Doktor, Paul (Karl)
Doktor, Paul (Karl)
Doktor, Paul (Karl), distinguished Austrian-born American violist and pedagogue; b. Vienna, March 28, 1919; d. N.Y., June 21, 1989. He studied with his father, Karl Doktor, violist of the renowned Busch Quartet. He graduated as a violinist at the Academy of Music in Vienna in 1938, but subsequently changed to viola, and in 1942 received the 1st prize at the Geneva Competition. From 1939 to 1947 he was solo violist of the Lucerne Orch. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1947, and in 1948 he made his U.S. debut at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 1952 he became a naturalized American citizen. In 1953 he was appointed to the faculty of the Marines Coll. of Music in N.Y.; taught at the Philadelphia Musical Academy from 1970 and the Juilliard School from 1971. He commissioned several composers to write works for his instrument, including Walter Piston and Quincy Porter. He also prepared various transcriptions for viola and ed. a number of viola pieces by other composers.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire