Alexander Schneider

This article is about the violinist Alexander (Sasha) Schneider. For the German painter and sculptor Rudolph Karl Alexander Schneider, seeSascha Schneider.

Alexander Schneider
Schneider in 1961
Born	Abram Sznejder (1908-10-21)October 21, 1908 Vilnius,Vilna Governorate,Russian Empire
Died	February 2, 1993(1993-02-02)(aged 84) New York City, US
Occupation(s)	violinist,conductor,educator
Spouse	Geraldine Page ​ ​ (m.1954;div.1957)​

Abraham Alexander Schneider(October 21, 1908 – February 2, 1993) was a violinist, conductor and educator. Born to a Jewish family inVilnius,Lithuania, he later moved to the United States as a member of theBudapest String Quartet.

Early life

Alexander (Sasha) was born Abram Sznejder. At 13, he almost died oftetanusafter cutting his knee in an accident. The tetanus distorted his joints and recovery was long and painful. Sasha left Vilnius in 1924 and joined his brother Mischa Schneider inFrankfurtafter securing a scholarship to study violin withAdolf Rebner,the principal violin tutor at theHoch Conservatory.

Career

In 1927, Alexander became leader (concertmaster) of an orchestra in Saarbrücken. It was at this point that he changed his name. The conductor wanted him as leader, but wanted a German-sounding name. Abram took Schneider as a surname because his brother Mischa had already chosen it, and Alexander appealed to him as a first name. In 1929, he was appointed leader of theNorddeutscher RundfunkOrchestra inHamburg.In 1932, he lost this job as a result of the ongoing Nazi campaign against Jews, and soon had to leave Germany.

Budapest String Quartet

At this time, the Budapest String Quartet, whose cellist was Sasha's brother Mischa, lost their first violinist. Although the quartet had not yet left Germany, they spent a lot of time out of the country, were self-employed, and the Nazis had not yet caught up with them. For Sasha to join them was an ideal arrangement all round. Their existing second violinist, Josef Roismann, switched to first and Sasha joined as second. This was because Roismann was already comfortable with the other players whereas Sasha would need time to learn their repertoire and style.

In 1934, the Nazis made threats to the quartet and they left Berlin for Paris the next day, never to return to Germany again – even on tour. Whenwarbroke out in 1939, they happened to be on tour in the United States. They all obtained permission to stay and from then on made it their base.

Independence

External audio
You may hear Alexander Schneider,Pablo Casals,Rudolf Serkin,Peter Serkinand theMarlboro FestivalOrchestra performing: Johann Sebastian Bach'sBrandenburg ConcertosNo 1-6 in 1965 Here on Archive.org

Later on, Schneider felt the need to develop himself as an independent musician, so he left the quartet in 1944, full of energy and ideas. He was offered a conductorship of theMetropolitan Opera,and leadership of thePro ArteandPaganini Quartetsbut turned them down. He toured withRalph Kirkpatrickand he formed the Albeneri Trio withBenar HeifetzandErich Itor Kahn.

In 1949, Schneider formed theSchneider Quartetto perform and record all eighty-threeHaydn quartets.This was not completed because its sponsor, the Haydn Society, ran out of funds.The same year he recorded Bach's completeSonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin(BWV1001-1006) forMercury Records.

InPrades,Schneider studied withPablo Casalsand persuaded him to participate in the 1950 Prades Festival to honor the 200th anniversary ofBach's death.He supported Casals in further Bach festivals at Prades andPerpignan.Later he would conduct Casals' oratorioThe Manger(El Pessebre) inGuadalajara,Jalisco,Mexico,during theFestival Casals de México,recording it in 1973 inPuerto Rico.

Schneider was a very sociable man with a wide circle of friends. He worked hard to promote chamber music with free or subsidized concerts.

Return to the Budapest String Quartet

In 1956, the Budapest String Quartet persuaded Schneider to rejoin them. They had tried two other second violinists (Ortenberg and Gorodetzky), neither of them able to reach Schneider's high standards, and Roismann had refused to continue with anyone else. Schneider had remained in close contact with the quartet and he stood in for Ortenberg or Gorodetzky when they were ill. Now it was agreed the quartet would operate part-time with Schneider and he would continue his independent career. They finally disbanded in 1967.

New School, Brandenburg and Washington Square

External audio
You may hear Alexander Schneider conducting theColumbia Symphony OrchestraandRudolf SerkininWolfgang Amadeus Mozart's: Piano Concerto No.21 in C major, k. 467 Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 in 1957 Here on archive.org

Schneider was the artistic director of the Schneider Concerts atthe New SchoolinNew York City,from 1957 until his death.Under the auspices of the New School, Schneider and his manager, Frank Salomon, founded theNew York String Orchestra Seminar,a year-end performance seminar for young string musicians in 1969.The musicians, in their teens and early 20s, are selected by audition, and those accepted pay no fee to take part in a intensive 10-day regimen of rehearsals, coaching sessions, workshops, and performances which culminates in an annual Christmas Eve concert at Carnegie Hall.

During the time Schneider also joined forces as the conductor of theColumbia Symphony Orchestrawith the legendaryRudolf Serkinto recordWolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 for Columbia Masterworks (ML 5013, 1957).

Schneider played with a number of other chamber groups, among them his own string group, and theBrandenburg Ensemble.In 1975, he accompanied pianistArthur RubinsteininBeethoven'sEmperor Concertowith theJerusalem Symphony Orchestrain Israel.

Schneider founded the Washington Square Music Festival in 1953, a free alfresco concert series specializing in chamber music for the enjoyment and education of his Greenwich Village neighbors. Now an international festival, it continues with his mission.

Recognition

Schneider received theKennedy Center Honorsin 1988.

Death

Schneider died ofheart failurein Manhattan, New York City, at the age of 84.

External links

• New York Timesobituary, February 4, 1993
• Kennedy Center biography
• "Farewell to the Budapest".Time.January 10, 1969. (archived fromthe originalDecember 14, 2008)