Hans Bassermann (20 September 1888 – 12 February 1978) was a German violinist and music scholar.
Life
Born in Franckfurt, Bassermann was the son of the music teacher Fritz Bassermann (1850-1926), who worked at the
Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, and the pianist Florence Bassermann, ''née'' Rothschild (1863-1922), who was a student of
Clara Schumann. He received his first violin lessons from his father and then from
Ferdinand Küchler.
After attending the humanistic grammar school and completing his military service in
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, he studied for two years at the
Universität der Künste Berlin with
Andreas Moser and
Henri Marteau, among others, whom he later represented, as well as at the
Stern Conservatory in Berlin, with
Gustav Hollaender. At the age of 23 he was concertmaster of the
Berlin Philharmonic for one year. In 1913 he won a scholarship from the
Mendelssohn Scholarship. Bassermann then undertook art tours at home and abroad and took up teaching posts.
He was a soldier in World War I. After the war he resumed his former teaching activities at the Hochschule für Musik, the Sternsche Konservatorium and the Akademie für Kirchen- und Schulmusik. In addition, he was head of a training class at the
Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory The Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory (german: Klindworth-Scharwenka-Konservatorium) was a music institute in Berlin, established in 1893, which for decades (until 1960) was one of the most internationally renowned schools of music. It was formed f ...
, Berlin.
In 1928 he succeeded Henri Marteau at the
Leipzig Conservatory and in 1930 he became a lecturer at the
Musikhochschule in Weimar, where, being Jewish, he was dismissed in 1933. Before emigrating to the USA via Switzerland and Palestine in 1938, he was
concertmaster in the orchestra of the
Kulturbund Deutscher Juden
The Cultural Association of the GDR (german: Kulturbund der DDR, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volksk ...
. In Switzerland he played as concertmaster in the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under
Ernest Ansermet in 1937.
In the USA he played as violinist in the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1938 to 1944 and as assistant concertmaster in the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1944 to 1952. He was first violin teacher at Chicago Musical College. In 1952 he was appointed professor for violin at a university in
Lakeland, Florida. From 1958 to 1960 he was concertmaster of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra.
Among his students were among others
Arthur Bohnhardt
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
,
Georg Hanstedt
Georg Hanstedt (9 October 1904 – 25 March 1975) was a German violinist. He was a long-standing member of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, and played in various string quartet formations. In 1934, he became a violinist of the Bayreuth Festi ...
and
Franz Konwitschny.
Bassermann died in
Cincinnati,
Ohio, aged 89.
Further reading
* Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski: ''Die Violine und ihre Meister''.
''Die Violine und ihre Meister''
on WorldCat Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel 1920, chapter 11, p. 536 ff
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassermann, Hans
1888 births
1978 deaths
Musicians from Frankfurt
German classical violinists
German male classical violinists
Concertmasters
Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin
Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States
20th-century German male musicians