Rothschild, Randolph S., 1909-2003

Randolph S. Rothschild (1909-2003) spent his life as a champion of new music. He was involved in the commissioning of an unusually large number of new musical works through his presidency of the Chamber Music Society of Baltimore from 1954 to 1993 and his membership on the board of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from the 1960s when Peter Herman Adler was the music director and conductor through the directorships of Sergiu Comissiona and David Zinman. In 1936 he joined the Sun Life Insurance Company of America and was also well known as a micromineralogist and longtime editor of the International Directory of Micromounters. He has cut and mounted more than 7,000 crystals which require a microscope to view.

From the description of Randolph S. Rothschild collection, 1942-1992 (bulk 1973-1985). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 57714696

Biographical Sketch

Randolph S. Rothschild (1909-2003) spent his life as a champion of new music. Toward this end, he was involved in the commissioning of an unusually large numbers of new musical works through his presidency of the Chamber Music Society of Baltimore from 1954 to 1993 and his membership on the board of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from the 1960s when Peter Herman Adler was the music director and conductor through the directorship of Sergiu Comissiona and David Zinman.

Rothschild started piano lessons at the age of eight at the Peabody Preparatory of the Peabody Institute (which is now affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University) with Nellie Wilder Coolidge Robinson Robinson until he was 18. Afterwards, he attended the Johns Hopkins University for two years where he became a jazz pianist for the Blue Jay Student Jazz Orchestra. He finished his undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School. He began his law degree at the University of Pennsylvania, but returned to Baltimore during the depression where he completed the law degree at the University of Maryland.

In 1936 he joined the Sun Life Insurance Company of America which was founded in 1890 by his father Solomon and uncle Moses Rothschild. When the company was sold in 1972, he retired from the posts of vice president and general counsel.

During these working years, his involvement in the musical life of Baltimore continued. From 1954 to 1993 he served as president of the Chamber Music Society of Baltimore, which was co-founded in 1949 by Hugo Weisgall and Richard Goodman. He was a board member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and served on the committee that suggested contemporary composers for new commissions by the orchestra. Since 1978, he served on the board of the Peabody Institute and later became a member of the Advisory Council. He has made generous gifts to Peabody as part of their major campaign in 1980 and endowed the Composition Department to champion new music through the Randolph S. Rothschild Fund which supports scholarships, a visiting professorship for guest composers, and the printing and recording of specially selected student compositions. In 1992, he was awarded the George Peabody Medal for "outstanding contributions to music in America" by the Peabody Institute.

His work on behalf of the Chamber Music Society of Baltimore and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to commission works by contemporary composers created his lifetime musical legacy. He and his wife, Amalie, frequently invited the composers to their home as house guests during their stay in Baltimore. They also hosted musical performances at their home. In the late 1940s, he set up a professional recording studio in his home which overlooked the performing area and which originally had the capacity to cut LPs and 16-inch transcription discs and later switched to open-reel and cassette recordings. He recorded not only the performances at his home, but also recorded off-the-air performances of world premieres and first performances of newly commissioned works.

Rothschild was also well known as a micromineralogist and longtime editor of the International Directory of Micromounters. He has cut and mounted more than 7,000 crystals which require a microscope to view and appreciate their beauty.

From the guide to the Randolph S. Rothschild Collection, 1942-1992, (bulk 1973-1985), (Music Division Library of Congress)