Mikhail (Moisej) Isaakovich Press, also known as Michael Press, (russian: Михаил Исаакович Пресс; 29 August 1871, in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

– 22 December 1938, in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

) was a Russian-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, conductor and

music educator 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 original ...

. Press began studying violin with Tissen at the age of eight in Vilnius, and made his first public appearance at ten years old. At the age of thirteen he was concert master in the Vilna Opera House. For some years he was conductor of the Karatayev Opera Company, travelling all over Russia. Press entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1897 studying violin with

Jan Hřímalý Jan Hřímalý (russian: Иван Войцехович Гржимали, also ''Ivan Voitsekhovich Grzhimali''; 13 April 1844 – ) was an influential Czech violinist and teacher, who was associated with the Moscow Conservatory for 46 years in 186 ...

and graduated with a gold medal in 1899. From 1901 to 1904 he was professor at the Philharmonic Society Conservatory in Moscow. Press played in chamber music ensembles and in 1905 organized the Russian Trio, a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

which also included his wife Vera Maurina as pianist (graduate of Moscow Conservatory), and his brother

Joseph Press Josef Isaakovitch Press (russian: Иосиф Исаакович Пресс; 1880 or 1881 in Vilnius – October 4, 1924 in Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county ...

(Иосиф Пресс, 1881–1924), a gifted

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

. From 1915 to 1918, Press taught at the Moscow Conservatory, succeeding Hřímalý as Professor of Violin. He narrowly escaped execution during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and fled to GermanyThe Dawn of Recording: The Julius Block Cylinders
Retrieved 16 October 2010. and

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

where he conducted the Gothenburg Symphony for two years. Press migrated to the United States and made his debut in 1922. He joined the violin faculty of 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 ...

in 1924 and served as

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 ...

's assistant for one year. In the 1920s, he was a member of the Old Masters Trio with cellist Leo Schulz. He taught at

Michigan State College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

from 1928–1938. During summers of 1935 until 1938, Press was a member of the music faculty at the Bay View Association, Bay View, Michigan, as a teacher, soloist, and chamber musician.Summer Programs, 1935-1938, Bay View Archives, Bay View Association, Bay View, Mi. Press was also a

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 ...

and conductor. He was guest conductor with 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

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, ...

, among others. Among Press' students were

Vadim Borisovsky Vadim Vasilyevich Borisovsky (russian: Вадим Васильевич Борисовский; January 20, 1900 – July 2, 1972) was a Soviet and Russian violist. Biography Born in Moscow, Borisovsky entered Moscow Conservatory in 1917 studying ...

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lodg ...

and

Mary Canberg Mary Canberg (1918 – 15 June 2004) was an American violinist, conductor, and music educator. Canberg was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She studied with Michael Press and Hans Letz at the Juilliard School in New York City and made her profe ...

Discography

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conducting, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical ...

: ''Passacaglia on a Theme of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

'' – The Dawn of Recording: The Julius Block Cylinders; Michael Press (violin), Joseph Press (cello); Marston Records C198

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Mikhail 1871 births 1938 deaths Pupils of Jan Hřímalý Russian classical violinists Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) Russian music educators American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American music educators Moscow Conservatory alumni Moscow Conservatory academic personnel Russian Jews