In 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.[a]
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.
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]
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).
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.
Odnoposoff's wife, Berthe(also spelledBerte and Berta; néeHuberman 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'sTriple 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).
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
1947: Odnoposoff debuted in New York at Town Hall, January 29, 1947.[22]
1949: Aurelio de la Vega(de): "Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano" (1949), performed in Havana by Odnoposoff, Alexander Prilutchi (violin), and Rafael Morales (1905–1990) (piano). The trio was sponsored by the Sociedad de Música de Cámara (Chamber Music Society)[39]
1961: Rodolfo Halffter's "Cello Sonata," Op. 26, was composed between 1959 and 1960 for the second Inter-American Festival, held in Washington in 1961. The composer dedicated it to Adolfo Odnoposoff and his wife, Berthe Huberman. Odnoposoff performed the premiere with Mexican pianist and composer Alicia Urreta on 26 April 1961 in the Library of Congress'sCoolidge Auditorium; OCLC38494922, 85418923
"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]
Fabio Landa (born 1924), cellist, composer, studied with Odnoposoff in Havana, Cuba[44][b]
Deborah Petty Brooks (born 1955), Associate Principal Cellist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (1985-1999) and solo cellist of Casa Mañana Musicals (1981–present) and Dallas Summer Musicals (1998–present).
References and further reading
External links
Conciertos Daniel, an artist management agency, managed the concert tours of Adolfo Odnoposoff. Primarily a family business, three generations of family members managed Odnoposoff.
^ abBerthe Huberman's grandfather, Avraham Huberman (born 1852), had three brothers, one of whom was Yaakov Huberman (1852–1902); Bronislaw Huberman was Yaakov's son.
^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)
^Western Violoncello Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Excluding Russian and Soviet Schools, by Lev Ginzburg, Paganiana Publications (1983); OCLC10734135
^Cien años de música argentina: precursores, fundadores, contemporáneos, directores, concertistas, escritores, by Oreste Schiuma, Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (YMCA) (1956), Page 316; OCLC16451888
^20,000 Biografías Breves, Eduardo Cárdenas (ed.), Libros de América, (1963), pg. 622; OCLC425270
(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
