David Hochstein
Encyclopedia
David Hochstein was an American virtuoso
violin
ist from Rochester, New York
. After enlisting in the United States Army
during World War I, he was killed during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
. In his honor, a music school was started in Rochester, and it now bears the name Hochstein School of Music & Dance.
, with whom she arrived in Rochester on January 1, 1886, joining their sister Lena and her husband.
Jacob and Helena were married in 1888. Their son David, born in 1892, demonstrated an aptitude for music from infancy, according to his father. For his fifth birthday, David received his first violin, a gift from his father, who became the boy's first instructor.
Around 1902, David Hochstein was playing his violin at the home of a friend whose father was architect J. Foster Warner
. Emily Sibley Watson, a patron of the arts, lived next door to the Warners and heard Hochstein's playing. Watson, who was the daughter of Western Union
president Hiram Sibley
, recognized Hochstein's talent and took it upon herself to fund his further education both at home and abroad.
With Watson as benefactor, Hochstein studied under Otakar Ševčík
in Vienna
and later Leopold Auer
in Saint Petersburg
. By 1914, Watson had prevailed upon George Eastman
, the photography magnate who was Rochester's most influential philanthropist and artistic patron, to loan a pair of violins to Hochstein. One of the violins was a 1715 Stradivarius
; the other was a 1735 Landolfi
. Hochstein began playing across the United States and Europe, making his Carnegie Hall
debut in 1915. By this time, it was clear Hochstein was a rising star and destined for greatness.
By the time World War I began, Jacob Hochstein had died, and David was the sole support for his mother. His aunt, Goldman, warned him away from enlisting in the military, but Hochstein was torn. He was no fan of the war, but he felt a responsibility to his country and some guilt about using his talents to avoid making the same sacrifices as his peers. He initially received a hardship exemption from military service, due to his mother being widowed, but thought better of it and had the exemption rescinded. He joined the United States Army
in October 1917 and specficially requested assignment to a combat unit.
Nonetheless, he continued playing while he was in the service. The last time Hochstein played the Stradivarius was March 8, 1918, at a recital attended by Margaret Woodrow Wilson
, daughter of the President, at Camp Upton
on Long Island
. The next day, during a trip by the Camp's vaudeville troupe to Rockville Center, the bus carrying the troupe broke down and crashed. There were no injuries, but the violin ended up in pieces. Hochstein returned to Rochester with the violin, where Eastman apparently arranged for its repair; the violin has been recorded as in the possession of John Friedrich & Brothers in New York City by 1919, and since 1959 as in the ownership of virtuoso Steven Staryk
.
Hochstein was killed in October 1918, a casualty of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
in France, the last major Allied offensive of the war. Helena Hochstein died within the year.
The school, with a sliding tuition scale based on a family's ability to pay, admitted its first students in February 1920. The first director of the school was Harold Gleason, Eastman's personal organist. The school quickly joined the forefront of community music education in the United States, a burgeoning movement that took off in the postwar years.
Today, the school, now called the Hochstein School of Music & Dance, still teaches music to members of the Rochester community, and still offering tuition assistance to avoid turning anyone away. The school outgrew its quarters twice and now resides on Plymouth Avenue in downtown Rochester. Notable alumni include bandleader Mitch Miller
and Broadway actress Donna Lynne Champlin
.
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
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....
ist from Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. After enlisting in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War I, he was killed during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...
. In his honor, a music school was started in Rochester, and it now bears the name Hochstein School of Music & Dance.
Biography
Helena Zodokoff and Jacob Hochstein were both Russian Jews who had fled their home country; they met for the first time in Rochester. Jacob was said to be fluent in six languages. Helena, born in 1860, was the elder half-sister of future anarchist Emma GoldmanEmma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
, with whom she arrived in Rochester on January 1, 1886, joining their sister Lena and her husband.
Jacob and Helena were married in 1888. Their son David, born in 1892, demonstrated an aptitude for music from infancy, according to his father. For his fifth birthday, David received his first violin, a gift from his father, who became the boy's first instructor.
Around 1902, David Hochstein was playing his violin at the home of a friend whose father was architect J. Foster Warner
J. Foster Warner
J. Foster Warner , also known as John Foster Warner, was a Rochester, New York-based architect. He was the son of one of Rochester's most prominent 19th century architects, Andrew Jackson Warner...
. Emily Sibley Watson, a patron of the arts, lived next door to the Warners and heard Hochstein's playing. Watson, who was the daughter of Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
president Hiram Sibley
Hiram Sibley
Hiram Sibley , was an industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.Sibley was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, and later resided in Rochester, New York. He became interested in the work of Samuel Morse involving the telegraph.In 1840, he joined with Morse and Ezra Cornell to create a...
, recognized Hochstein's talent and took it upon herself to fund his further education both at home and abroad.
With Watson as benefactor, Hochstein studied under Otakar Ševčík
Otakar Ševcík
Otakar Ševčík was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe.-Biography:...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and later Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer
Leopold Auer was a Hungarian violinist, teacher, conductor and composer.-Early life and career:...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. By 1914, Watson had prevailed upon George Eastman
George Eastman
George Eastman was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream...
, the photography magnate who was Rochester's most influential philanthropist and artistic patron, to loan a pair of violins to Hochstein. One of the violins was a 1715 Stradivarius
Stradivarius
The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...
; the other was a 1735 Landolfi
Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi
-Personal History:Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi was a legendary, individual master luthier who was active in the Italian 18th century during the golden age of stringed instrument making....
. Hochstein began playing across the United States and Europe, making his Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut in 1915. By this time, it was clear Hochstein was a rising star and destined for greatness.
By the time World War I began, Jacob Hochstein had died, and David was the sole support for his mother. His aunt, Goldman, warned him away from enlisting in the military, but Hochstein was torn. He was no fan of the war, but he felt a responsibility to his country and some guilt about using his talents to avoid making the same sacrifices as his peers. He initially received a hardship exemption from military service, due to his mother being widowed, but thought better of it and had the exemption rescinded. He joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in October 1917 and specficially requested assignment to a combat unit.
Nonetheless, he continued playing while he was in the service. The last time Hochstein played the Stradivarius was March 8, 1918, at a recital attended by Margaret Woodrow Wilson
Margaret Woodrow Wilson
Margaret Woodrow Wilson was the daughter of President Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Louise Axson. Wilson had two sisters, Jessie W. Wilson and Eleanor R. Wilson...
, daughter of the President, at Camp Upton
Camp Upton
Camp Upton was an installation of the United States Army located in Yaphank on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was located near Camp Mills.-History:...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. The next day, during a trip by the Camp's vaudeville troupe to Rockville Center, the bus carrying the troupe broke down and crashed. There were no injuries, but the violin ended up in pieces. Hochstein returned to Rochester with the violin, where Eastman apparently arranged for its repair; the violin has been recorded as in the possession of John Friedrich & Brothers in New York City by 1919, and since 1959 as in the ownership of virtuoso Steven Staryk
Steven Staryk
Steven Sam Staryk, OC is a Canadian violin virtuoso.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of Ukrainian descent, he began his musical education as a child at the Harbord Collegiate Institute...
.
Hochstein was killed in October 1918, a casualty of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...
in France, the last major Allied offensive of the war. Helena Hochstein died within the year.
Legacy
Reportedly, before leaving for war, Hochstein had expressed a desire to sponsor an effort to educate the underprivileged of Rochester in the musical arts, in such a way that cost to the students and their families would not be an obstacle. In Hochstein's memory, then, Emily Sibley Watson and George Eastman, with support from others, undertook to create a lasting memorial. Two benefit concerts were held in 1919, and Watson purchased the vacant Hochstein home, which then became the locus of the David Hochstein Music School Settlement.The school, with a sliding tuition scale based on a family's ability to pay, admitted its first students in February 1920. The first director of the school was Harold Gleason, Eastman's personal organist. The school quickly joined the forefront of community music education in the United States, a burgeoning movement that took off in the postwar years.
Today, the school, now called the Hochstein School of Music & Dance, still teaches music to members of the Rochester community, and still offering tuition assistance to avoid turning anyone away. The school outgrew its quarters twice and now resides on Plymouth Avenue in downtown Rochester. Notable alumni include bandleader Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
and Broadway actress Donna Lynne Champlin
Donna Lynne Champlin
Donna Lynne Champlin is an actress from New York City. She is married to actor Andrew Arrow.Her burgeoning career began at the age of four, when she performed a tap solo in a local variety show...
.