- Eleonore Schoenfeld
Infobox musical artist
Name = Eleonore Schoenfeld
Img_capt = Eleonore Schoenfeld
Img_size = 150
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Born = 1920
Maribor ,Slovenia
Died = death date|2007|1|1|mf=y
Los Angeles
Instrument =Violoncello
Genre = Classical
Occupation =Cellist ,Pedagogue
Label =BBC Eleonore Schoenfeld (1920 –
January 1 ,2007 ) is considered one of the most influentialcellist s of the 20th century. Born inMaribor ,Slovenia to a Polish father and a Russian mother, Schoenfeld moved toBerlin with her family at age six. She proceeded to studyballet ,violin , andpiano before switching to cello at age eleven. Her first teacher wasKarl Niedermeyer , a pupil ofHugo Becker , with whom she studied until age fourteen. From there she entered the prestigious Hochschule für Musik in Berlin - eighteen being the traditional age of entry. She then spent the next four years studying withAdolf Steiner , a well-known soloist.In 1952, Schoenfeld's parents, weary of the
Russia n dictatorship, led the Schoenfeld family to flee to theUnited States . From there, a connection from theIdyllwild Arts Academy led the then-dean of theUSC Thornton School of Music to ask her, and her sister Alice, a concert violinist, to join the faculty. They remained there since, serving alongsideGregor Piatigorsky ,Jascha Heifetz , and many other distinguished musicians.Through the span of her career, Schoenfeld produced over 200 recordings, recorded by the
BBC . Her students have also become top prizewinners in competitions such as Geneva, theCasals Competition (Budapest ), Tchaikovsky (Russia ),Markneukirchen (Germany ) and theConcert Artist Guild (U.S.). Her students have also performed repeatedly as soloists with theNew York Philharmonic ,Los Angeles Philharmonic ,Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra ,Georgian Chamber Orchestra (formerSoviet republic of Georgia), andBamberg Symphony Orchestra (Germany ) with such eminent conductors asZubin Mehta ,Horst Stein ,Esa-Pekka Salonen ,Gerard Schwarz andCarl St. Clair .In 2008 PBS made an hour long documentary titled "Born to Teach" about Eleonore Schoenfeld's life.
Awards
*USC Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2004
*USC Ramo Music Faculty Award
*Indiana University Grand Dame du Violoncelle Eva Janzer Memorial Award
*American String Teachers Association National Distinguished Service Award
*Music Teachers National Association Lifetime Achievement AwardExternal links
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/01/05/state/n215240S02.DTL Obituary at SFGate.com]
* [http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/private/faculty/eschoen.php Faculty Profile at USC]
* [http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/schoenfeld.htm Interview at cello.org]
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