Leonard Sorkin (January 12, 1916 – June 7, 1985) 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. Sorkin was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1916. He received violin training from

Mischa Mischakoff Mischa Mischakoff (April 16, 1895 – February 1, 1981) was an outstanding violinist who, as a concertmaster, led many of America's greatest orchestras from the 1920s to the 1960s. Mischakoff was born in Proskuriv (today Khlmelnytskyi), Ukraine a ...

. At the age of 18, he joined the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

, where he remained until 1943. Sorkin served as

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 ABC Symphony from 1946 to 1954. In 1946, he helped found the

Fine Arts Quartet The Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music ensemble founded in Chicago, United States in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin. The Quartet has recorded over 200 works and has toured internationally for 77 years, making it one of the longest en ...

, in which he played first violin until 1982. In 1983, Sorkin became founding director of the Institute of Chamber Music at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a ...

. Sorkin was married to Aviva Dolnick Sorkin (died March 16, 2009), who danced for many years with the

Sybil Shearer Sybil Louise Shearer (February 23, 1912 November 17, 2005) Hunt, Marilyn (December 22, 2005). ''The Independent''; retrieved October 10, 2013. was an American choreographer, dancer and writer. She was hailed as a "maverick" or "nature mystic" ...

Dance Company. He died in 1985 of cancer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the father of the theoretical physicist

Rafael Sorkin Rafael Dolnick Sorkin (born c. 1945) is an American physicist. He is professor emeritus of physics at Syracuse University and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He is best known as initi ...

and daughter Ballerina and Actress Naomi Sorkin

Awards

*''New York Times'' Chamber Music Record of the Year *Wisconsin Governor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Performing Arts *Artist-Teacher of the Year, American String Teachers Association''Schenectady Gazette'', June 6, 1985
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Notes

External links

History and Discography with the Fine Arts QuartetLeonard Sorkin PapersInterview with Studs Terkel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorkin, Leonard 1916 births 1985 deaths American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists Jewish classical violinists University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty Musicians from Milwaukee Musicians from Chicago 20th-century classical violinists Classical musicians from Illinois Classical musicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American violinists