Blinder, Naoum, 1889-1965.

American violinist and teacher. Born in Lutsk, Russia in 1889, studied at Imperial Conservatory of Odessa and the Royal Manchester College of Music. Came to the United States and taught at the Juilliard School, 1929-1931. Became concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1932; retired 1957. Most noted students are Isaac Stern, David Abel, and Glenn Dicterow.

From the description of Naoum and Eugenia Blinder Papers, 1909-1988. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78237386

Biography

Naoum Blinder, violinist and teacher, was born in Lutsk, Russia in 1889. He graduated from the Imperial Conservatory of Odessa at 14, where he studied with Alexander Fiedeman. From 1910 to 1913, he attended the Royal Manchester College of Music, where he studied with Adolph Brodsky. After graduation, he took up a teaching post at his alma mater, the Imperial Conservatory of Odessa, and remained there until 1920.

Blinder embarked on a concert tour in 1921. He gave concerts in the Ukraine, Turkestan, Leningrad, Moscow, and other cities. In 1926, Blinder went on a more extensive tour which included the Republic of Turkey, and Palestine, and returned to Russia by way of Siberia in January of 1927.

In 1928 Blinder (later joined by his wife and daughter) went on a concert tour in Japan which included 7 concerts in Tokyo alone, and 23 concerts in other cities of Japan. Instead of returning to Russia, he went to the United States (via Honolulu and San Francisco) to record for Columbia Records in New York. The Blinders remained in New York; Naoum taught at the Juilliard School between 1929 and 1931. It was around this time that his only daughter contracted tuberculosis and died at 13 years of age.

At the invitation of Issay Dobroven, Blinder accepted the concertmaster position at the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, where he played under Pierre Monteux and Enrique Jorda in addition to Dobroven. Blinder remained with the orchestra until 1957, when his failing eyesight forced him to retire. During his years with the SFSO, he was soloist with many orchestras around the country. He was one of the founders of the San Francisco String Quartet (1935), which was comprised of members of the orchestra, including his cellist brother, Boris.

Blinder was a dedicated teacher as well. His most noted student was Isaac Stern. At one time, he had 17 students in the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and all the members of the first violin section of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra were Blinder students as well. Other noted students were David Abel, Austin Reller, and Glenn Dicterow, who was the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. Blinder died on November 21, 1965, of heart failure. He was 76 years old.

From the guide to the Naoum and Eugenia Blinder Papers, 1909-1988, (The Music Library)