Erich Gruenberg (12 October 19247 August 2020) was an Austrian-born British violinist and teacher. Following studies in Israel, he was a principal violinist of major orchestras, including the

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. Hi ...

, the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. He was an international soloist, playing the first performance of Britten's

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

in Moscow. As a chamber musician, he was leader of the London String Quartet and recorded all Beethoven

violin sonatas A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed form ...

with pianist David Wilde. He was the lead violinist for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' album, '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Gruenberg taught at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

until age 95, influencing generations of violinists.

Life and career

Gruenberg was born in Vienna in 1924, the son of Kathrine and Herman Gruenberg. He studied in Vienna and at the Jerusalem Conservatory. He was

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

of the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra from 1938 to 1945. In 1946, he moved to London where he lived until his death, becoming a British subject in 1950. In 1947 he won the

Carl Flesch International Violin Competition The Carl Flesch International Violin Competition (also known as the International Competition for Violinists "Carl Flesch" and the City of London International Competition for Violin and Viola (Carl Flesch Medal)) was an international music competi ...

, which at the time came with no monetary prize but international recognition. Gruenberg appeared as a soloist in many countries. He gave the first Russian performance of Benjamin Britten's

, in Moscow. In his first concert at the Proms on 11 August 1971, he played Beethoven's

at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, with the BBC Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult. In a 1983 concert, he played the Proms premiere of

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

's Violin Concerto No. 3, conducted by

Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for hi ...

. He was Concertmaster of the

Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. His ...

from 1955, the

from 1962 to 1965, and the

from 1972 to 1975. In addition, he was first violin with the London String Quartet (a later ensemble than the

London Quartet The London String Quartet was a string quartet founded in London in 1908 which remained one of the leading English chamber groups into the 1930s, and made several well-known recordings. Personnel The personnel of the London String Quartet was: ...

), and he played chamber music on numerous occasions. Gruenberg taught at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

from 1982 and at the

in London from 1989, continuing to teach to age 95. He participated as an international music competition juror many times. Gruenberg made numerous recordings, including Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Beethoven's complete

with pianist David Wilde. He also played

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 serial ...

such as works by

Roberto Gerhard Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder (; 25 September 1896 – 5 January 1970) was a Spanish Catalan composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.Malcolm MacDonald. 'Gerhard, Roberto' in ''Grove Music Onl ...

Berthold Goldschmidt Berthold Goldschmidt (18 January 190317 October 1996) was a German Jewish composer who spent most of his life in England. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany, as well as the disdain with which many Modernist critics elsewhere dismissed hi ...

and

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

. In 1976, he played the first recording of David Morgan's 1966 Violin Concerto with the

conducted by

Vernon Handley Vernon George "Tod" Handley (11 November 1930 – 10 September 2008) was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, Middle ...

. Gruenberg also played on several recordings by

, including as the lead violinist for their iconic album, '' Sgt. Pepper'', on the songs " A Day in the Life", "

She's Leaving Home "She's Leaving Home" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and released on their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the verse and John Lennon ...

" and "

Within You Without You "Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist George Harrison, it was his second composition in the Indian classical style, aft ...

". The group whimsically had him play wearing a prop gorilla paw on his bow hand. Gruenberg was made an OBE in 1994. He played a Stradivarius violin, dated 1731. Gruenberg died in

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentiet ...

on 7 August 2020 at age 95. Jo Cole, head of strings at the Royal Academy, wrote in a tribute:

References

External links

* * *
Erich Gruenberg
International Who's Who in Classical Music, 2003

* David Morgan: (1966) (from Lyrita SRCD 276, track 5, initially from Lyrita SRCS 97 (1978) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruenberg, Erich 1924 births 2020 deaths Jewish classical musicians British classical violinists British male violinists Austrian classical violinists 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century British male musicians Male classical violinists Concertmasters Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Austrian Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Austrian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine British people of Austrian-Jewish descent British Jews British expatriates in Sweden Musicians from Vienna Musicians from London Officers of the Order of the British Empire Mandatory Palestine emigrants to the United Kingdom