Kaufman, Louis, 1905-1994

Louis Kaufman, b. 1905, Art collector, musician.

Louis Kaufman (b. May 10, 1905, in Portland, Oregon; d. Feb. 9, 1994, Los Angeles, Calif.) was a violinist. His wife, Annette Leibole Kaufman was a pianist who served as his accompanist for more than fifty years.

Art collector, musician.

Louis Kaufman was born in 1905. He was a distinguished violinist and played in many movie soundtracks. Louis married Annette Leibole in 1932. He died in 1994.

Annette Leibole Kaufman was born November 1914. She married Louis Kaufman in 1932. Annette was a world-famous pianist and accompanied Louis for many years. She co-authored a book with her husband called "A Fiddler's Tale: How Hollywood and Vivaldi Discovered Me" which was published in 2003.

Herman Harvey was born in 1919 and died in 1993. Prior to his death, he worked with Lance Bowling at Cambria Music.

Lance Bowling was born in 1958 and died in 2009. Before he died, he worked with Herman Harvey at Cambria Music.

Collectors; Los Angeles, Calif.

Noted American violinist, Louis Kaufman (1905-1994), He attended Institute of Music Art (Julliard), New York at age of 13 to study with violinist Franz Kneisel. His wife, Annette (née Leibole), a gifted pianist and fellow student at the Institute, met Kaufman in 1932. They married a year later and she went on his to be his accompanist for more than fifty years. Settling in Los Angeles, Kaufman became active as a studio performer for more fourteen years in the film industry. The Kaufmans amassed a significant collection when they were still in New York of prints and early 20th century modern art which they have given to major institutions including the National Gallery of Art, Syracuse University, and University of Wisconsin. Among their close artist friends were Milton and Sally Avery, David Burliuk, Mark Rothko, and Louis M. Eilshemius. Their correspondence was donated to the Library of Congress along with his music archives.

Biographical Note

Louis Kaufman was born in Portland, Oregon, on May 10, 1905. He was called a "violinist's violinist" and a "musician's musician" by the New York Times . On the recommendation of violinists Maud Powell and Efrem Zimbalist, Kaufman was sent to New York's Institute of Musical Art (later the Juilliard School of Music) at the age of thirteen to study with the influential violinist Franz Kneisel (1865-1926). He won the coveted Loeb Prize for his performance of Brahms Violin Concerto, Op. 77 (the autograph full score of which was given to the Library of Congress in 1948 by Fritz Kreisler). Kaufman was invited to join the Musical Art Quartet by Sacha Jacobsen.

Annette Leibole, a pianist and fellow student at the Institute, met Kaufman in 1932, and married him a year later. She became his accompanist for more than fifty years. They settled in Los Angeles where Kaufman was active as a studio performer for more than fourteen years in the film industry -- all the while continuing to give recitals locally as well as in New York and throughout the world.

Kaufman was in great demand as a soloist in Hollywood during much of the 1930s and 1940s. His solo violin work can be heard in over 400 Hollywood films including The Merry Widow, Wuthering Heights, Gone with the Wind, Cleopatra, Magnificent Obsession, Show Boat, Modern Times, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and For Whom the Bell Tolls .

Kaufman recorded a number of important violin works including Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto, the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Aaron Copland (with the composer at the piano), and Vivaldi's Four Seasons (this last recording won him the coveted Grand Prix du Disque in 1950). He premiered several violin concertos including those by Bohuslav Martinů, Lars-Erik Larsson, Henri Sauguet, and two works by Darius Milhaud: the Second Concerto and the Concertino de Printemps . He was a champion of such contemporary composers as Robert Russell Bennett, Samuel Barber, Henri Sauguet, William Grant Still, Ernst Toch and others. Kaufman edited Six Sonatas for Violin by G. P. Telemann and the Sonata Concertante for Violin and Harp by Ludwig Spohr. His publication Warming Up Scales and Arpeggios for Violinists was originally published in 1957, and revised by International Music Publishers in 1993.

In addition to their musical activities, the Kaufmans were very active in the world of art. They collected contemporary artworks (Louis Kaufman had been the first person to buy an oil painting by American abstract expressionist Milton Avery), and participated in numerous art exhibitions by loaning works to museums and to other organizations that sponsored these events. The Kaufmans also donated many art works to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and other institutions. The Kaufmans played a significant role in bringing public attention to the works of such noted artists as Milton Avery, David Burliuk, Louis Eilshemius, Yves de Saint-Front, and Abraham Walkowitz. Largely due to the promotional efforts and support of Louis and Annette Kaufman, Milton Avery has emerged as an important 20th century American artist.

Louis Kaufman died in Los Angeles in 1994.

Herman Harvey was born in 1919 and died in 1993. Prior to his death, he worked with Lance Bowling at Cambria Music.

Lance Bowling was born in 1958 and died in 2009. Before he died, he worked with Herman Harvey at Cambria Music.

Annette Leibole Kaufman was born November 1914. She married Louis Kaufman in 1932. Annette was a world-famous pianist and accompanied Louis for many years. She co-authored a book with her husband called "A Fiddler's Tale: How Hollywood and Vivaldi Discovered Me" which was published in 2003.

Louis Kaufman was born in 1905. He was a distinguished violinist and played in many movie soundtracks. Louis married Annette Leibole in 1932. He died in 1994.