Siegmund Nissel
Encyclopedia
Siegmund "Sigi" Nissel was an German
-born British violin
ist who played second violin in the Amadeus Quartet
and served as its administrator.
Sigi Nissel was born in Munich
to a Jewish family from Vienna
. He began playing the violin at the age of 6. His mother died when he was 9. He was taken by his father to Vienna, where his teachers included Max Weissgärber. Nissel was evacuated from Vienna in 1938 to Great Britain.
During World War II, Nissel was interned as a "friendly enemy alien" on the Isle of Man
where he met the violist
Peter Schidlof
and later the violinist Norbert Brainin
. With the British cellist, Martin Lovett
, they would form the Amadeus Quartet.
The Amadeus Quartet, informally known as the Wolf Gang, gave its first concert in London in 1948. The Amadeus Quartet made some 200 recordings, among them the complete quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart and works by 20th-century composers such as Béla Bartók
and Benjamin Britten
(who wrote his third quartet for them).
Nissel played the "Payne" Stradivarius
of 1731.
Following the death of Schidlof from a heart attack in 1987, the Amadeus Quartet disbanded. Nissel became a teacher of young quartets at the Royal Academy of Music
.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
-born British 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 who played second violin in 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...
and served as its administrator.
Sigi Nissel was born in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to a Jewish family from 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...
. He began playing the violin at the age of 6. His mother died when he was 9. He was taken by his father to Vienna, where his teachers included Max Weissgärber. Nissel was evacuated from Vienna in 1938 to Great Britain.
During World War II, Nissel was interned as a "friendly enemy alien" on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
where he met the violist
Violist
-Notable violists:A* Julia Rebekka Adler * Sir Hugh Allen , conductor* Kris Allen * Johann Andreas Amon * Paul Angerer , composer* Steven Ansell * Atar Arad * Cecil Aronowitz...
Peter Schidlof
Peter Schidlof
Peter Schidlof was an Austrian-British violist and co-founder of the Amadeus Quartet.-Life and career:Born in Vienna, Schidlof fled Austria for England following the Nazi Anschluss in 1938. He won a scholarship to Blundell's School in Devon...
and later the violinist Norbert Brainin
Norbert Brainin
Norbert Brainin, , was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets....
. With the British cellist, Martin Lovett
Martin Lovett
Martin Lovett is an English cellist, known as the cellist with the Amadeus Quartet.When he was 11, his father, a cellist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, gave him his first lessons. At 15, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. He joined the Amadeus Quartet at the age...
, they would form the Amadeus Quartet.
The Amadeus Quartet, informally known as the Wolf Gang, gave its first concert in London in 1948. The Amadeus Quartet made some 200 recordings, among them the complete quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart and works by 20th-century composers such as Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
and 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...
(who wrote his third quartet for them).
Nissel played the "Payne" 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...
of 1731.
Following the death of Schidlof from a heart attack in 1987, the Amadeus Quartet disbanded. Nissel became a teacher of young quartets at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
.
Further reading
- Muriel Nissel, Married to the Amadeus: Life with a String Quartet, [ISBN 1-900357-12-7], Giles de la Mare Publishers Limited, 1998 (a memoir by Nissel's wife of her "marriage" to the Amadeus)
External links
- Siegmund Nissel: Second violin and administrator for the Amadeus Quartet, obituary in The Telegraph, 23 May 2008
- Siegmund Nissel, 86, of Amadeus Group, Is Dead, obituary in The New York Times, 24 May 2008