1. Elias Breeskin was a violinist, composer and conductor.
23 Facts About Elias Breeskin
1. 2.
Elias Breeskin was profoundly affected by the death of his brother.
3.
Olga, Elias Breeskin' mother, realized that he had musical talent as well, and bent her strong will to providing him with the best musical education that could be obtained in Russia at the time.
4.
Elias Breeskin referred to her with a mixture of emotions, among them being strong love, fear, admiration, and wonder, all present in his face.
5.
Elias Breeskin' father was a quiet, dear man who had learned, appropriately, not to cross his indomitable wife, who was approximately 200 pounds in weight, and quite muscular.
6.
Young Elias Breeskin was met with overwhelming responses to his violin playing.
7.
Elias Breeskin was hailed as one of the greatest child prodigies ever.
8.
Elias Breeskin ensconced herself in front of The White House, and asked to see Edith Roosevelt.
9.
In 1917, Elias Breeskin became a member of the New York Symphony under Walter Damrosch.
10.
Elias Breeskin received great reviews for his performance at the Aeolian Hall in February 1918.
11.
Elias Breeskin won a place as Enrico Caruso's accompanist for his tour in 1918.
12.
Elias Breeskin returned to Carnegie Hall again in April 1919 and was noted for his vigorous style.
13.
Around the time of this marriage, Elias Breeskin became pathologically addicted to gambling.
14.
When Elias Breeskin returned in disgrace to New York, he composed Cosmopolis, a descriptive piece which somewhat resembles Ottorino Respighi's The Fountains of Rome.
15.
Elias Breeskin was the arranger and one of the performers for the Eddie Cantor show; when it moved to Hollywood, Anna, Gene and John moved there with Elias Breeskin.
16.
The musicians of the orchestra, knowing that Elias Breeskin had ripped them off, still prepared a scroll for him, testifying to his musicianship, and for giving them a step forward in their careers.
17.
Elias Breeskin had a son Elias Jnr and a daughter who became a famous entertainer and violinist herself, Olga Breeskin.
18.
John Breeskin describes one Christmas sitting in box seat in the principal orchestra hall in Mexico City near the President of Mexico, and watching his father Elias take the stage, lift his baton, and give the downbeat for Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.
19.
John Elias Breeskin describes living in a mansion with several servants, including a chauffeur, a gardener, a bodyguard, a cook and two young maids.
20.
Elias Breeskin would come home from work, take off his suit jacket, and reveal a tiny Capuchin monkey tucked into his armpit.
21.
Elias Breeskin would come home from the mercado with a parrot with violently colored feathers perched on his shoulder; this was typical.
22.
In May 1945, Elias Breeskin was arrested and taken to jail as a political prisoner due to his gambling debts and for being on the wrong side of the political process; he was sent to "las Islas Marias", where his cellmate was Ramon Mercader, Leon Trotsky's assassin.
23.
Elias Breeskin died in his sleep of pneumonia on Friday May 9,1969, at the age of 73.