Joseph Szigeti

Violinist Joseph Szigeti received his initial training from his father and uncle, both professional musicians. His swift advancement placed him under the guidance of Jenö Hubay, who later admitted him to the virtuoso’s advanced class. Public performances began when Szigeti was ten, followed by a formal Berlin debut in 1905 at age thirteen.

He made his London debut at fifteen and stayed in Britain until 1913, appearing regularly and gaining widespread popularity. Recital partners included distinguished figures such as Myra Hess and Ferruccio Busoni, whose philosophical reflections on music’s direction exerted a lasting influence on the young violinist. Like many careers in that era, Szigeti’s concert schedule halted with the outbreak of World War I. After moving to Switzerland in 1913, he joined the Geneva Conservatory faculty and conducted master classes there from 1917 to 1924.

Reentering the concert circuit in the early 1920s, Szigeti quickly established an international reputation. He championed contemporary repertoire, notably taking up Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 19, which he introduced at the I.S.C.M. Festival in 1924. Later that year he presented the same concerto on his Russian tour, delivering its Leningrad premiere. His American debut occurred in 1925 with the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski at Carnegie Hall. Throughout the 1930s he also visited Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa.

In 1938 Szigeti gave the Cleveland premiere of Ernest Bloch’s Violin Concerto. His commitment to new music extended to works first introduced by others, among them compositions by Ravel, Roussel, Milhaud, Stravinsky, and Alban Berg. The start of World War II prompted his relocation to the United States.

Upon reaching America in 1940, Hungarian composer Bela Bartók rekindled an earlier friendship with Szigeti; the two performed together, most memorably at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Szigeti also programmed Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 extensively. At his urging, Bartók received a commission for a new work intended for clarinetist Benny Goodman. The resulting Contrasts, written for the distinctive combination of piano, violin, and clarinet, featured Szigeti at its premiere. He remained active on American stages throughout the war years and later resumed worldwide touring.

By 1960 Szigeti had reduced his concert schedule and returned to Switzerland. He subsequently retired from the platform, accepted only a few private students, and served on the juries of several international violin competitions, where his acute judgment proved highly influential.