André Gertler (26 July 1907 – 23 July 1998) was a Hungarian classical violinist and teacher. Professor at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

(1940–1977), Professor at the Cologne Academy of Music (1954–1957), Professor at the College of Music in Hannover (1964), founder and leader of the Gertler Quartet.

Biography

Andre Gertler (Hungarian name Gertler Endre) was born in Budapest, Hungary. The talent for arts manifested in his family in several fields: one of his two brothers, Pál Gertler, became a painter while

Viktor Gertler Viktor Gertler (24 August 1901 – 5 July 1969) was a Hungarian film editor and director active between the 1930s and 1960s.Burns p.15 Selected filmography Editor * '' The Three from the Filling Station'' (1930) * '' The Man in Search of His Mu ...

was a famous movie director in Hungary. He started his violin studies at the age of six in Budapest, finishing it at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with a degree recital in 1925, where his teachers were József Bloch, Oszkár Studer, Jenő Hubay, Leo Weiner (chamber music), and

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music ed ...

(composition). As many other Hubay-students neither did Gertler continue his career in Hungary, He settled in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1928, with recommendations of his teachers, where he could improve his technique by Eugène Ysaÿe. After his first concerts in Brussels followed several concert engagements in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Switzerland,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He became a teacher at the

, in

. He founded the Gertler Quartett with the young violinist Baumann in 1931, leading his quartet he toured the world's stages for two decades (1931-1951). They performed yearly in Budapest between 1932 and 1936, including Bartók's quartets among others in their programs. His reputation in

is shown by the fact, that already in 1937 he was a member of the Jury of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, but he was on the jury of several other international competitions, the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in 1952. (Poznan), where he made the acquaintance of the first prize winner

Igor Oistrakh Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (russian: И́горь Дави́дович О́йстрах; uk, Ігор Давидович Ойстрах 27 April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by ''Encyclopædia Brita ...

he tied to him a lifelong friendship. He was married to the Danish pianist Diane Andersen, with whom he regularly concertized and recorded.

Commitment to contemporary music

Although there were professional tensions between his master, the conservatively inclined

Hubay Hubay is a Hungarian surname Hungarian names include surnames and given names. Some people have more than one given name, but only one is normally used. In the Hungarian language, whether written or spoken, names are invariably given in the "Eas ...

and the progressively minded Bartók, both his master and Bartók's music were destined to play a major role in the activities of Gertler. His real debut at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music had been done some months before his degree recital. The program of this concert anticipated his commitment to the

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included se ...

: two new Swiss works, ''Violin Concerto'' of

Hermann Suter Hermann Suter (28 April 1870 – 22 June 1926) was a Swiss composer and conductor. Biography Born in Kaiserstuhl, Aargau, Suter studied in the conservatories at Basel, Stuttgart and Leipzig, under Hans Huber and Carl Reinecke. He was an orga ...

and Volkmar Andreae's ''Rhapsody''. Gertler was a great admirer of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hun ...

. He recorded the complete violin works of the composer for the Supraphon label, including his two concertos, that was awarded Grand Prix du Disque in Paris (1967). He is considered one of the best players of Bartók's music. His recording of the ''44 duos for violins'', with

Josef Suk Josef Suk may refer to: * Josef Suk (composer) (1874–1935), Czech composer and violinist * Josef Suk (violinist) (1929–2011), his grandson, Czech violinist and conductor {{Hndis, Suk, Josef ...

, is considered one of the best versions available. Bartók and Gertler met first in connection with the transcribing of the ''Sonatina for violin'' and piano presumably in 1926, learning at first hand the composer's performance intentions for his own music. Bartók and Gertler gave concerts together, first at Papa (Hungary) in 1937, after it in Antwerp and

in 1938. He premiered the ''Violin Concerto No. 1'' - composed for

Stefi Geyer Stefi Geyer (June 28, 1888 in Budapest – December 11, 1956 in Zürich) was a Hungarian violinist who was considered one of the leading violinists of her generation. Biography Born in 1888 in Budapest, she was the daughter of Josef Geyer, a p ...

by the young Bartók - in Budapest in 1960, and it was also he who premiered both ''Violin Concertos'' of Bartók in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, as well as the ''Sonata for Solo Violin'' in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He kept several masterworks of the twentieth century constantly on his repertoire. Gertler premiered the ''Violin Concerto'' of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

in Budapest (1948) being unknown at that time there, and later he became well known in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

- particularly for his performances of

's ''Violin Concerto'' both in the concert hall and for broadcasting. Recordings of the Hungarian immigrant composer, Mátyás Seiber: ''Fantasia concertante'',

Rezső Kókai Rezső Kókai (15 January 1906 – 6 March 1962) was a Hungarians, Hungarian composer and musicologist. Life Kókai studied composition with Hans von Koessler, János Koessler and piano with Emánuel Hegyi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. In ...

: ''Violin concerto'', Béla Tardos: ''Sonata'' is proving his commitment to the Hungarian music. He made the acquaintance of many of the twentieth century’s composers, as

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the '' ...

and Karl Amadeus Hartmann.

Teaching

Gertler had a respectable career as a pedagogue, as well. He joined the staff of the

in 1940, first as chamber music professor, he was appointed the professor of violin a few years later - a post he held until the age of 70. In 1954, he became the professor at the Cologne Academy of Music for three years and ten years later, in 1964, he received a professorship at the College of Music in Hannover. Graham Whettam commemorates the music pedagogue Gertler as „Andre Gertler was part of a link stretching back through only one intermediary teacher to another celebrated Hungarian, the violinist

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...

, and through him directly to Felix Mendelssohn.” Independent 18 August 1998
/ref> He shared his experiences gladly in his home country – he was a permanent guest professor of the International Bartók Seminars in Budapest and then in Szombathely. Among his foremost students were Joshua Epstein, Rudolf Werthen,

Yair Kless Yair Kless ( he, יאיר קלס; born November 12, 1940) is an Israeli violinist and professor. Background Kless began performing at an early age, attaining a world-wide reputation in his activities like soloist and chamber musician. His repert ...

André Rieu André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (; is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act. He re ...

Yossi Zivoni Yossi Zivoni (born Joseph Krasilshikoff) is a violinist, born in Tel Aviv of parents, both of whom were doctors. His middle-class upbringing instilled in him a passion for music and he began to play the flute. At the age of six, while playing his fl ...

, Carola Nasdala, Hedwig Pirlet-Reiners, Michel Bessler.Nilla Pierrou

In the Jury

Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels. The competition is named after Queen ...

of Belgium in Brussels, *

Paganini Competition The Paganini Competition (aka Premio Paganini or Paganini Concore) is an international violin competition named after the famed virtuoso and founder of contemporary violin technique Niccolò Paganini. Created in 1954 it has been carried out ever ...

in Genoa (Italy) * Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznan (Poland) * Geneva International Music Competition (Switzerland) *

Vianna da Motta International Music Competition The Vianna da Motta International Music Competition was first constituted in 1957 in Lisbon in honor of José Vianna da Motta by his disciple Sequeira Costa, who remains its president; this inaugural edition was won by Naum Shtarkman. The compet ...

(Portugal) * Enescu Competition in Bucharest (Romania) * Bartók Competition in Budapest (Hungary) * Sibelius Competition in Helsinki (Finland) * Curci International Competition in Naples (Italy) * London International Violin Competition Flesch (UK)

Awards

* Commander of

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium ...

(Belgium) * Officer of Order of Leopold II (Belgium) * Knight of Order of Leopold II (Belgium) *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) * Order of Pro Cultura Hungarica (Hungary) * Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (England)

External links

Biography in French in Internet Archive

Notable Alumni / Franz Liszt Academy of Music

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertler, Andre 1907 births 1998 deaths 20th-century classical violinists Belgian classical violinists Hungarian classical violinists Male classical violinists Jewish classical musicians Belgian music educators Hungarian music educators Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels Violin pedagogues Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Hungarian Jews Belgian Jews Hungarian refugees Hungarian exiles Hungarian emigrants to Belgium Musicians from Budapest Musicians from Brussels 20th-century Belgian male musicians