Appia, Edmond

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Appia, Edmond

Appia, Edmond, Swiss conductor and pedagogue; b. Turin, May 7, 1894; d. Geneva, Feb. 12, 1961. He studied violin with Marteau at the Geneva Cons., with Capet in Paris, and at the Brussels Cons, (premier prix, 1920). He was a prof. at the Lausanne Cons. (1924–43) and at the Geneva Cons. (1934–61). After touring widely as a violinist (1932–35), he was appointed to the position of 2nd conductor of the Lausanne Radio Orch. in 1935. From 1938 he served as chief conductor of the Geneva Radio Orch. Appia maintained an exhaustive repertoire, but was especially known for his championship of contemporary Swiss composers.

Bibliography

Hommage à E. A. (1894—1961): Témoignages de ses amis (Geneva, 1961).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire