Rostal, Max

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Rostal, Max

Rostal, Max , Austrian-born English violinist and pedagogue; b. Teschen, Silesia, Aug. 7, 1905; d. Bern, Aug. 6, 1991. He studied violin with Arnold Rosé in Vienna and with Carl Flesch in Berlin, where he also took courses in composition with Emil Bohnke and Mátyás Seiber at the Hochschule für Musik; then was a prof. there (1930–33). In 1934 he left Nazi Germany; eventually went to London and became a naturalized British subject. He was a prof. at the Guildhall School of Music (1944–58), the Cologne Cons. (1957), and the Bern Cons. (1958). In 1977 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was especially noted for his performances of contemporary music.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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