Joseph Harry Silverstein (March 21, 1932 – November 21, 2015) was an American

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 and conductor. Known to family, friends and colleagues as "Joey", Silverstein was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. As a youth, Silverstein studied with his father, Bernard Silverstein, who was a public school music teacher. He began studies at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

at age 12. His teachers included

Efrem Zimbalist Efrem Zimbalist Sr. ( – February 22, 1985) was a concert violinist, composer, conductor and director of the Curtis Institute of Music. Early life Efrem Zimbalist Sr. was born on April 9, 1888, O. S., equivalent to April 21, 1889, in the Greg ...

, D.C. Dounis,

William Primrose William Primrose CBE (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in ...

Josef Gingold Josef Gingold (; January 11, 1995) was a Russian-born American classical violinist and teacher who lived most of his life in the United States. At the time of his death he was considered one of the most influential violin masters in the United St ...

, and Mischa Mischakoff. Although he never formally completed his high school education, Silverstein did graduate from Curtis in 1950. Following completion of his studies at Curtis, Silverstein played as a section musician with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, and the Denver Symphony Orchestra. In 1955, Silverstein joined the second violin section of

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

(BSO), the youngest musician in the orchestra at the time. In 1959, he won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the

Queen Elisabeth 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 ...

, and in 1960 he won the ''Naumburg Award'' from the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation. In 1962, Silverstein became BSO concertmaster, a position he held for 22 years. He was appointed assistant conductor of the BSO in 1971. Whilst in Boston, Silverstein performed with other local ensembles such as the Civic Symphony and Banchetto Musicale. He also taught at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

as well as serving on the faculty of the Tanglewood Music Center. Silverstein left the BSO in 1984. Silverstein was music director of the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving c ...

from 1983 to 1998. He served as acting music director of the

Florida Philharmonic Orchestra The Florida Philharmonic Orchestra (or FPO, founded in 1985 as the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida) was a symphony orchestra based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and serving the South Florida metropolitan area (including Miami-Dade, Broward, and ...

in 2001 until the orchestra's demise in 2003. He was the artistic advisor to the

Portland Symphony Orchestra The Portland Symphony Orchestra was established in 1923 in Portland, Maine as the Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra. Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their ...

for the 2007-2008 season. In addition to teaching in Boston, he served as a professor of violin at the

. In 1969, he became a faculty artist at the Sarasota Music Festival. Silverstein performed on a 1742

Guarneri The Guarneri (, , ), often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius, is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati an ...

del Gesù. Silverstein married Adrienne Shufro in 1954. They had two daughters and a son. His widow, children, and four grandchildren survived him.

References

External links

Boston Symphony Orchestra, 'In Memoriam: Joseph Silverstein, March 21, 1932 - November 21, 2015'

Utah Symphony, 'In tribute to Joseph Silverstein'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Joseph Concertmasters American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists American male conductors (music) Jewish American musicians Jewish classical musicians Culture of Boston 1932 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Detroit New England Conservatory faculty Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century classical violinists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century classical violinists Classical musicians from Michigan 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American violinists 21st-century American violinists