Ruggiero Ricci (24 July 1918 – 5 August 2012) 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 regu ...
ist known for performances and recordings of the works of
Paganini.
Biography
He was born in
San Bruno, California, the son of Italian immigrants who first named him Woodrow Wilson Rich. His brother was
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, D ...
George Ricci (1923–2010), originally named George Washington Rich. His sister Emma played violin with the New York
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...
. His father first taught him to play the violin. At age seven, Ricci studied with
Louis Persinger
Louis Persinger (11 February 1887, Rochester, Illinois31 December 1966, New York, New York) was an American violinist, pianist and professor of violin.
Persinger had early lessons in Colorado, appearing in public by the age of 12. His main studie ...
and Elizabeth Lackey. Persinger would become his piano accompanist for many recitals and recordings.
Ricci gave his first public performance in 1928 at the age of 10 in San Francisco where he played works by
Wieniawski and
Vieuxtemps. He gained a reputation for being a
child prodigy
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
. At the age of 11, he gave his first orchestral performance, playing the
Mendelssohn concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typ ...
, and soon after he had his highly successful debut at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
.
In the 1930s Ricci studied in Berlin with
Georg Kulenkampff
Alwin Georg Kulenkampff-Post (23 January 1898 – 4 October 1948) was a German virtuoso violinist. One of the most popular German concert violinists of the 1930s and 1940s, he was considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century.
Kule ...
, where he learned a "German style" of playing in the tradition of
Adolf Busch
Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (8 August 1891 – 9 June 1952) was a German–Swiss violinist, conductor, and composer.
Life and career
Busch was born in Siegen in Westphalia. He studied at the Cologne Conservatory with Willy Hess and Bram Elde ...
. He also studied with and Paul Stassevich.
He served in the US Army from 1942 until 1945, where he was an "entertainment specialist".
In 1947, Ricci was the first violinist to record the complete
24 Caprices, Op. 1, by Paganini, in their original form.
[The first recording of any version was that of the arrangement by Ferdinand David for violin and piano, made in 1940 by the Austrian-born Ossy Renardy.] Ricci's first recording was on the Decca recording label. After his time in the military, he uncovered many pieces by 19th-century composers that he would perform solo. In 1993, he recorded the ''Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra'' by
Saint-Saens''.'' He also performed the world premieres of pieces by many contemporary composers, including the violin concertos by
Gottfried von Einem,
Carlos Veerhoff and
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas.
Biography
Ginastera was born in Buenos ...
.
Aside from performing over 6,000 concerts in 65 countries during his 70-year solo career, Ricci also made over 500 recordings, on every major label. He taught violin at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
, the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, 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 ...
and the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. He also taught at the
University Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. Ricci held
master classes in the United States and Europe. He wrote ''Left Hand Technique'', a
pedagogical volume for violin published by
G. Schirmer
G. Schirmer, Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States, Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-know ...
. The Persian volume of this book is also published by Mohsen Kazemian, Iran.
Ricci died of heart failure in August 2012 at his home in Palm Springs, California, aged 94.
Selected performances
With the aim of showcasing great masterpieces of violin concerto repertoire, Ricci, accompanied by members of the
American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...
, performed 15 concertos over a series of four concerts at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
's
Philharmonic Hall, all in a span of 30 days, under a different conductor each time.
*17 November 1964, Gerhard Samuel (1925–2008), conductor
**
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
–
Violin Concerto in E major
**
Mendelssohn –
Violin Concerto
**
Hindemith –
Kammermusik No. 4
**
Prokofieff –
Violin Concerto No. 2
*1 December 1964,
Ezra Rachlin Ezra Rachlin (5 December 191521 January 1995) was an American conductor and pianist.
Life and career
Rachlin was born in Hollywood, California, to Jewish parents, and first showed an interest in the piano at the age of three. At age 4½ he was fa ...
, conductor
**
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
–
Violin Concerto No. 5
**
Bartók –
Violin Concerto No. 2
**
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
–
Violin Concerto
*8 December 1964,
Jacques Singer, conductor
**
Paganini –
Violin Concerto No. 1
**
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
–
Violin Concerto
**
Brahms –
Violin Concerto
*16 December 1964,
Igor Buketoff, conductor
**
Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...
– ''
Four Seasons'' (counts as 4 concertos)
**
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
–
Violin Concerto
Ricci reunited with Singer in Portland with the
Oregon Symphony, and performed the
Paganini,
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
, and
Brahms Concertos.
Paganini Caprices recordings
Ricci made the first complete recording of the
24 Caprices in their original version in 1947 in London. Ricci later made further recordings of the complete set, as stated below:
*1947 , 2LPs , Decca LK.4025, Nos. 1–12; LXT.2588, Nos. 13–24 mono; 1950 reprint , 2LPs , London Decca LL.264, Nos. 1–12; LL.252, Nos. 13–24, mono (London, July 1947)
*1959 , LP , Decca LXT.5569 mono / SXL.2194 stereo (Victoria Hall, Geneva, 1–9 April 1959)
*1973 , LP , Vox Turnabout TV-S 34528 , plus premiere recording of ''Caprice d'adieu'' in E major, MS 68 (USA, 1973)
*1978 , 2LP , Price-Less C–93042 (CD reprint: Price-Less D12179) , "Golden Jubilee" – recorded direct-to-disc
[This process records the original sound direct to master discs without using a magnetic tape. Thus the full dynamic range and the original sound are fully preserved.] at Soundstage Recording Studio, Toronto, Canada , plus ''Caprice d'adieu'' in E major, MS 68 plus ''Duo merveille'' in C major, MS 6 (Toronto, 1978)
*1988 , CD , Radio Vaticana 061–003 / Biddulph LAW 016 , performed on Paganini's Guarneri del Gesù "Il Cannone" (Genova, 16–20 April 1988)
*1998 , CD , Dynamic CDS244 , 80th Birthday Concert, live in Szeged Synagogue, Hungary , version for violin and orchestra by
Laszlo Meszlény (Nos. 1–23) and
Chris Nicholls (No. 24), based on the piano accompaniment composed by
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
(Hungary, 17 May 1998)
*1982 , LaserDisc-NTSC , One Eleven, Ltd. URS-V-91610 , 69 mins. , BBC Scotland, Live television performance (p)1991
*1987 , VHS-NTSC , Shar Products Company RR–1 (Michigan University, 10 January 1987) , unedited performance
References
Notes
Sources
External links
*
* , ''La campanella'' (Rondo from Paganini's
Violin Concerto No. 2)
* )
* (https://www.histclo.com/act/music/pro/ind/r/pro-riccir.html Child Musical Prodigies: Ruggiero Ricci )
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci, Ruggiero
American classical violinists
Male classical violinists
American male violinists
People from San Bruno, California
Musicians from Palm Springs, California
1918 births
2012 deaths
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music
American people of Italian descent
Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area
Indiana University faculty
Juilliard School faculty
University of Michigan faculty
Academics of Mozarteum University Salzburg
20th-century classical violinists
Classical musicians from California
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American violinists