Adolfo Odnoposoff (circa 1945)

Adolfo Odnoposoff (Buenos Aires, 22 February 1917 – Denton, Texas, 13 March 1992) was an Argentine-born-and-raised cellist of Russian ancestry who performed in concerts for 5 decades in South, Central, and North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Israel, and the former USSR.[1] He had performed as principal cellist in the Israel Philharmonic and many of the important orchestras of Latin America. He had soloed with major orchestras under conductors that include Arturo Toscanini, Erich Kleiber, Fritz Busch, Juan José Castro, Rafael Kubelik, Victor Tevah, Luis Herrera de la Fuente, Carlos Chavez, Paul Kletzki, Luis Ximénez Caballero (es), Willem van Otterloo, Sir John Barbirolli, Eduardo Mata, Antal Doráti, Jorge Sarmientos (es), Erich Kleiber, George Singer (1908–1980), Ricardo del Carmen (1937-2003),[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Anshel Brusilow, Pau Casals and Enrique Gimeno. He also performed a Khachaturian work under the direction of Khachaturian.

Biography

Career

Formal education

Beginning around 1930, Odnoposoff studied with Emanuel Feuermann and Paul Grümmer at the Music High School in Berlin (die Hochschule für Musik zu Berlin, which, as of 2001, has been known as Berlin University of the Arts). 1930 coincided with the coup d'état in Argentina. In 1932, Odnoposoff moved to Paris, entering École Normale de Musique, where, in 1935, he earned a concert and teaching diploma. While there, he studied cello with Diran Alexanian, a colleague of Pablo Casals.

Israel

1936, Odnoposoff, seeking refuge from the Third Reich because he was a Jew,[9] moved to Tel Aviv, where he became a founding member of the Israel Philharmonic for its inaugural 1936–1937 season. He had performed with the orchestra, then called the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, in various roles, including that of principal cellist and soloist. The orchestra was founded by Bronisław Huberman, a cousin once removed of Odnoposoff's future wife, Berthe Huberman.[lower-alpha 1]

Peru and Chile

From 1938 to 1941, Odnoposoff was principal cellist with The National Symphony Orchestra of Peru. In 1940, he was a founding member of the Chile Cuarteto de Cuerdas (Chile String Quartet) — with Willie McDermott (violin), Raúl Martínez (viola), Fredy Wang (Alfredo Wang; 1918–2004) (violin), sponsored by The Institute of Musical Extension at the University of Chile. He held that chair until 1944.

Cuba

From 1944 to 1958, he was principal cellist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de La Habana,[10] when, then, was conducted by Erich Kleiber. Alexander Prilutchi (1913–2001) was concertmaster and, from 1945 to 1953, J. Wolfgang Granat (1918–1998) was first violist.[11][12] Granat went to play viola with the Philadelphia Orchestra for 35 years, until he retired in 1991. In Havana, Odnoposoff had been a member of a trio of Sociedad de Música de Cámara (Chamber Music Society) — with Prilutchi and pianist Paquito Godino (né Francisco Jose Godino; 1919–1996).[13][14] In January 1959, Fidel Castro's revolutionaries overtook Havana. Within 6 months, Castro became the new president and restructured Cuba as a communist state.

Mexico and Puerto Rico

From 1958 to 1961, Odnoposoff was cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. While in Mexico, he taught at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música.[15][16] From 1964 to 1974, Odnoposoff, at the invitation of Pablo Casals, taught at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. For 10 years, he was head of the Cello Department and served as the right-hand man of Casals, director of the conservatory that he founded.[17][18] Casals died on October 22, 1973.

United States

During the 1975–1976 academic year, Odnoposoff became a visiting professor at the University of North Texas College of Music following an extensive tour of the Soviet Union — while still holding the post as Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. He and his wife soon became a full-time professors at North Texas. In 1977, his friend, Eduardo Mata became the conductor of the Dallas Symphony. Odnoposoff remained active teaching and concertizing until his retirement in 1988, whereupon North Texas awarded him Professor Emeritus status. His wife, Berthe, is still a professor of music at North Texas.[19][20][21]

Legacy in Latin American classical music

Odnoposoff was an influential exponent of Latin classical music, notably works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Alberto Ginastera, Blas Galindo Dimas, Rodolfo Halffter. He presented numerous lectures, master classes, and concerts throughout the Western Hemisphere on that theme.

Personal life

Early life and family background

Adolfo was one of three children born in Buenos Aires to the marriage of Mauricio (altnernate spelling: Moisés) Odnoposoff and Juana (née Veinstien; alternate spelling Weinstien).

Alolfo's brother, Ricardo Odnoposoff (de) (1914–2004), was the former concertmaster of Vienna Philharmonic.

Adolfo's sister, Nélida Odnoposoff (born 1919), was a critically acclaimed Argentine concert pianist[22] whose European debut was in 1935 in Berlin. Growing up in Buenos Aires, she had been a protégée of the Argentine pianist Edmundo Piazzini (es), and in Berlin, she studied with Hansi Freudberg. Nélida concertized until the late 1950s. During the early 1940s, was associated with the Opera and Ballet of Montevideo[23] and had soloed with important orchestras of Latin America.[24][25][26][27][28]

Mauricio Odnoposoff had emigrated from Russia to Argentina with his father. When Ricardo, Adolfo, and Nélida were studying music in Germany, Mauricio and Juana Odnoposoff moved to Germany.

Marriage

Adolfo met his wife, Berthe (né Huberman; born in Paris) in Cuba in 1941, when he was principal cellist with the Havana Symphony.[29] Berthe was a young aspiring concert pianist. She is a first cousin once removed of the violinist Bronislaw Huberman[lower-alpha 1][30][31] and also the sister-in-law of Mexican poet Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, PhD.

Odnoposoff's wife, Berthe (also spelled Berte and Berta; née Huberman born in Paris on May 19, 1925) was a widely acclaimed piano virtuoso. Since 1941, when they met in Havana, until his retirement in 1988, she had been his accompanist and chief musical collaborator. In concerts and on recordings, they were often billed as a duo. Composers often inscribed dedications to both Adolfo and Berthe. She was also an influential piano pedagogue.[32][33] She joined the faculty at the University of North Texas College of Music in 1976. She held a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences Degree, a Diploma in piano, and a Diploma in theory and harmony from the Ministry of Education, Havana, Cuba. She not only mentored aspiring performing artists at the conservatory and collegiate levels, she developed effective pedagogical approaches for gifted pianists at primary and secondary school ages. Berthe Huberman de Odnoposoff died on July 1, 2019, at the age of 94.[34]

Adolfo, his wife, and his brother performed their final concert together in May 1987— and billed it as a farewell — playing Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Guatemala under the direction of Ricardo del Carmen.

Other information

Adolfo Odnoposoff maintained his Argentine citizenship; although, in 1977 Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe made him an honorary citizen of the State of Texas, and presented him a commemorative plaque.[29]

The surname, Odnoposoff, has various spellings (typically "z" instead of "s" and "v" instead of "ff"). But under this particular spelling, the name faces extinction in the Western Hemisphere. Of the two males born to Mauricio and Juana Odnoposoff, (i) Ricardo Odnoposoff (de) and his wife Hilde had one daughter, Henriette Helene Odnoposoff, who, in 1978, married David Mark Hume (born 1952); (ii) Adolfo and Berthe had one daughter, Alina M. Odnoposoff (born 1954), who married Mark J. Heller (born 1954).

Musical output

Selected discography

Odnoposoff, cello; Elvira Savi (es) (1920–1913)
The record also includes Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor, performed by Rosita Renard
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
Side B
  1. Alberto Ginastera, "Pampeana No. 2" for cello and piano, Op. 21
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
Recorded on November 21, 1968
Granados, "Intermezzo" from the opera Goyescas
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
Odnoposoff, cello, Huberman, pianist,
  1. José Ardévol, "Sonatina For Cello And Piano"
a)   "Andantino"
b)   "Slow-vivo"
c)   "Alegretto"
  1. Amadeo Roldán: Two Popular Songs
a)   "Cuban Point"
b)   "Vueltabajo Guajira" ("The Babbling Brook")
  1. Aurelio de la Vega, "Legend of Ariel Criollo"
  2. Pedro Menéndez, "Black Canto"
String Orchestra of CMZ Radio, Havana, José Ardévol, conductor
  1. Harold Gramatges, "Serenade For String Orchestra"
a)   "Allegretto"
b)   "Andante Moderato"
c)   "Allegro"
National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba conducted by Jean Constantinesco
Live performance, Auditorium Theatre in 1960
  1. John White, "Elegy"
Unnamed composition of Pablo Casals
Olga Iglesias, soprano; Emilio Belaval, tenor; Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano, Jesús María Sanromá, piano
"Reverie," for cello and piano, Odnoposoff; cello, Huberman, piano
Recorded 1974–1975 at the Ochoa and Echo Sound Studios, Puerto Rico
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
Includes also Quintet for winds (1959), with the Westwood Woodwind Quintet
Moldenhauer, Hans, collector. The Moldenhauer Archives at Harvard University
  • Third Music Festival of Caracas, digital files (WAV; 96–kHz, 24 bit)
OCLC 156754147 (works 1–3), OCLC 75376441 (works 4–5), OCLC 6937092 (work 4), OCLC 7052709 (work 5), OCLC 914793156 (work 5)
Live performance, Third Music Festival of Caracas, Venezuela, May 12, 1966
  1. Halffter: "Sonata," Op. 26
a)   "Allegro deciso"
b)   "Tempo de siciliana"
c)   "Rondó: Allegro"
  1. Vega (de): "Legend of Ariel Criollo"
  2. Ginastera, "Pampeana No. 2"
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
  1. Sergio Cervetti (es), "Cinco Episodios Para Trio" ("Five Movements For Trio")
  2. Salas, "Trio" Op. 58
José Figueroa, violin; Odnoposoff, cello; Elias López, piano
José Madera, violin; Guillermo Figueroa, viola; Odnoposoff, cello
  1. Luis Antonio Ramírez (1923–1995): "Sonata Elegiaca," for cello and piano
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
Recorded July & August 1971 at the Ochoa Sound Studio
  1. Hector Campos Parsi: "Petroglifos," for violin, cello and piano
José Figueroa, violin; Odnoposoff, cello; Jesús María Sanromá, piano
Recorded in concert at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, October 8, 1967
Side A
  1. Galindo: "Sonata"
  2. Ponce: "Tres preludios"
Side B
  1. Halffter: "Sonata," Op. 26
a)   "Allegro deciso"
b)   "Tempo de siciliana"
c)   "Rondó: Allegro"
  1. Revueltas: two selections from "Siete canciones" ("Seven Children's Songs")
a)   "Canción de cuna" ("Cradle Song")
b)   "Las cinco horas" ("The Five Hours")
  1. Sandi: "Hoja de albúm" ("Sheet album")
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano
Liner notes by Otto Mayer-Serra
Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano

Selected dedicated works

Wikipedia
interlanguage
link codes
es = Spanish
de = German
ca = Catalan

Works dedicated to Adolfo and Berthe Odnoposoff

Cuban composers

Premiered by Adolfo and Berthe in Havana in 1954 at a concert of the Sociedad de Conciertos; it was immediately recorded by Panart as an LP that included works by other Cuban composers, such as Amadeo Roldán, Pedro Menéndez, and José Ardévol (see Selected discography above); Vega (de) dedicated the work to the marriage of Odnoposoff and Huberman.[38] The work was published in the Washington, D.C., in 1955 by the Pan American Union

Mexican composers

Argentine composers

Puerto Rican composers

Elsewhere

Notable performances

"Fantasia for Cello and Piano" – Gerard Schurmann (fr)
(other works were performed by Ciccolini)
"Fantasia" was composed in 1967 and premiered March 1967 by Odnoposoff and Ciccolini at the Salle Pleyel, Paris – Odnoposoff and Ciccolini also performed the work at Lincoln Center, Manhattan[42]

Instrument

  • Odnoposoff owned and performed on a compound Amati cello, circa 1680.[43]

List of former students

References and further reading

Conciertos Daniel, an artist management agency, managed the concert tours of Adolfo Odnoposoff. Primarily a family business, three generations of family members managed Odnoposoff.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Berthe Huberman's grandfather, Avraham Huberman (born 1852), had three brothers, one of whom was Yaakov Huberman (1852–1902); Bronislaw Huberman was Yaakov's son.

  2. Fabio Landa (born 23 March 1924 Villa Clara Province, Cuba) was a Cuban composer, cellist, and conductor who studied piano with Adolfo Odnoposoff and the cello with Ernesto Xancó at the Havana Municipal Conservatory. He also played guitar and clarinet. Landa was a cellist in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra from 1946 to 1958 and the Cuban Radio and TV Orchestra from 1953 to 1959. He was also a member of two Havana quartets, one of which was the José White String Quartet, named for Cuba's greatest violinist of the 19th and 20th centuries. (Oxford Music Online)

Inline citations

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    Seventh edition, revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Schirmer Books (1984); OCLC 52719848
    Eighth edition, revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. (1992); OCLC 24246972
    Ninth edition, edited by Laura Kuhn, New York: Schirmer Books (2001); OCLC 44972043
  4. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Classical Musicians, by Nicolas Slonimsky, New York: Schirmer Books (1997); OCLC 36111932
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  8. The New York Times Biographical Service, Vol. 23, Numbers 1- 12, Ann Arbor, University Microfilms International (1992); ISSN 0161-2433
  9. Trayectorias musicales judeo-argentinas (Jewish-Argentine musical careers), by Ana Epelbaum Weinstein, Miryam Esther Gover de Nasatsky, and Roberto B. Nasatsky, Buenos Aires: Editorial Milá, AMIA (1998), pps. 178 & 181; OCLC 42706538
  10. Orquesta filarmónica de La Habana: Memoria, 1924–1959, by Maruja Sánchez Cabrera, Ministerio de Cultura: Editorial Orbe (1979); OCLC 10824373
  11. International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory: (in the Classical and Light Classical Fields) (Vol. 1; 2000/2001), David M. Cummings (ed.), International Biographical Centre (2000), pg. 244 ("Granat"); OCLC 923878648
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  13. Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamericana (Dictionary of Spanish and Hispanic American Music), "Paquito Godino" (in Vol. 5 of 10), Emilio Casares Rodicio (es) (ed.), José López Calo (es) & Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta (assistant eds.), María Luz González Peña (technical ed.), Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (1999–2002); OCLC 778570306
         Vol. 1: Abad-Azzali; OCLC 920089594
         Vol. 2: Baa-Cancio; OCLC 925832768
         Vol. 3: Canción-Corell; OCLC 925832657
         Vol. 4: Corella-Fattoruso; OCLC 636784329
         Vol. 5: Faura-Guataca; OCLC 248274164
         Vol. 6: Guatemala-Lysy, Alberto; OCLC 45036063
         Vol. 7: Maaning-Ñuwiñ-ül; OCLC 47654886
         Vol. 8: Oaburri-qurra; OCLC 248310438
         Vol. 9: Rábago-Sorgin; OCLC 470512575
         Vol. 10: Sorgia-Zyman; OCLC 926816862
  14. Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music; OCLC 52298889
    "Paquito Godino," Sec. 2 G, pg. 53
    "Adolfo Odnoposoff," Sec. 5, N-O, pg. 44
    "Alexander Prilutchi (ru)", Sec. 5, P-Q, pg. 109
    Diaz Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection, Florida International University
  15. Diccionario Enciclopédico de Música en México (2nd ed.; Vol. 2 of 2 – Vol. 1; Vol. 2), compiled by Gabriel Pareyon, Guadalajara, México: Universidad Panamericana (2007); OCLC 192108846
  16. "Odnoposoff en Bellas Artes," Gerónimo Baqueiro Foster (de) (1998–1967) (editor), Revista Musical Mexicana, Vol. 4, No. 10, October 7, 1944, pps. 229–233; OCLC 1775408, 192100836, 609583364, OCLC 904071071
  17. La música en el Caribe, Guayabo, Apunte interior, by Carlos Vázquez, University of Puerto Rico (1992); OCLC 639907055, ISBN 978-0-8477-2505-2
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  19. Western Violoncello Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Excluding Russian and Soviet Schools, by Lev Ginzburg, Paganiana Publications (1983); OCLC 10734135
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  22. 1 2 "Adolfo Odnoposoff in Recital on Cello," The New York Times, Vol. 96, No. 32,513, January 30, 1947, p. 20, col. 2 (accessible via TimesMachine) Paid subscription required
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  27. Cien años de música argentina: precursores, fundadores, contemporáneos, directores, concertistas, escritores, by Oreste Schiuma, Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (YMCA) (1956), Page 316; OCLC 16451888
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  29. 1 2 "NTSU Cello-Piano Duo Tours Latin America and Russia,", NTSU Notes, September 1977, pps. 11 & 12; OCLC 6810954 Freely accessible
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  32. Who's Who of American Women, 26th edition 2007, New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who (2006); OCLC 429406965, ISSN 0270-2940
  33. Who's Who in the World, 24th edition, 2007, New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who (2006); OCLC 449902472, 182761457, 427525629, ISSN 0083-9825
  34. "Berthe Huberman de Odnoposoff, acclaimed pianist, dies at 94", Denton Record-Chronicle via Legacy.com, July 10, 2019
  35. Record Review: Discos-Radio, Revista Musical Chilena (chronicle) (www.revistamusicalchilena.uchile.cl), Vol. 1, No. 6, October 1945, pg. 41; ISSN 0717-6252
  36. Ginastera: A Discography, Lewis Foreman, Tempo, New Series, No. 118 (Sep., 1976), pp. 17–22
  37. "Aurelio de la Vega – His Life and His Music" (masters thesis), Alice Box Ramsay (née Alice Elaine Box, later known as Alice E. Ramsay Akins; 1923–2013), California State University, Northridge, June 1963, pps. 84, 85, 133, 134; OCLC 10248012
    Note: Aurelio de la Vega (de) (Associate Professor) was one of the three thesis committee members
  38. "Redescubrir a Aurelio de la Vega" ["Rediscover Aurelio de la Vega"] (Archived January 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine), by Roberto Méndez, Palabra Neuva (palabranueva.net) (magazine of the Archdiocese of Havana), No. 200, October 2010
  39. "Nostalgia Que No Muere – La Música Clásica en la República," by Aurelio de la Vega" (es), Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana, Spring 2002, pps. 68–78; ISSN 0013-7111; ISSN 1136-6389
  40. "Labor cumplida en 1957 por el Instituto de Extension Musical de la Universidad de Chile Ediciones del Instituto de Extension Musical, Santiago de Chile: Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile," Library of Congress of Chile (es); OCLC 460581003
  41. Concert Life in Puerto Rico, 1957-1992: Views and Reviews, by Donald Thompson and Francis Schwartz, University of Puerto Rico (1998), pg. 36; OCLC 37890534
  42. "The Music Of Gerard Schurmann," by Paul Conway, MusicWeb International, March 2016; OCLC 873037792, 474709192 (retrieved May 22, 2017)
  43. Biography: Adolfo Odnoposoff, posted June 11, 2007, by Igor Sarmientos, Cellist Database, Karel Bredenhorst (nl), webhost (retrieved December 20, 2013)
    (i)  the above host site is, as of May 22, 2017, inaccessible; the database, however, has been archived at archive.today/20131220181123/http://www.cellist.nl/database/showcellist.asp?id=736 – (archive.is)
    (ii) the contributor, Daphnis Igor Sarmientos, DMA (born 1962), originally from Guatemala, is an American conductor, cellist, musicologist, and music educator who had studied with Odnoposoff from 1988 to 1990 at North Texas while working on his Masters of Music in Cello and Conducting
  44. "Landa, Fabio," by Olavo Alén Rodriguez, Oxford Music Online (retrieved August 18, 2015); OCLC 5104829627
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