Temianka, Henri

Temianka was born on Nov. 19, 1906, in Greenock, Scotland; studied violin with Blitz in Rotterdam (1915-23), Willi Hess at the Berlin Hochschule (1923-24), Jules Boucherit in Paris (1924-26), and with Flesch and Rodzinski at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, PA, from which he graduated in 1930; toured the world as a violin virtuoso during the 1930s, gaining international recognition by winning the first Wieniawski Violin Competition in Warsaw in 1935; was concertmaster of the Scottish Orchestra (1937-38) and the Pittsburgh Symphony (1941-42); moved to Southern CA; became US citizen in 1945; founded the Paganini String Quartet (1946-66); founded the California Chamber Symphony Orchestra in 1961, conducting its subscription concerts in Royce Hall for over 25 years; founded the Baroque Virtuosi in 1982; taught at UC Santa Barbara (1960-64), CSU Long Beach (1964-76), and master classes at various universities; wrote an autobiography titled, Facing the music (1973); wrote approximately 100 articles on violin technique and personal reminiscences; died on Nov. 7, 1992.

Biography

Temianka was born on Nov. 19, 1906, in Greenock, Scotland; studied violin with Blitz in Rotterdam (1915-23), Willi Hess at the Berlin Hochschule (1923-24), Jules Boucherit in Paris (1924-26), and with Flesch and Rodzinski at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, PA, from which he graduated in 1930; toured the world as a violin virtuoso during the 1930s, gaining international recognition by winning the first Wieniawski Violin Competition in Warsaw in 1935; was concertmaster of the Scottish Orchestra (1937-38) and the Pittsburgh Symphony (1941-42); moved to Southern CA; became US citizen in 1945; founded the Paganini String Quartet (1946-66); founded the California Chamber Symphony Orchestra in 1961, conducting its subscription concerts in Royce Hall for over 25 years; founded the Baroque Virtuosi in 1982; taught at UC Santa Barbara (1960-64), CSU Long Beach (1964-76), and master classes at various universities; wrote an autobiography titled, Facing the music (1973); wrote approximately 100 articles on violin technique and personal reminiscences; died on Nov. 7, 1992.