Oskar Back (9 June 18793 January 1963) was a noted

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

-born Dutch classical

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 pedagogue. He taught at the

Amsterdam Conservatory The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

for 42 years, and also had a significant earlier teaching career in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Biography

Oskar Back was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the son of Hungarian parents. He first studied wit
Jacob Grün
at the

Vienna Academy of Music en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, winning the Medal of Honour at age 16. He then went to

for further study with

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...

and César Thomson at the

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 ...

. Although he had a superb technique, he suffered from debilitating stage fright, which meant he was best suited to teaching. Gwendolyn Masin, ''Violin Teaching in the New Millennium''
/ref> He only once ventured onto a public stage for a concerto performance, in

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

on 17 January 1908, with the Hague Philharmonic Orchestra under Henri Viotta. He first taught at the Brussels Conservatory in 1898, initially deputising for César Thomson, who was frequently concertising. Later he was appointed to a teaching post in his own right. He married Maria Anthonia Vermeer in 1906. They had a son and a daughter. They divorced in 1923.Historici.nl
/ref> He left Belgium in 1919, as he had found life difficult there in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as an Austro-Hungarian citizen amid occupying German forces. He settled in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he coached the violinists of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and even joined the orchestra himself on occasions. He taught at the

from 1921 until his death in 1963. He also taught at the

Rotterdam Conservatory Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

, and had private students. In 1935 he became a Dutch citizen. During the German invasion of the Netherlands in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in order to rebut fake identity papers, he was forced to produce documents that demonstrated he had no Jewish heritage, and he was allowed to continue his activities. His students included

Alma Moodie Alma Mary Templeton Moodie (12 September 18987 March 1943) was an Australian violinist who established an excellent reputation in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. She was regarded as the foremost female violinist during the inter-war years, and s ...

, Herman Krebbers,

Emmy Verhey Emmy Verhey (born 13 March 1949, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch violinist. Biography Verhey received her first violin lesson from her father when she was seven. Within a year, she played the Violin Concerto in A minor and the Concerto for Two Vi ...

Theo Olof Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

, Davina van Wely, and others.

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Elisabeth of Bavaria (Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie; 25 July 187623 November 1965) was Queen of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 to 17 February 1934 as the spouse of King Albert I, and a duchess in Bavaria by birth. She was the mother ...

also had lessons with him. He advocated the exercises of

Otakar Ševčík Otakar Ševčík (22 March 185218 January 1934) was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe. Biography Ševčík was born in Horaž ...

but also encouraged his students to embrace a broad repertoire that did not limit itself to virtuosic pieces and concertos, but included sonatas, chamber music and orchestral repertoire. He was also described as "very strict with his pupils ... passionate, short-tempered, extremely industrious, generous and charming", and had a formidable insight into human psychology. Oskar Back participated in numerous competition juries, such as the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition and the

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

. He wrote his own cadenza for the Brahms Violin Concerto in D. Oskar Back died in

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

in 1963, aged 83.

Legacy

Although he made no recordings, Oskar Back established a foundation to financially assist struggling young, talented violinists. This led to

co-founding the National Oskar Back Violin Competition in 1967, which has been held in the Netherlands every two years since then.Prone to Violins
/ref> It is open to Dutch violinists aged between 17 and 26. Winners have included

, Jaap van Zweden and Vera Beths.Smithsonian Chamber Music Society
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back, Oskar 1879 births 1963 deaths Musicians from Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni Royal Conservatory of Brussels faculty Academics of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam Austrian classical violinists Belgian classical violinists Dutch classical violinists Male classical violinists Austrian music educators Belgian music educators Dutch music educators Violin pedagogues Expatriates from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Belgium Emigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the Netherlands