Description

MAX ROSEN (DOROHOI, ROMANIA, APRIL 11, 1900 – NEW YORK, USA, DECEMBER 17, 1956)

 

 

 

 

Max Rosen was born the son of hairdresser Benjamin Rosen, who immigrated from Romania to the United States around 1900. Benjamin Rosen’s son Max was eight months old at the time. The father founded a barbershop in the Bowery, where Max Rosen grew up. His first violin lessons were given to Max Rosen by his father; However, a special interest in the music was initially unrecognizable in the child. A friend named Solomon Diamond finally recognized the boy’s talent and helped him to study at the David Mannes Music School, where he was taught for over a year. There he is said to have influenced George Gershwin’s musical development. Social worker Rose Lubarsky heard Max Rosen during a prelude and decided to raise money to give him training in Europe. Max Rosen played in front of James Goldmark, who belonged to the McDowell Club and wanted to provide the eleven-year-old a scholarship from the funds of this club. Max Rosen’s supporters, however, rejected this donation as insufficient. Kathleen Parlow finally communicated with Leopold Auer in Dresden. Edward de Coppet agreed after a prelude to finance Max Rosen’s apprenticeship with Auer, so that the boy could travel to Dresden with his father in January 1912. Max Rosen studied with Auer until he moved to Petrograd, where his student did not follow him because of anti-Semitic legislation in Russia. Instead, he continued his education with Willy Hess and gave first concerts in Berlin and other German cities. When the First World War broke out, Auer moved to Christiania, where Max Rosen saw him again. In the winter of 1917/18 Max Rosen returned to the USA. He made his debut in the USA on January 12, 1918 at Carnegie Hall. He played the Second Symphony of Brahms that evening, followed by Karl Goldmark’s Violin Concerto in A minor and various solo pieces for violin, and received enthusiastic applause. Already on January 21, 1918, the next concert followed in Carnegie Hall. On February 15, 1918, he gave a concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with pianist Israel Joseph. On January 25, 1919, he was heard again at Carnegie Hall. On January 7, 1921, he starred with Walter Henry Rothwell at the first performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From about 1923 to 1927 he stayed in Europe; In 1927, followed by a tour of the United States. Rosen was accompanied by Richard Wilens, whom he had met in Berlin as a child. In 1928 he married in Manhattan Nanette Guilford (née Gutman), who was employed at the Metropolitan Opera. The marriage with the soprano was divorced in 1930. Max Rosen was passionate about playing chess and almost missed a concert in Leipzig because he was immersed in a match with Emanuel Lasker.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

A Hebrew legend (Joseph) Gordon Hampson (piano) Brunswick 10010 2734 approximately August 1919 New York

Angel’s serenade (Braga) with Frederic Persson (piano) and Elisabeth Rethberg (soprano) Brunswick 10253 E19433-E19434 6-2-1926 New York

Ave Maria (Schubert) with Elisabeth Rethberg (soprano) Brunswick 10163 12867-12868 4-14-1924 New York

Ave Maria (Schubert-Wilhelmj) Frederic Persson (piano) Brunswick 30003 11904-11905 approximately 1920 New York

Chiquita (Wayne) Richard Wilens (piano) Brunswick 15187 E28032 8-10-1928 New York, New York

Eili, Eili (Shallitt) Richard Wilens (piano) Brunswick 15206 E29842 May 1929 New York

Elegy (Massenet) Nanette Guilford (soprano) and Anton Bilotti (piano) Classics in English; Translations of World Masters 809

Elegy (Massenet) with Frederic Persson (piano) and Elisabeth Rethberg (soprano) Brunswick 10253 E19431-E19432 6-2-1926 New York

Humoresque (Dvorak) Isiah Seligman (piano) Brunswick 50110 XE23675-XE23677 6-20-1927 New York

Jocelyn (Godard) Berceuse Mario Chamlee (tenor) Brunswick 10126 13668-13670 8-4-1924 New York

Kol Nidre (Bruch) Richard Wilens (piano) Brunswick 15206 E29843 May 1929 New York

La Gitana (Kreisler) Frederic Persson (piano) Brunswick 10015 approximately July 1920 New York

La Gitana (Kreisler) Frederic Persson (piano) Brunswick 15003 4513 approximately November 1920 New York