Sidney Harth (5 October 1925 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

– 15 February 2011 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

) 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 and conductor.

Education

Harth was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music and studied with Joseph Knitzer, Mishel Boris Piastro and

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biogr ...

. Subsequently, he held faculty positions at

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

, the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

, the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...

Career

He made his European debut touring France with pianist Theodore Lettvin in 1951–1952 in a concert series organized by the National Music League and the Jeunesses Musicales International. Harth performed with major orchestras across the world, and made numerous recordings with 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 tenu ...

and the Kraków Radio and Television Orchestra. He was

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

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and

, Principal Concertmaster and Associate Conductor of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the ...

, and Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the

Louisville Orchestra The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney (1904–1986) and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville. The Louisville Orchestra employs salaried musicians, and offers a wide ...

. An acclaimed conductor, Harth was during his career Principal Conductor of the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa, and musical director of the

Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (Hebrew: התזמורת הסימפונית ירושלים, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Simfonit Yerushalayim'') is a major orchestra of Israel. Since the 1980s, the JSO has been based in the Henry Crown Symphony Hall, part of ...

, Northwest Chamber Orchestra of Seattle and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra.

Academia

Harth was at one time a faculty member of the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a join ...

. He also was Head of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University, where he also taught violin and chamber music. Until the time of his death on 15 February 2011, Harth was the Director of Orchestral Activities at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

Mary Pappert School of Music.

Awards

In 1957 Harth became the first American to receive the Laureate Prize in the Wieniawski Violin Competition held in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was initiated as an honorary member of the Zeta Kappa chapter of

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

fraternity, the national fraternity for men in music, in 1958 and was selected as a National Honorary member of the fraternity in 1966.

Personal life

He married Teresa Testa, a professional Violinist whose appointments included positions with the Louisville Orchestra, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and The Principal Second Violin Chair of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Married for over sixty years, the couple had two children. Their daughter Laura is a Music Producer and Recording Executive, and their late son Robert was the executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall.Robin Pogrebin.
Robert Harth, 47, Dies; Ran Carnegie Hall
''New York Times.'' Feb 1, 2004.

References

External links

* 1925 births 2011 deaths American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists American male conductors (music) Concertmasters Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition prize-winners Musicians from Cleveland University of Houston faculty 20th-century classical violinists Cleveland Institute of Music alumni Classical musicians from Ohio 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American violinists {{US-violinist-stub