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Emil Telmányi (22 June 1892 – 13 June 1988) was a Hungarian
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ist. Telmányi was born in Arad, Partium, Transylvania, then in the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. Telmányi began playing the violin at the age of six and made his public debut at thirteen. His evident talent earned him entry into the soloist classes at the Budapest Academy of Music under the tutelage of the renowned Jenö Hubay. Additionally, he studied composition with Hans Koessler and received conducting instruction. In 1906, he won the Reményi Prize and graduated in 1911 from the academy with both artistic and teaching diplomas, also completing his high school exams the same year. His artistic career began in 1911 with a debut in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, where he performed Sie
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
's newly composed
Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
for the first time in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.Allan Evans, ''Ignaz Friedman: Romantic Master Pianist'', p. 70 It was attended by the pianist
Ignaz Friedman Ignaz Friedman (born Salomon Izaak Freudmann; ; ; February 13, 1882January 26, 1948) was a Polish pianist and composer. Critics (e.g. Harold Schonberg) and colleagues (e.g. Sergei Rachmaninoff) alike placed him among the supreme piano virtuosi ...
, who befriended him and arranged some of his early concerts in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, where he later settled. He became an exponent of the composer
Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...
, having recorded some of his violin sonatas and his
violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
.Nil Schiørring: ''Emil Telmányi'' in ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'' on lex.dk. Accessed 26. June 2024 from https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Emil_Telm%C3%A1nyi Based in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Telmányi began extensive international tours in 1912 with pianist Ignaz Friedman, becoming a highly respected soloist. That same year, he was warmly received in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, where he became acquainted with
Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...
and his compositions. Except for a brief period of conscription during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Telmányi continued his concert tours, returning frequently to Copenhagen. In 1918, he married Carl Nielsen's youngest daughter, painter Anne Marie, and settled in Budapest. After the war, they moved permanently to Copenhagen, from where Telmányi continued his travels, performing across Europe and the USA, and returning annually to
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. On these journeys, he became a distinguished ambassador for Danish music, particularly Nielsen's works, and continued his artistic career until the age of 75, notably performing in the Telmányi Quintet with his second wife, violinist and pianist Annette, and their three daughters. From 1919, Telmányi also worked as a conductor, in Copenhagen (with The Young Musicians' Society Orchestra, his chamber orchestra, and the
Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
, where he adapted Carl Nielsen’s Aladdin music for Elna Jørgen Jensen's (Elna Ørnberg) ballet ''Asra'' in 1932), and during the 1920s in Budapest,
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, and other locations. Even as of 1982, he conducted the Centerskolen Orchestra in Holte. Despite his extensive travels, he remained a significant figure in Danish musical life. Telmányi's passionate artistic temperament, combined with a noble sense of musical grandeur, has provided a strong impetus to Danish music, further enhanced by his pedagogical work privately and from 1940 to 1969 as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. His lifelong interest in Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin works and their performance challenges led to the creation of a special "Bach bow" (developed with Arne Hjorth in 1949 and Knud Vestergaard in 1953), which allows for enhanced polyphonic emphasis, particularly in Bach's solo violin partitas and sonatas. Telmányi recorded numerous records, including works by Carl Nielsen, F. Mendelssohn, and J. Sibelius, and particularly notable are his recordings of chamber music by Nielsen and Brahms, as well as Bach's solo works using Vestergaard’s "Vega Bach bow." In 1978, he published his memoirs, ''From a Musician’s Picture Book'', offering valuable insights into musical figures such as Carl Nielsen,
Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...
,
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
,
Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
,
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
, among others, and in 1982, he released a guide to studying and interpreting Carl Nielsen’s violin works and string quintet. One of his most famous recordings is a 1954 recording of Bach's Sonatas and partitas for solo violin played using a violin with what was referred to as the "Vega" Bach Bow (recorded in November 1953 and March 1954, DANA CORD, DACO 147), which could be adjusted so the player could play three or even all four strings of the violin at once. He died, aged 95, in Holte,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
.


References


recordings of Emil Telmányi playing works by Carl Nielsen

discussion of the Vega bow from the Global Bach community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telmanyi, Emil Hungarian male classical violinists Hungarian music educators 20th-century Hungarian classical violinists 20th-century Hungarian male musicians 1892 births 1988 deaths Hungarian emigrants to Denmark