Cecil Aronowitz
Encyclopedia
Cecil Aronowitz was a British
viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber music
ian and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music
and the Royal Northern College of Music
.
, South Africa
. In 1933 he began studying the violin
in Durban
with Stirling Robbins. After two years he came to England
on an overseas scholarship
to study at the Royal College of Music in London
. In 1939 the war interrupted his studies and he spent the next six years in the army. When he returned to England he switched to the viola
.
The Amadeus Quartet
asked him regularly to play second viola in the string quintet
and string sextet
repertoire. In spring 1949 he was with the violas of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
.In 1950 he co-founded the Melos Ensemble. He was the violist of the group for decades, and Terence Weil
was the cellist. Bassoonist William Waterhouse wrote in 1995: "It was the remarkable rapport between this pair of lower strings, which remained constant throughout a succession of distinguished leaders, that gave a special distinction to this outstanding ensemble." He played and recorded with the Pro Arte Piano Quartet, with Kenneth Sillito (violin), Terence Weil and Lamar Crowson
(piano). He played regularly with the London Mozart Players
and was principal violist with the Goldsbrough Orchestra (later to become the English Chamber Orchestra
). He also appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival
every year from 1949 until his death, as a soloist, chamber musician, and leader of the violas in the English Opera Group
.
Benjamin Britten
wrote many viola parts with Cecil Aronowitz in mind, particularly in his chamber opera
s and church operas. The chamber music in his War Requiem
was written for the Melos Ensemble and conducted by the composer in the first performance in Coventry in 1962 and the first recording in 1963. Cecil Aronowitz also participated in the premiere and first recording of Britten's Curlew River
in 1964. In 1976 Britten wrote for him a version of his Lachrymae (written for William Primrose
in 1950, originally for viola and piano) for viola and string orchestra.
In 1951 he premiered the Suite for Viola and Cello by Arthur Butterworth
with Terence Weil. Alun Hoddinott
wrote a Viola Concertino for him in 1958. Variations for Viola and Piano (1958), the Op. 1 of Hugh Wood
, was premiered by Margaret Kitchin
and Cecil Aronowitz at the 1960 Aldeburgh Festival. In the 1960s, he played in the Cremona Quartet with leader Hugh Maguire
, Iona Brown
, and Terence Weil. At the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival he and his wife Nicola Grunberg gave the first public performance outside Russia of Shostakovich's
last work, the Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147, in the presence of Britten and Shostakovich's widow.
He taught viola and chamber music at the Royal College of Music
for 25 years, then in 1973 became the first Head of Strings at the newly formed Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester
. The RNCM has regularly awarded a Cecil Aronowitz Prize for viola.
In 1978 he suffered a stroke in a performance of Mozart's
String Quintet in C major
and died in Ipswich
, England
, the following morning.
for both woodwind
s and strings
were reissued in 2011, including the works for larger ensembles which were the reason to found the ensemble, such as Beethoven's
Septet
and Octet, Schubert's
Octet
and Ravel's Introduction and Allegro
, played with Osian Ellis
(harp), Richard Adeney
(flute), Gervase de Pexer (clarinet), Emanuel Hurwitz
and Ivor McMahon
(violin
), and Terence Weil
(cello
).
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
ian and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
.
Biography
Aronowitz was born in 1916 in King William's TownKing William's Town
King William's Town is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about 40 minutes' motorway drive WNW of the Indian Ocean port of East London...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. In 1933 he began studying the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
with Stirling Robbins. After two years he came to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on an overseas scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to study at the Royal College of Music in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1939 the war interrupted his studies and he spent the next six years in the army. When he returned to England he switched to the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
.
The Amadeus Quartet
Amadeus Quartet
The Amadeus Quartet was a world famous string quartet founded in 1947.Because of their Jewish origin, violinists Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof were driven out of Vienna after Hitler's Anschluss of 1938...
asked him regularly to play second viola in the string quintet
String quintet
A string quintet is a musical composition for a standard string quartet supplemented by a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello , but occasionally a double bass. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who favoured addition of a viola, is considered a pioneer of the form...
and string sextet
String sextet
In classical music, a string sextet is a composition written for six string instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such a composition. Most string sextets have been written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, two violas, and two cellos....
repertoire. In spring 1949 he was with the violas of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
.In 1950 he co-founded the Melos Ensemble. He was the violist of the group for decades, and Terence Weil
Terence Weil
Terence Weil was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music.-Biography:Terence Weil was trained as a cellist under Herbert Walenn at the...
was the cellist. Bassoonist William Waterhouse wrote in 1995: "It was the remarkable rapport between this pair of lower strings, which remained constant throughout a succession of distinguished leaders, that gave a special distinction to this outstanding ensemble." He played and recorded with the Pro Arte Piano Quartet, with Kenneth Sillito (violin), Terence Weil and Lamar Crowson
Lamar Crowson
John Lamar Crowson was an American concert pianist and a chamber musician....
(piano). He played regularly with the London Mozart Players
London Mozart Players
The London Mozart Players is a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. The LMP is the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom whose performances and recordings focus largely on the core repertoire from the Classical era...
and was principal violist with the Goldsbrough Orchestra (later to become the English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
). He also appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
every year from 1949 until his death, as a soloist, chamber musician, and leader of the violas in the English Opera Group
English Opera Group
The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten for the purpose of presenting his and other, primarily British, composers' operatic works. The group later expanded in order to present larger-scale works, and was renamed the English...
.
Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
wrote many viola parts with Cecil Aronowitz in mind, particularly in his chamber opera
Chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...
s and church operas. The chamber music in his War Requiem
War Requiem
The War Requiem, Op. 66 is a large-scale, non-liturgical setting of the Requiem Mass composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962. Interspersed with the traditional Latin texts, in telling juxtaposition, are settings of Wilfred Owen poems...
was written for the Melos Ensemble and conducted by the composer in the first performance in Coventry in 1962 and the first recording in 1963. Cecil Aronowitz also participated in the premiere and first recording of Britten's Curlew River
Curlew River
Curlew River — A Parable for Church Performance is the first of three Church Parables by Benjamin Britten. The work is based on the Japanese noh play Sumidagawa of Juro Motomasa , which Britten saw during a visit to Japan and the Far East in early 1956...
in 1964. In 1976 Britten wrote for him a version of his Lachrymae (written for William Primrose
William Primrose
William Primrose CBE was a Scottish violist and teacher.-Biography:Primrose was born in Glasgow and studied violin initially. In 1919 he moved to study at the then Guildhall School of Music in London. On the urging of the accompanist Ivor Newton, Primrose moved to Belgium to study under Eugène...
in 1950, originally for viola and piano) for viola and string orchestra.
In 1951 he premiered the Suite for Viola and Cello by Arthur Butterworth
Arthur Butterworth
Arthur Butterworth MBE is an English composer, conductor and teacher.Butterworth attended the Royal Manchester College of Music , where he studied composition with Richard Hall and also learned the trumpet and conducting...
with Terence Weil. Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
wrote a Viola Concertino for him in 1958. Variations for Viola and Piano (1958), the Op. 1 of Hugh Wood
Hugh Wood
Hugh Wood is a British composer.- Biography :While Wood was brought up in a musical family, it was only after graduating in History from Oxford that he decided to dedicate his energies to composition; and he moved to London in 1954 to study with William Lloyd Webber, Anthony Milner, Iain Hamilton,...
, was premiered by Margaret Kitchin
Margaret Kitchin
Margaret Kitchin was a classical pianist, born in Switzerland but long resident in the United Kingdom. She was strongly associated with contemporary music and gave many premieres of works by composers such as Michael Tippett, Thea Musgrave, Priaulx Rainier and Peter Racine Fricker.-External...
and Cecil Aronowitz at the 1960 Aldeburgh Festival. In the 1960s, he played in the Cremona Quartet with leader Hugh Maguire
Hugh Maguire (violinist)
Hugh Maguire is an Irish violinist, leader, concertmaster and principal player of the London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra , leader of the Melos Ensemble and the Allegri Quartet, a professor at the Royal Academy of Music, and violin tutor to the National Youth Orchestra of...
, Iona Brown
Iona Brown
Iona Brown, OBE was a British violinist and conductor.Elizabeth Iona Brown was born in Salisbury. Her parents Antony and Fiona were both musicians...
, and Terence Weil. At the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival he and his wife Nicola Grunberg gave the first public performance outside Russia of Shostakovich's
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
last work, the Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147, in the presence of Britten and Shostakovich's widow.
He taught viola and chamber music at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
for 25 years, then in 1973 became the first Head of Strings at the newly formed Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The RNCM has regularly awarded a Cecil Aronowitz Prize for viola.
In 1978 he suffered a stroke in a performance of Mozart's
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
String Quintet in C major
String Quintet No. 3 (Mozart)
The String Quintet No. 3 in C major, K. 515 is written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Like all of Mozart's string quintets, it is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet and an extra viola ....
and died in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the following morning.
Publications
- Entries to Cecil Aronowitz in the Library of Congress
- [ Biography and entries to Cecil Aronowitz in allmusic]
- Entries to Cecil Aronowitz in WorldCat
Selected recordings
His long discography includes many notable recordings with the Melos Ensemble. Their recordings of chamber musicChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
for both woodwind
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
were reissued in 2011, including the works for larger ensembles which were the reason to found the ensemble, such as Beethoven's
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Septet
Septet (Beethoven)
The Septet in E-flat major, Opus 20, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was sketched out in 1799, completed and first performed in 1800 and published in 1802. The score contains the notation: "Der Kaiserin Maria Theresia gewidmet", or translated, "Dedicated to the Empress Maria Theresa." It is scored for...
and Octet, Schubert's
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
Octet
Octet (Schubert)
The Octet in F major, D. 803 was composed by Franz Schubert in March 1824. It was commissioned by the renowned clarinetist Ferdinand Troyer and came from the same period as two of Schubert's other major chamber works, the Rosamunde and the Death and the Maiden string quartets.-Structure:Consisting...
and Ravel's Introduction and Allegro
Introduction and Allegro (Ravel)
Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and String Quartet was written by Maurice Ravel in 1905...
, played with Osian Ellis
Osian Ellis
Osian Gwynn Ellis CBE is a Welsh harpist and composer.-Career:Osian Ellis was born in Ffynnongroyw, Flintshire in 1928. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Gwendolen Mason, whom he later succeeded as Professor of Harp from 1959 to 1989. He joined the London Symphony Orchestra in 1961...
(harp), Richard Adeney
Richard Adeney
Richard Gilford Adeney was a British flautist who played principal flute with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, was a soloist and a founding member of the Melos Ensemble.-Biography:...
(flute), Gervase de Pexer (clarinet), Emanuel Hurwitz
Emanuel Hurwitz
Emanuel Hurwitz CBE was a British violinist. He was born in London with parents of Russian-Jewish ancestry....
and Ivor McMahon
Ivor McMahon
Ivor McMahon was an English violinist. He played with notable orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra and is best known for playing second violin in the Melos Ensemble.-Professional career:...
(violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
), and Terence Weil
Terence Weil
Terence Weil was a British cellist, principal cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music.-Biography:Terence Weil was trained as a cellist under Herbert Walenn at the...
(cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
).
- Mátyás SeiberMátyás SeiberMátyás György Seiber was a Hungarian-born composer who lived and worked in England from 1935 onward.-Career:Seiber was born in Budapest, and studied there with Zoltán Kodály, with whom he toured Hungary collecting folk songs. In 1928, he became director of the jazz department at the Hoch...
: Elegy for viola and orchestra, London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
, Mátyás Seiber (1960) - Benjamin Britten: War Requiem (1963)
- Benjamin Britten: Curlew River (1965)
- Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
: String Quintets, String Sextet No. 1, String Sextet No. 1String Sextet No. 2 (Brahms)Johannes Brahms' String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Opus 36 was composed during the years of 1864-1865 and published by the firm of Fritz Simrock.It was first performed in Boston, Massachusetts on October 11, 1866....
, Amadeus Quartet, William PleethWilliam PleethWilliam Pleeth OBE was a well-known British cellist and an eminent teacher, who became widely known as the teacher of Jacqueline du Pré.- Early years :...
(1966-1968) - Gustav HolstGustav HolstGustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
: Lyric Movement for Viola and Small Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Imogen HolstImogen HolstImogen Clare Holst, CBE was a British composer and conductor, and sole child of composer Gustav Holst.Imogen Holst was brought up in west London and educated at St Paul's Girls' School, where her father was director of music...
(1967) - W.A. Mozart: String Quintets, Amadeus Quartet (1967-1974)
- Paul HindemithPaul HindemithPaul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
: TrauermusikTrauermusikTrauermusik is a suite for viola and orchestra, written on 21 January 1936 by Paul Hindemith at very short notice in honour of King George V of the United Kingdom, who died the previous night...
for viola and strings, English Chamber Orchestra, Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
(1968) - Hector BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
: Harold en Italie, with the York Symphony Orchestra - Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
: Flos CampiFlos CampiFlos Campi: suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, completed in 1925. Its title is Latin for "flower of the field". It is neither a concerto nor a choral piece, although it prominently features the viola and a...
, with the Jacques Orchestra and the Choir of King's College, CambridgeChoir of King's College, CambridgeThe Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the...
, David Willcocks (1970) - Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
: Prelude to CapriccioCapriccio (opera)Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
, Amadeus Quartet, William Pleeth (1971) - Johannes Brahms: Two Songs, Op. 91, Janet BakerJanet BakerDame Janet Abbott Baker, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.She was particularly closely associated with baroque and early Italian opera and the works of Benjamin Britten...
, André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
(piano)
External links
- Website "dedicated to the life, artistry and career of the distinguished and much admired viola player Cecil Aronowitz"