Edmund Kurtz was a Russian-born cellist and music editor.
13 Facts About Edmund Kurtz
1.
2.
Edmund Kurtz was born to a musical family in Saint Petersburg on 29 December 1908.
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In 1924, Edmund Kurtz debuted in Rome, and the following year made his debut in Berlin.
4.
In Paris, Pablo Casals recommended Edmund Kurtz to continue his studies with Diran Alexanian.
5.
From 1926 to 1927, Edmund Kurtz was the principal cellist of the Bremen Opera orchestra, and from 1932 to 1936 the principal cellist of the Prague German Opera orchestra under George Szell.
6.
Edmund Kurtz then moved to the United States, where he served as the principal cellist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
7.
Edmund Kurtz then played in a piano trio formation, the Spivakovsky Trio, with violinist Tossy Spivakovsky and his brother Jascha as the pianist, touring internationally.
8.
In 1944, Edmund Kurtz relinquished his post in Chicago to focus on his solo career.
9.
Edmund Kurtz often played a Stradivari cello from 1724, named the "Hausmann", after Robert Hausmann, the cellist of Joseph Joachim's string quartet.
10.
Edmund Kurtz played several premieres of compositions dedicated to him, including Ernst Krenek's Suite for cello solo, Op.
11.
Edmund Kurtz was the soloist in the first American performance of Khatchaturian's Cello Concerto, with Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1948.
12.
In later years, Edmund Kurtz began prolifically producing new editions of cello repertoire.
13.
In 1936, Edmund Kurtz married Barbara Bellair; the couple had two sons.