Description

HENRI TEMIANKA (GREENOCK, SCOTLAND, 19 NOVEMBER, 1906 – LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 7 NOVEMBER, 1992)

Henri Temianka was born in Greenock, Scotland, to parents who were Jewish Polish emigrants. His studied violin under Carel Blitz (1915-1923) in Holland, Willy Hess (1923-1924) in Berlin, Jules Boucherit (1924-1926) in Paris and with Carl Flesch at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Curtis Institute in 1930. However, he actually made his New York debut in 1928, prior to graduation and subsequently started touring Europe, Russia, and the U.S. Upon entering the Wieniawski Competition in 1935, he took a third prize, behind David Oistrakh (second prize), and Ginette Neveu, who later died in a plane crash at a very young age. In 1936, he founded the Temianka Chamber Orchestra in London. In 1937, he became concertmaster of the Scottish Orchestra (he was born in Scotland.) In 1941, he served as concertmaster of the Pittsburg Symphony. Then, the Second World War interrupted his career but he served as a translator for the armed services because he was fluent in four languages. Thereafter, he resumed his concertizing and eventually played in over 30 countries. In 1946, as first violinist, he founded the Paganini String Quartet. The quartet’s life span was twenty years (1946-1966.) He also gave lectures, held master classes, taught for short periods at many universities around the world, and wrote articles for many periodicals. In 1960, he founded, as conductor, the California Chamber Symphony based at UCLA (USA.) Temianka was one of the first – if not the very first – to give pre-concert talks to his audiences – a common practice nowadays. He also famously said: “There are three fool-proof ways to avoid criticism – say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing.” He wrote two autobiographical books: Facing the Music and Chance Encounters. Among the violins he played were a Gagliano, a 1727 Stradivarius (the Salabue), and a 1687 Guarneri.

TRACKLIST

1. Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor I. Allegro (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
2. Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor II. Poco adagio cantabile (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
3. Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor III. Menuetto. Allegro (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
4. Paganini Quartet String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 No. 3, Hob. III77 Emperor IV. Finale. Presto (Haydn) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
5. Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance I. Adagio – Allegro (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
6. Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance II. Andante cantabile (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
7. Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance III. Menuetto. Allegro (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
8. Paganini Quartet String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Op. 10 No. 6, K. 465 Dissonance IV. Allegro molto (Mozart) with Charles Libove, David Schwartz and Lucien Laporte
9. Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 I. Allegro molto moderato (Faure) with Arthur Rubinstein, Robert Courte and Adolphe Frezin
10. Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 II. Scherzo. Allegro vivo (Faure) with Arthur Rubinstein, Robert Courte and Adolphe Frezin
11. Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 III. Adagio (Faure) with Arthur Rubinstein, Robert Courte and Adolphe Frezin
12. Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 IV. Allegro molto (Faure) with Arthur Rubinstein, Robert Courte and Adolphe Frezin
13. Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 I. Allegro con brio with Leonard Shure (piano)
14. Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 II. Theme & Variations. Andante con moto with Leonard Shure (piano)
15. Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 III. Rondo. Allegro with Leonard Shure (piano)
16. Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
17. Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 I. Allegro vivace (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
18. Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 III. Allegro piacevole (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
19. Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 I. Allegro con spirito (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
20. Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 II. Adagio con molto espressione (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
21. Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 III. Rondo. Allegro molto (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
22. Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
23. Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 I. Presto (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
24. Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 III. Allegro molto (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
25. Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 Spring I. Allegro (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
26. Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 Spring II. Adagio molto espressivo (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
27. Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 Spring III. Scherzo. Allegro molto (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)
28. Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 Spring IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo (Beethoven) with Leonard Shure (piano)