Ralph Kirshbaum

Ralph Henry Kirshbaum (born March 4, 1946)[1] is an American cellist. During his career he has performed as soloist with major orchestras worldwide, won prizes in several international competitions, and recorded extensively.

Early life and education

Kirshbaum was born in Denton, Texas, and raised in Tyler. His father, Joseph Kirshbaum (1911-1996), was a professional violinist, composer, conductor, music educator, and an alumnus of Yale University, where he had also taught. From 1944 to 1947, Joseph Kirshbaum was on the faculty of University of North Texas College of Music, where he also conducted its symphony orchestra.[2] Prior to joining the North Texas faculty, Joseph Kirshbaum had directed the Messiah Festival Orchestra in Lindsborg, Kansas and the string orchestra of the Oberlin Conservatory. He also taught in the string department of Cornell University. For 25 years, Joseph Kirshbaum was a celebrated conductor of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, which he had founded.[3][4] Ralph Kirshbaum's mother, Gertrude Morris Kirshbaum (1912-1973) was a harpist and taught at Texas Woman's University.

Kirshbaum started cello lessons with his father at the age of six. At eleven, he continued lessons with Roberta Guastafeste (née Harrison), who was on the music faculty at Southern Methodist University. At fourteen years old, he began studying with Lev Aronson, who was then the principal cellist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He won numerous awards as a student and appeared as a soloist with the Dallas Symphony at age fifteen.

Kirshbaum continued his education at the Yale University’s School of Music, where he studied with Aldo Parisot.[5] He graduated Yale magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with highest departmental honors. In 1968 he earned a Fulbright fellowship, but Selective Service registration issues prevented him from using it.

Career

Kirshbaum attracted international attention when he won prizes in the 1969 International Gaspar Cassadó Competition in Florence, and subsequently in the 1970 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He made his London debut recital at Wigmore Hall in 1970, his professional orchestral debut with the New Philharmonia Orchestra in 1972, and his New York debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1976.

In his career, Kirshbaum has appeared as soloist with many of the world's major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He has also performed with distinguished conductors such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir Colin Davis, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, and Sir Georg Solti.[6]

As a chamber musician, Kirshbaum has collaborated with Yefim Bronfman, Peter Frankl, the Juilliard String Quartet, Garrick Ohlsson, György Pauk, Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham, the Tokyo String Quartet and Pinchas Zukerman among many others. In particular, his longtime piano trio collaboration with Frankl and Pauk has generated a large number of concerts and recordings. The BBC commissioned Fourteen Little Pictures by James MacMillan to mark their 25th anniversary in 1997.[7]

Kirshbaum founded the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival in 1988 and was its Artistic Director through to its grand finale in 2007. The festival was held at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he was on the faculty for 38 years.

In the fall of 2008, Kirshbaum assumed an appointment at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music as (i) Chair of the Strings Department and (ii) Gregor Piatigorsky Chair in Cello, an endowed position. He is the fourth person to hold the Piatigorsky Chair. The three predecessors were Lynn Harrell (1986–1993), Ronald Leonard (1993–2003) and Eleonore Schoenfeld (2004–2007).[8]

Kirshbaum’s cello was crafted in 1729 by the Venetian maker Domenico Montagnana. The instrument was previously played by the Italian cellist, Carlo Alfredo Piatti.

Personal life

Ralph Kirshbaum and his wife, Antoinette, have one son, Alex, who studied music at the Rimon Music School in Israel.

Selected discography

References
  1. "Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997" (database), FamilySearch: 5 December 2014), "Ralph Henry Kirshbaum, born 4 Mar 1946; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services
  2. "Kirshbaum is Named String Teachers Head," Denton Record-Chronicle, February 12, 1950
  3. Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Marquis Who's Who, Wilmette, Illinois
        14th ed., 1975–1976 (1975); OCLC 502333793
         15th ed., 1976–1977 (1976); OCLC 15687672
  4. Who's Who in the West, Marquis Who's Who, Wilmette, Illinois
        16th ed., 1978-1979 (1978); OCLC 805903538, 956675948
        17th ed., 1980-1981 (1980); OCLC 13777132
        18th ed., 1982-1983 (1982); OCLC 805915043
  5. "Dealey Auditions Winner Will Play With Symphony," Dallas Morning News, March 13, 1967, Sec A, pg. 23 (retrieved via GenealogyBank.com; subscription required)
  6. "Ralph Kirshbaum". LA Phil. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  7. "MacMillan, James: 'Fourteen Little Pictures'" (composers notes from online catalog), Boosey & Hawkes (retrieved June 18, 2009)
  8. "Famed Musician to Hold Piatigorsky Chair," by Ljiljana Grubisic, USC News, November 6, 2007

Sources
  • Campbell, Margaret. The Great Cellists, Robson Books (2004), pps. 306–307; ISBN 1-86105-654-0
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