Henry Schradieck (29 April 1846 – 25 May 1918) was a German

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,

music pedagogue Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He was one of the foremost violin teachers of his day. He wrote a series of etude books for the violin which are still in common use today.

Biography

Born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, he received his first violin lessons from his father, and made his first public appearance at the age of six. He studied under

Hubert Léonard Hubert Léonard (7 April 1819 – 6 May 1890) was a famous Belgian violinist, born in Liège. His earliest preparatory training was given by a prominent teacher of the time, , after which he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1836. There he stu ...

, at

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 ...

, where he gained first prize. Afterwards he went to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, where he became a pupil of

Ferdinand David Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

. In 1863 he became a soloist at the Reinthaler concerts at

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. The following year he went to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

as Professor of the violin. In 1868 Schradieck returned to Hamburg, to take up the position of conductor of the Philharmonic Society, vacated by

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

. After six years he became

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 ...

at the

Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, professor at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

, and leader of the theater orchestra. In need of a complete change, he left Leipzig for

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, where he taught at the

College of Music of Cincinnati A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, and also organized a symphony orchestra. In 1889 he took up his old position at Hamburg, besides teaching at the Hamburg Conservatory. Subsequently he returned to America, becoming a teacher in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He was a member of the Beta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity at

Combs College of Music Combs College of Music was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1885 as Combs Broad Street Conservatory of Music by Gilbert Raynolds Combs, celebrated pianist, organist and composer. The faculty included famous musicians such ...

, initiated in either 1900 or 1906, and was active in the Fraternity's New York Alumni Club. In addition to writing pedagogic material for the violin in the way of studies and finger exercises, and earning the reputation of being one of the foremost violin teachers of that day, he also interested himself in matters connected with the making of violins. Schradieck's notable students include

Maud Powell Minnie "Maud" Powell (August 22, 1867 – January 8, 1920) was an American violinist who gained international acclaim for her skill and virtuosity. Biography Powell was born in Peru, Illinois. Her mother was Wilhelmina "Minnie" Bengelstrae ...

Ottokar Nováček Ottokar Eugen Nováček (13 May 1866 – 3 February 1900) was an Austro-Hungarian violinist and composer of Czech descent. He is perhaps best known for his work '' Perpetuum Mobile'' (''Perpetual Motion''), written in 1895. Life Nováček was ...

Walter B. Rogers Walter Bowman Rogers (October 14, 1865 – December 24, 1939) was an American cornet player, concert band and orchestral conductor and composer, who was responsible for most of the orchestral arrangements on recordings made for the Victor Talk ...

Max Donner Max Donner (22 May 1883/4 – 30 May 1962) was an American violinist, composer, conductor, and teacher of violin, chamber music, and composition. Life and career The son of Adolph and Bertha Donner, he grew up in New York City and studied vio ...

, Norman Black, and

Theodore Spiering Theodore Bernays Spiering (September 5, 1871 – August 11, 1925) was an American violinist, conductor and teacher. Spiering was born in Old North St. Louis, Missouri, where at age five he took his first lessons in violin from his father, co ...

References

External links

Biography
at the Gorno Memorial Music Library, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music * German classical violinists Male classical violinists German male violinists Violin pedagogues 1846 births 1918 deaths 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians {{violinist-stub