 October 1957) is a British cello soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and teacher. Biography Born in Liverpool, Carr is professor of cello at the Royal Academy of Music. He taught at the New England Conservatory in Bos ...
, and Michael Kannen, and violinists
Robert Mann Robert Nathaniel Mann (July 19, 1920 – January 1, 2018) was a violinist, composer, conductor, and founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet, as well as a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music. Mann, the first violinist at Jui ...
,
Roman Totenberg Roman Totenberg (January 1, 1911 – May 8, 2012) was a Polish-American violinist and educator. A child prodigy, he lived in Poland, Moscow, Berlin, and Paris, before formally immigrating to the U.S. in 1938, at age 27. He performed and taught ...
, James Buswell,
Arnold Steinhardt Arnold Steinhardt (born April 1, 1937 in Los Angeles, California) is an American violinist, best known as the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet. Steinhardt made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 14 ...
and
Eric Rosenblith Eric Rosenblith (December 11, 1920 – December 16, 2010) was an Austrian-born American violinist. He was the former concertmaster of the Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United Sta ...
. Festival appearances have included Tanglewood, Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall, The Heifetz Institute, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Puerto Rico International Piano Festival, and Tel Hai and Kfar Blum in Israel, among others. His performances have been widely praised for their communicative power. One early review said: "Rosenbaum is one of those artists who make up for all the drudgery the habitual concert goer must endure in the hopes of finding the occasional, real right thing." (Boston Globe).


Teaching and other activities

Rosenbaum began teaching at the New England Conservatory in 1967 and that remained his primary musical home for 53 years until 2020. During much of his tenure at NEC he was Chair of the Piano and Chamber Music departments. He was also Visiting Professor of Piano at Eastman School of Music during the 1983–'84 academic year, and taught at Mannes College of Music in New York from 2003 to 2017. He has also held adjunct positions at Brandeis University and MIT, as well as teaching at the summer festivals mentioned above (see Pianist Career). He has also been a guest teacher at Juilliard and gives master classes worldwide at such places as the Jerusalem Music Center, the Toho School (Tokyo), St. Petersburg (Russia) Conservatory, the Moscow Conservatory, and the three main music schools of London: The Royal College of Music, The Royal Academy of Music, and The Guildhall School. Rosenbaum was also Director (later designated President) of the Longy School of Music (later of Bard College) from 1985 to 2001. During his sixteen-year tenure as head of that school, the institution greatly expanded its educational scope and became a cultural center for the Boston/Cambridge community. The community division grew exponentially, and a master's degree program was developed for aspiring professionals. Festivals, symposia, and concert series became central to the activities of the school, as well as outreach activities into Cambridge and Boston school systems and communities. Rosenbaum has also been intermittently active as a composer and conductor. While still in graduate school he won a national choral composition competition and his works have been performed in the US and abroad. He has guest conducted the New England Conservatory orchestra, as well as community orchestras in and around Boston. He founded and conducted The Concerto Company, a chamber orchestra whose mission was to give young artists the opportunity to perform as soloist with an orchestra. Rosenbaum frequently gives lectures and workshops to teachers' organizations around the country. He has also recorded widely praised CDs on the
Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his firs ...
and Fleur de Son labels. They include two discs of Beethoven's music (one of which, comprising the last three sonatas, was named one of the 10 best Classical CDs of 2005) three of Schubert, one Mozart, and a Brahms disc released in 2020. In 2022 he was appointed Visiting Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenbaum, Victor 1941 births Living people American male composers 20th-century American composers American male conductors (music) Musicians from Indianapolis Brandeis University alumni Princeton University alumni New England Conservatory faculty Longy School of Music of Bard College faculty Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Academic staff of Toho Gakuen School of Music Pupils of Edward T. Cone 20th-century American pianists American male pianists 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) Eastman School of Music faculty Mannes College The New School for Music faculty