威廉·普利姆罗斯 William Primrose

William Primrose CBE (23 August 1904 – 1 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC symphony orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in various countries around the world as a soloist throughout his career. Primrose also taught at several universities and institutions. He is the author of several books on viola techniques. Biography Early Years William Primrose was born in Glasgow, Scotland to John Primrose and Margaret-McInnis Whiteside Primrose. Primrose was the oldest of their three children. His father, John Primrose, taught violin and was part of the Scottish Orchestra. His father bought Primrose his first violin in 1908, when Primrose was only 4 years old.That same year, his father arranged violin lessons with Camillo Ritter, who had studied with Joseph Joachim and Otakar Ševčík. Primrose performed his first public concert on the violin in 1916, at the age of 12, playing Mendelssohn violin concerto. During his childhood, Primrose also enjoyed reading and playing chess in addition to studying music and performing. In 1919, Primrose's family moved to London, and he began to study violin at the Guildhall School of Music in London on scholarship, where he would later be named Fellow. Primrose graduated in 1924, having received its highest honor, a gold medal, although he admitted that he skipped some of his classes because the violin did not interest him. On the urging of the accompanist Ivor Newton, Primrose moved to Belgium to study under Eugène Ysaÿe. from 1926 to 1929. Ysaÿe heard Primrose play an Amati viola that his father had forbidden him to play, and suggested that Primrose pursue the viola instead of the violin. London String Quartet Primrose became a professional violinist in 1924. He moved from violin to viola in 1930 when he became the violist of the London String Quartet. He was joined in the group by Warwick Evans, John Pennington, and Thomas Petre. They toured throughout North and South America in the 1930s; however, due to financial pressures of the Great Depression, they disbanded in 1935. After the disbandment of the London String Quartet, Primrose took a variety of jobs; he performed in Berlin, at La Scala in Milan, and a number of concerts in England. NBC Symphony Orchestra In 1937, NBC established their symphony orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Primrose was a violist for the orchestra, but he was never their principal violist. In 1939, NBC suggested that Primrose form his own group, and the Primrose Quartet was formed. He played with the orchestra for four years until it was rumored that Toscanini would leave the Symphony in 1941. While performing with the NBC Symphony, Primrose also made recordings with Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky. However, they stopped playing together in 1964 due to Primrose's declining hearing and his increased absences due to his teaching career. Soloist Primrose made his debut as a violin soloist in 1923; however his soloist career playing the viola didn't take off until 1941 when he started touring with Richard Crooks. He accompanied Crooks on five tours in the next four years, playing in 32 concerts in 1941-1942. While touring with Crooks, Arthur Judson, an influential concert manager, sought out Primrose. He signed with Judson who furthered Primrose's soloist career. Primrose doubled his concert performances, playing in 64 concerts in 1943–1944. In 1946, he was the soloist in the first recording of Berlioz's Harold in Italy. In 1944, he had commissioned a viola concerto from Béla Bartók. This was left incomplete at Bartók's death in 1945, and had to wait four years for its completion by Tibor Serly. Primrose was the soloist in the world premiere performance of the concerto, on 2 December 1949. In 1950, Benjamin Britten wrote for him Lachrymae based on the song by Dowland. Primrose was known for his tremendous technique. When he performed Paganini's violin caprices on viola, Mischa Elman is said to have exclaimed, "It must be easier on viola!" Primrose wrote many transcriptions and arrangements for viola, often technically dazzling, including "La Campanella" (from Paganini's second violin concerto) and the famous Nocturne from Borodin's second string quartet, the latter "out of jealousy" for the cello's long melodic lines. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 in recognition for his musical contributions. <a href="<a href=" https:="" en.wikipedia.org="" wiki="" william_primrose'="">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Primrose'>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Primrose