Description

FRANK GITTELSON (PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA, 1896 – ?)

 

 

 

 

Gittelson studied under Auer and Flesch. In 1913 at the age of 16 he had his debut in Berlin, accompanied by Ossip Gabrilowitsch on piano. He had successful tours of Germany, Austria, and Holland. In 1914 he appeared in London with Nellie Melba. Later that year he performed to positive reviews at the Aeolian Hall in New York. He was soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He became first violinist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and leader of the Peabody String Quartet. From 1924-27 he taught at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore from 1922-1943. Kittelson was heard on radio in the 1920s and 1930s. He was concertmaster at National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC during the 1930s-early 1940s.

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: “Mr. Gittelson is something of a problem. He was nervous and lacking in grace, making up for spiritual fire by excessive movements of the body. There was something lacking, something far more elemental than technique, which is the free exercise of genius.”

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Canzonetta (D’Ambrosio) Charles Adams Prince (piano) Columbia A2096 46371

Caprice viennois (Kreisler) Columbia A5988 49167

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) Ave Maria with Lucy Gates (soprano) Columbia 59182 A5981

Cavatina (Raff) Columbia 46377 A2029

Hungarian dance No. 7 (Brahms) Charles Adams Prince (piano) Columbia A2096 46383

Melodie Op. 42, No. 8 (Tchaikovsky) Columbia 46374 A2029

Minuet (Boccherini) Charles Adams Prince (piano) Columbia A2186

Sing me to sleep (Greene) with Lucy Gates (soprano) Columbia A5972 49142

Souvenir (Drdla) Charles Adams Prince (piano) Columbia A2186 46456

Thaïs (Massenet) Meditation Columbia 49166 A5988

The Angel’s Serenade (Braga) with Lucy Gates (soprano) Columbia 49143 A5972