Michael Tree (February 19, 1934 – March 30, 2018), born Michael Applebaum, was an American

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

Biography

Tree was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.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 ...

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 regu ...

and

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

at the Curtis Institute of Music. Zimbalist insisted that Tree change his name from Applebaum to advance his career. Subsequent to his Carnegie Hall recital debut at the age of 20, Tree appeared as violin and

soloist with major orchestras, including the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. As a founding member of the Marlboro Trio and the Guarneri Quartet, he played throughout the world and recorded more than 80 chamber music works. Prominent among these were ten piano quintets and quartets with

Artur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist.

. Tree served on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music,

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, Bard College Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, University of Maryland School of Music and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, and regularly performed at the

Marlboro Music School and Festival The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro, Vermont, in the United States. Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in ses ...

. He appeared as himself in the 1999 film

Music of the Heart ''Music of the Heart'' is a 1999 American biographical musical drama film directed by Wes Craven and written by Pamela Gray, based on the 1995 documentary '' Small Wonders''. The film is a dramatization of the true story of Roberta Guaspari, po ...

, starring

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and also featuring violinists

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

and Itzhak Perlman. Tree played a circa 1750 Domenicus Busan viola from Venice, Italy. He also played violas of the modern Japanese-American luthier Hiroshi Iizuka. During his early years with the Guarneri Quartet, Tree played on a viola made by mid-20th century luthier Harvey Fairbanks of Binghamton, New York. Michael Tree received an honorary degree from Binghamton University. Tree's father, Samuel Applebaum, was a nationally known violin

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...

who wrote many articles and books about music and composed or edited extensive teaching materials. Tree died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at his

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

apartment on March 30, 2018, at the age of 84.

Discography

Outside of the chamber music recordings with the Guarneri Quartet, Tree recorded: :Beethoven Serenade for Flute, Violin, and Viola with

Eugenia ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...

and

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...

(on Columbia) :Bolcom "Let Evening Come" with Benite Valente and Cynthia Raim (on Centaur Records) :Brahms Viola Sonatas with Richard Goode (on Nonesuch)

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...

:Brahms

Horn Trio Horn trio can mean a work written for three horns or horns as well as one for horn and two other instruments. In the latter category, an important genre is the trio for horn, violin and piano. Although there are a few earlier examples, the traditi ...

with Myron Bloom and

Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in ...

(on Sony Classical) :Brahms G major Viola Quintet with

Cho-Liang Lin Cho-Liang Lin (Lin Cho-liang, , born January 29, 1960), born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is an American violinist who is renowned for his appearances as a soloist with major orchestras. Musical America named him its "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 20 ...

Jaime Laredo Jaime Laredo (born June 7, 1941) is a violinist and Conducting, conductor. He was the conductor and Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and he began his musical career when he was five years old. Laredo was born in Cochabamba, Boliv ...

, and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

:Brahms Sextets (on Sony) with

, and Sharon Robinson :Mendelssohn Octet with

Alexander Schneider Abraham Alexander Schneider (October 21, 1908 – February 2, 1993) was a violinist, conductor and educator. Born to a Jewish family in Vilnius, Lithuania, he later moved to the United States as a member of the Budapest String Quartet. Early li ...

, Arnold Steinhardt,

John Dalley John Dalley (born 3 March 1935 in Madison, Wisconsin) is an American violinist. He was raised in a musical family. His father was an orchestra conductor, violinist, composer, instrumental teacher, and music educator. His mother, from Bloomington, ...

, Samuel Rhodes,

Leslie Parnas Leslie Parnas (November 11, 1931 – February 1, 2022) was an American classical cellist. A prize winner at several international music competitions, he appeared as a soloist with orchestras around the world and performed and recorded a number of ...

, and David Soyer :Mozart Violin and Viola Duos (on Nonesuch) with Violinist Toshiya Eto :Mozart (for 2 violins and orchestra) with

, violin, and

conducting the Marlboro Festival Orchestra (on Columbia) (here Michael Tree plays violin.) : Schmidt Piano Quintet in G (on Sony Classical) with

Leon Fleisher Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most re ...

, Joel Smirnoff,

Joseph Silverstein Joseph Harry Silverstein (March 21, 1932 – November 21, 2015) was an American violinist and conductor. Known to family, friends and colleagues as "Joey", Silverstein was born in Detroit. As a youth, Silverstein studied with his father, Bernard ...

and

References

External links

University of Maryland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tree, Michael 1934 births 2018 deaths American classical violists Manhattan School of Music faculty Musicians from Newark, New Jersey Curtis Institute of Music alumni Curtis Institute of Music faculty Juilliard School faculty Bard College faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty Rutgers University faculty Jewish classical musicians Jewish American classical musicians Neurological disease deaths in New York (state) Deaths from Parkinson's disease Classical musicians from New York (state) Classical musicians from New Jersey Guarneri Quartet members 20th-century classical musicians 21st-century American Jews Cedille Records artists 20th-century violists