Leopold Auer Free Sheet Music, Program Notes, Recordings and Biography

The Violin Tsar:

The Man Who Taught the Legends

When Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky finished his monumental Violin Concerto, he dedicated it to the man he considered the greatest violinist in Russia: Leopold Auer. He sent the score to Auer, eagerly awaiting his approval for the premiere. The response was a crushing blow. Auer, with his characteristic bluntness, declared the work "unplayable," criticizing its technical passages and form. A dejected Tchaikovsky had the dedication removed and gave the premiere to another violinist. Yet, years later, it was Auer who would become the concerto’s greatest champion, editing the score to make it more idiomatic, teaching it to all his students, and solidifying its place in the repertoire. This single incident perfectly captures the immense authority, exacting standards, and unparalleled influence of Leopold Auer, the man who did not just play the violin, but shaped its very future.

The Hungarian Virtuoso

Leopold Auer was born into a poor Jewish family in Hungary in 1845. A prodigy, he began studying the violin locally before his talent secured him a place at the conservatories of both Budapest and Vienna. His most important teacher, however, was the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim, with whom he studied in Hanover. From Joachim, Auer inherited a deep respect for musical integrity and a focus on profound interpretation over mere showmanship. This Germanic seriousness, combined with his own fiery Hungarian temperament, created a formidable musical personality.

After a series of successful appointments as a concertmaster and soloist in Germany, Auer’s life changed forever in 1868. He was invited to succeed the great Henryk Wieniawski as professor of violin at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. He would remain there for nearly half a century, becoming a towering figure in Russian musical life. He was appointed solo violinist to the Tsar's court, played in string quartets with the leading musicians of the day, and conducted the orchestras of the Imperial Russian Music Society.

The Saint Petersburg Dictator

It was in Russia that Auer’s legend as a teacher was forged. He established what became known as the "Russian School" of violin playing, which emphasized a relaxed, fluid bowing technique and a rich, singing tone. His teaching style was notoriously demanding and often intimidating. He was a strict perfectionist who could dismantle a student's technique with a single withering comment. Yet, he was also a master diagnostician, able to identify a student's unique strengths and weaknesses and prescribe the exact technical and musical remedy needed.

He did not believe in a single, rigid "Auer method." Instead, he tailored his approach to each student, famously saying, "I do not teach a method. I teach the violin." He encouraged his pupils to develop their own individuality, which is why his greatest students—though all possessing flawless technique—sounded so remarkably different from one another. The list of his pupils from this era reads like a who's who of violin gods: Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, Efrem Zimbalist, Nathan Milstein, and dozens of others who would go on to dominate the world's concert stages for the next fifty years. His classroom at the Conservatory was the crucible where 20th-century violin playing was born.

Editor and Collaborator

During his time in Russia, Auer collaborated with the greatest composers of the era. Despite his initial rejection of the Tchaikovsky concerto, he worked closely with the composer on other pieces, such as the Sérénade mélancolique. Alexander Glazunov wrote his celebrated Violin Concerto specifically for Auer, and the two worked together closely during its composition, with Auer premiering the work in 1905.

Auer's role as an editor was just as important as his teaching. He believed many passages in the standard repertoire were awkward or ineffective. He applied his immense practical knowledge to re-bowing, re-fingering, and sometimes completely rewriting passages of concertos by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, and Beethoven to make them more brilliant and playable. His famous cadenzas, particularly for the Brahms and Beethoven concertos, became standard concert fare. While some purists criticized these alterations, they were adopted by generations of violinists and were instrumental in popularizing these works.

A New World

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 brought an abrupt end to Auer’s life in Russia. At the age of 72, he fled the country, losing his home and his fortune. He immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York City in 1918. Far from retiring, he began the final, remarkable chapter of his career. He immediately began teaching at the Institute of Musical Art (which would become The Juilliard School) and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

His reputation had preceded him, and America’s most talented young violinists flocked to his studio. He recreated his pedagogical dynasty, shaping a new generation of American virtuosos, including Oscar Shumsky and Benno Rabinof. He continued to perform into his eighties, bringing his old-world elegance and authority to American concert halls. He published several pedagogical books, including Violin Playing as I Teach It and My Long Life in Music, which remain essential reading for string players. He died in 1930 during a visit to Germany, leaving behind a legacy unmatched in the history of classical music pedagogy. He was not just a teacher; he was an institution, the "Violin Tsar" whose empire of students defined the art of the violin for a century.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

• Auer, Leopold. Violin Playing as I Teach It. Dover Publications, 1980.

• Auer, Leopold. My Long Life in Music. Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1923.

• Schwarz, Boris. Great Masters of the Violin. Simon & Schuster, 1983.

• Roth, Henry. Violin Virtuosos: From Paganini to the 21st Century. California Classics Books, 1997.

• Steinberg, Mark D. Petersburg Fin de Siècle. Yale University Press, 2005.