Peter "Petrowitsch" Bissing (1871 in Russia – 30 November 1961 in Wisconsin, United States) was the founder and president of Bissing's Conservatory of Music in Hays, Kansas and later in

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

. He was known as an instructor of music and specialized in the

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 ...

, publishing multiple works on the instruction of the instrument. He was among the top instructors of his day in the expression of

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

and published a book titled ''Cultivation of the Violin Vibrato Tone''. In 1876, Bissing arrived in Ellis County from the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...

area of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

with his family. He was about five years old when his family arrived in Kansas and he began to study music on a homemade four-octave organ made by his father. At 8 years old, he began learning to play the violin. As he grew older, Bissing studied at the Chicago College of Music alongside jazz violinist

Eddie South Edward Otha South (November 27, 1904 – April 25, 1962) was an American jazz violinist. Biography South studied classical music in Budapest, Paris, and Chicago. He turned to jazz because, as a Black musician, there was no room for him in class ...

and finished violin instruction under Francis Boucher. He also was an instructor of Walter Wenzel On January 2, 1901, Bissing began the ''Bissing Conservatory of Music'' and offered instruction in vocal, piano, violin, organ, harmony and composition. But it was in June 1903 when Bissing received an invitation to study at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

under Otakar Sevcik. Bissing left to complete his studies and returned to

in 1906 to reorganize his teaching conservatory. Upon returning, he adopted the stage name of Petrowitsch Bissing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissing, Petrowitsch 1871 births Violinists from the Russian Empire 20th-century American violinists American male violinists People from Hays, Kansas 1961 deaths People from Topeka, Kansas Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Classical musicians from Kansas 20th-century American male musicians

See also

References