Walther Davisson (15 December 1885 – 18 July 1973) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 conductor.

Background

Davisson was born in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. He studied in Frankfurt at the

Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...

from 1900 to 1906 with Johann Naret-Koning and

Adolf Rebner Adolf Franklin Rebner (also Adolph Rebner) (21 November 1876 in Vienna – 19 June 1967 in Baden-Baden) was an Austrian violinist and violist. Rebner was a student of Jakob Grün at the Vienna Conservatory, graduating there with first prize in 1 ...

, in whose string quartet he played second violin from 1906 to 1913. He also taught violin in Frankfurt until 1918. After several years as conductor of the orchestra and deputy to Director

Max Pauer Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

, Davisson himself became director of that institution in 1932. From 1950 to 1954, he served as artistic director of the combined Musikhochschule and Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt.

Additional Work

Davisson was also active as an editor. Among works published in his editions were the first book of Jacques Féréol Mazas's ''Études Brillantes'' and violin concerti by

Ludwig Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conducting, conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten Sy ...

and

Pierre Rode Jacques Pierre Joseph Rode (16 February 1774 – 25 November 1830) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Pierre Rode traveled in 1787 to Paris and soon became a favourite pupil of the great Giov ...

.Florida State University College of Music, ''An Exploration of Underplayed Violin Concertos Appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced Students''
/ref> As a conductor, Davisson made recordings in the 1950s for the American label Vox, including several performances of

concerti 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 typi ...

with

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Friedrich Wührer Friedrich Wührer (29 June 1900 – 27 December 1975) was an Austrian-German pianist and piano pedagogue. He was a close associate and advocate of composer Franz Schmidt, whose music he edited and, in the case of the works for left hand alone, revi ...

. He died on 18 July 1973 in

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...

References

Sources

Doctoral Treatise
Hart, Heather Ann Wolters, ''An Exploration of Underplayed Violin Concertos Appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced Students'',

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

College of Music
Cassandra Artists
Hessenberg, Kurt, ''A Brief Autobiography''
The Music Sack
entry for Walther Davisson accessed March 5, 2008

Sheetmusic - Songbooks * Peter Cahn: ''Das Hoch'sche Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main (1878–1978)'', Frankfurt am Main: Kramer, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Davisson, Walther 1885 births 1973 deaths German classical violinists Male classical violinists German male violinists German male conductors (music) Academic staff of Hoch Conservatory German music educators Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century German male musicians