Adolph H. Schellschmidt (August 30, 1867 – March 18, 1946) was an American cellist and composer. He wrote, studied, taught and performed classical and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. He was nicknamed "the dean of cellists."

Early life and education

Adolph Schellschmidt was born on August 30, 1867, in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. He was one of seven siblings. The family was very musical, with all children learning how to play an instrument to participate in the family

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

. His father, Adolph, taught Schellschmidt how to play the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

when Schellschmidt was ten. Two years later, at the age of 12, he began playing

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

after seeing Thedodore Hahn perform in Cincinnati. Schellschmidt eventually studied under Hahn in Chicago. Schellschmidt also learned how to play

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

at this time. He lived for a time in New York City, where her performed and was a member of the Musicians Protective Union. When he was 26, Schellschmidt traveled to Europe to study, and played in the first performance of ''

Death and Transfiguration ''Death and Transfiguration'' (german: Tod und Verklärung, link=no), Op. 24, is a tone poem for orchestra by Richard Strauss. Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on 18 November 1889. The work is dedicate ...

'', conducted by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

. In Europe, he also studied under Louis Hegyesi. He studied, alongside his sister Emma, at the

Cologne Conservatory Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

from 1890 until 1893.

Career

In 1893, Schellschmidt returned to Indianapolis from Europe. He started teaching at the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music. He started performing with the Schliewan String Quartet and co-organized the Kammermusik Society. Eventually, he joined the faculty at

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

, where he taught for 17 years and oversaw the

glee club A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...

. He also taught at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

from 1919 until 1921. He was a member and teacher at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory for 26 years. As of 1898, Schellschmidt taught at his personal studio, alongside his sisters Emma, on harp, and Bertha on violin. He was nicknamed "Schelley" by his students.

Later life and death

Schellschmidt died on March 18, 1946, at his home in Indianapolis after being sick for nine weeks. In tribute, the Arthur Jordan Conservatory yearbook, ''Opus'', was dedicated to Schellschmidt.

Legacy

Schellschmidt's sheet music collection is held in the collection of the

Indiana State Library The Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau is a public library building, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the largest public library in the state of Indiana, housing over 60,000 manuscripts. Established in 1934, the library has gather ...

. His papers are in the collection of DePauw University.

References

External links

"Musical Families in Early Indianapolis"
from Historic Indianapolis {{DEFAULTSORT:Schellschmidt, Adolph 1867 births 1946 deaths American classical cellists 20th-century American composers Musicians from Indianapolis DePauw University faculty Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni Indiana University faculty 20th-century cellists