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Joseph Szigeti

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Joseph Szigeti (1892 to 1973) was a Hungarian violinist. He was born as Joseph Singer into a Jewish family in Budapest. His mother died when he was three, and he grew up with his grandparents in the Carpathian town of Máramaros-Sziget, from which he took his name. The town band consisted almost entirely of his uncles, and at six he received his first violin lessons from his uncle Bernat. As a child prodigy he went to Budapest and was admitted without detours to Jenő Hubay's class at the Liszt Academy.

Music and breakthrough

After his studies he began an international career, at first with salon recitals and virtuoso repertoire. His meeting with the pianist Ferruccio Busoni made his playing far more thoughtful and earned him the nickname The Scholarly Virtuoso. After tuberculosis and a stay in a sanatorium in Switzerland he settled in Geneva, where he became professor of violin in 1917. There he met his wife Wanda Ostrowska and became friends with Béla Bartók. From the 1920s until 1960 he performed worldwide and recorded extensively. His recording of Contrasts with Benny Goodman and Bartók can be found on albums such as Benny Goodman with Arturo Toscanini, Béla Bartók, Joseph Szigeti, Earl Wild.

Influence

Szigeti championed new music and many composers dedicated works to him, including Ernest Bloch his Violin Concerto, Bartók his Rhapsody No. 1 and Eugène Ysaÿe his Solo Sonata No. 1. After his farewell from the stage in 1960 he taught and wrote until his death.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to his recording of Bartók's Contrasts with Benny Goodman and notice the conversation between the clarinet and the violin, which bring classical and jazz-like colours together in a single piece.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists