Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''
HEN-r-ik
SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
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 ...
ist.
Early years
He was born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on 22 September 1918
into a wealthy
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Polish transliteration of his Yiddish surname, which nowadays would be spelled "Shering" in the modern Yiddish-to-English transliteration.
Henryk started piano and harmony lessons with his mother when he was 5, and at age 7 turned to the violin, receiving instruction from Maurice Frenkel. After studies with
Carl Flesch
Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy.
Life and career
Flesch was born in Moson (now part of Mosonmagy ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
(1929–32), he went to Paris to continue his studies with
Jacques Thibaud
Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist.
Biography
Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won th ...
at the
Conservatory, graduating with a premier prix in 1937.
Career
He made his solo debut on 6 January 1933 playing the
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
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 ...
with the
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra ( pl, Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie) is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, it is one of Poland's oldest musical institutions.
History
The orchestra was conceived on ...
under Romanian conductor
George Georgescu
George Georgescu (September 12, 1887 – September 1, 1964) was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associ ...
. From 1933 to 1939 he studied
composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
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. S ...
with
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist.
From a ...
.
When
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
broke out,
Wladyslaw Sikorski, the premier of the Polish government in exile, asked Szeryng, who was fluent in seven languages, to serve as his liaison officer and interpreter. Szeryng took these positions and discontinued his studies, although he continued to perform on the violin, giving over 300 concerts for Allied troops all over the world. When he accompanied Sikorski on a mission to Mexico in 1941 seeking a home for 4,000 Polish refugees, the positive reception moved Szeryng so deeply that he decided to become a Mexican
naturalized citizen
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
, and did so in 1946. In 1945 he accepted the request (made in 1943) that he head the
string department of
National University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
.
In 1954, the pianist
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. , also a Jewish refugee from Poland, gave a concert in Mexico City; Szeryng visited him backstage afterwards, and accepted Rubinstein's invitation to come to his hotel to play music. Szeryng's playing of solo violin music of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
that night, said Rubinstein, "reduced me to tears....Real music lovers want emotion--great moments--which Szeryng's playing gives them." Rubinstein encouraged Szeryng to begin concertizing again, and introduced him to impresario
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok (Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario.
Early life
Hurok was born in Pogar, Chernigov G ...
to help achieve this end. Rubinstein and Szeryng made music together regularly for the rest of their careers, and recorded much of the classic chamber music literature either as a duo or in a trio with cellist
Pierre Fournier
Pierre Léon Marie Fournier (24 June 19068 January 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists" on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound.
Biography
He was born in Paris, the son of a French Army gen ...
. Szeryng went on to win such major awards as six
Grand prix du Disque
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
awards, the
Médaille d'Argent of the city of Paris, two
Edison Award
The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...
s, and was also made an Officer of the
Ordre des Arts et Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
in Paris in 1963, among many other honors received.
In 1960, Szeryng was named Mexican Cultural Ambassador. In 1966, by which time he had moved to Paris, he was designated Honorary Director of the Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, and a Henryk Szeryng Music Festival was held in his honor in Mexico City. He returned to Mexico twice a year and traveled on a diplomatic passport as Mexico's official cultural ambassador, but lived in Paris for two decades, then spent his last five years in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
.
Szeryng died of a
cerebral hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
, Germany, on 3 March 1988.
He was buried at
Cimetière de Monaco, the headstone bearing the concluding bars of the
Ciaconna from Bach's Partita No.2 for solo violin.
Notable recordings
Szeryng made a number of recordings, including two complete cycles of
sonatas and partitas for violin by
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
, and several sonatas by
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
and
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
with
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. . He was also the first violinist in history to record the then newly discovered
Niccolo Paganini's
3rd violin concerto. His recordings of Mozart and Beethoven piano and violin sonatas with
Ingrid Haebler
Ingrid Haebler (born 20 June 1929) is an Austrian pianist. She studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, Vienna Music Academy, Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and privately in Paris with Marguerite Long. She toured worldwide. She is best known f ...
are widely esteemed. A 1960 released vinyl featured Szeryng, with Charles Munch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D.
Discography
*
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
, Violin Concerto op. 77. Henryk Szeryng, violin. London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, conductor. 1959.
*
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
, Violin Concerto op. 35. Henryk Szeryng, violin. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch, conductor. 1960.
*
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
, Sonatas for violin and piano, A Major op. 47, and F Major op. 24. Henryk Szeryng, violin.
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. , piano. Recorded 1958. Released 1960.
*
Édouard Lalo
Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the ''Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard reper ...
, Symphonie Espagnole in D Minor op. 21. Henryk Szeryng, violin. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Walter Hendl, conductor. 1961.
*
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
, Sonatas for violin and piano, No. 2 A Major op. 100, and No. 3 D Minor op. 108. Henryk Szeryng, violin. Arthur Rubinstein, piano. 1962.
*
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...
, "Szeryng plays Kreisler, and Other Treasures for the Violin." Henryk Szeryng, violin. Charles Reiner, piano. 1963.
*
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...
, ''Violin concerto n°3, Havanaise op.83, Introduction et Rondo apricioso op.28'', Maurice Ravel, ''Tzigane'', Henrik Szeryng, violin, Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte Carlo, conductor
Édouard Van Remoortel. Recorded 10/1969. CD Philips 1988
*
Manuel Ponce
Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten traditio ...
, Violin Concerto.
Rodolfo Halffter
Rodolfo Halffter Escriche (October 20, 1900 – October 14, 1987) was a Spanish composer.
Early years
Born in Madrid, Spain, into a family of musicians, Rodolfo Halffter was the brother of Ernesto Halffter and uncle of Cristóbal Halffter, also c ...
, Violin Concerto op. 11. Henryk Szeryng, violin. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Batiz, conductor. 1985.
*
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 sma ...
, Violin Concerto, Henryk Szeryng, violin.
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks,
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer.
Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ...
, conductor.1971.
*
Jean Martinon
Jean Francisque-Étienne Martinon (usually known simply as Jean Martinon (); 10 January 19101 March 1976) was a French conductor and composer.
Biography
Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire ...
, Violin Concerto no. 2, Henryk Szeryng, violin.
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks,
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer.
Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ...
, conductor.1971.
*Mendelssohn, violin concerto in E minor Op. 64. Schumann Violin concerto in D minor Op. posthumous.
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati conductor. 1965. Philips SAL 3504.
Violins
He owned the
Guarneri del Gesù
Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...
"Le Duc" and "Sanctae Theresiae" violins, the
Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...
"Hercules" violin, as well as the Messiah Strad copy by
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. His workshop made over 3,000 instruments.
Early life
Vuillaume was born in Mirecourt, where his father and g ...
which he gave to Prince
Rainier III of Monaco
Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Monarchy of Monaco, Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Monaco, Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him ...
. The "Le Duc" was the instrument on which he performed and recorded mostly. In December 1972 he donated the "Hercules" to the City of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
to honor the 25th anniversary of the founding of the State of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, with the stipulation that it be loaned out for the use of outstanding young Israeli violinists. He also donated the "Sanctae Theresiae" to Mexico in 1974 with a similar stipulation that it be loaned for the use of outstanding young Mexican violinists.
Awards and recognitions
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
*
Pierre Fournier
Pierre Léon Marie Fournier (24 June 19068 January 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists" on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound.
Biography
He was born in Paris, the son of a French Army gen ...
,
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. & Henryk Szeryng for ''
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
: Trios Nos. 1 in B Flat, Op. 99 and 2 in E Flat, Op. 100 (Piano Trios)'' (
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
)
*Pierre Fournier, Arthur Rubinstein & Henryk Szeryng for ''
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
: Trios (Complete)/
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
: Trio No. 1 in D Minor'' (
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
)
*Grand Prix du Disque 1959 for the Brahms violin concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux
*Grand Prix du Disque for the Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas (
DGG)
Quotes
* "In 1941 he accompanied the prime minister to Latin America to find a home for some 4,000 Polish refugees; the refugees were taken in by Mexico, and Szeryng, in gratitude, settled there himself, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1946. Throughout World War II, he appeared in some 300 concerts for the Allies. After the war, he pursued a brilliant international career; was also active as a teacher. In 1970 he was made Mexico's special adviser to UNESCO in Paris. He celebrated the 50th anniversary of his debut with a grand tour of Europe and the U.S. in 1983."
[Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001.]
* "A cosmopolitan fluent in 7 languages, a humanitarian, and a violinist of extraordinary gifts, Szeryng became renowned as a musician's musician by combining a virtuoso technique with a probing discernment of the highest order."
[
]
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
Legendary Violinists
Henryk Szeryng on MySpace
* Szeryng playing and
* Roth, Henry (1997). ''Violin Virtuosos: From Paganini to the 21st Century''. Los Angeles, CA: California Classics Books.
*"Henryk Szeryng." Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by Theodore Baker, PhD, and published in 1900 by G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in 20 ...
: Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001, .
*
External links
Henryk Szeryng's cadenza of Paganini Concerto n. 4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szeryng, Henryk
1918 births
1988 deaths
20th-century classical violinists
National Conservatory of Music of Mexico faculty
Grammy Award winners
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music
Jewish classical musicians
Jewish violinists
Mexican classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Mexican expatriates in Monaco
Mexican Jews
Mexican people of Polish-Jewish descent
Naturalized citizens of Mexico
Polish classical violinists
Polish emigrants to Mexico
20th-century male musicians