Simon Kovar (May 15, 1890 – January 17, 1970) was a 20th-century

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

ist and one of the most renowned teachers of the instrument. Simon Kovar was born Simon Kovarski 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 ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, in 1890. He took up the bassoon at age 20 after originally studying the violin. Kovar came to the United States in June 1922, settling in New York City where he took the position of second bassoonist with the

New York Philharmonic 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 ...

. He was highly regarded as a teacher and was head of the bassoon faculty at the Juilliard School of Music for 28 years. Kovar also taught at Teachers College at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California. Overview The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...

, and 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 ...

, the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

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 cam ...

, and the

Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...

. His students ranged from top orchestra bassoonists, including

Sol Schoenbach Sol Schoenbach ''(né'' Sol Israel Schoenbach; 1915 – 25 February 1999) was an American bassoonist and teacher. Career Schoenbach was a student of the distinguished bassoonist Simon Kovar. He studied at the New York University, and held h ...

and Bernard Garfield to jazz musicians, including saxophonists

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

and

Ray Pizzi Raymond Michael Pizzi (January 19, 1943 – September 2, 2021), nicknamed Pizza Man, was an American jazz saxophonist, bassoonist, and flautist. Early life Pizzi's first instrument was clarinet. He attended the Boston Conservatory and Berklee C ...

. His ''24 Daily Studies for Bassoon'', written in the late 1950s, are considered first-rate practice exercises for the bassoon. In the 1950s, Kovar moved to

Encino, California Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...

where he continued teaching almost until the time of his death in 1970 from complications related to

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

. He was survived by his wife Rose Kovar and two daughters, Eleanor Imber, also a professional bassoonist, and Leah Herzberg.

References

External links

International Double Reed Society Who's Who
* Obituary in ''The New York Times'', January 19, 1970.

American classical bassoonists 1890 births 1970 deaths Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian emigrants to the United States Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal faculty Deaths from emphysema American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Jewish American musicians Juilliard School faculty Manhattan School of Music faculty Musicians from Vilnius 20th-century American musicians 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American Jews {{US-woodwind-musician-stub