Melkus, Eduard

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Melkus, Eduard

Melkus, Eduard, Austrian violinist, conductor, and teacher; b. Baden-bei-Wien, Sept. 1, 1928. He studied violin with Ernst Moravec at the Vienna Academy of Music (1943–53) and musicology with Schenk at the Univ. of Vienna (1951–53); continued his violin training with Firmin Touche in Paris (1953), Alexander Schaichet in Zürich (1956), and Peter Rybar in Winterthur (1958). After playing in several Swiss orchs., he became prof, of violin and viola at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik (1958). He also toured as a soloist in Europe and the U.S. He founded the Capella Académica of Vienna (1965), which he conducted in performances of works ranging from the Renaissance to the early Classical era, utilizing modern instruments as well as original instruments or reproductions.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire