What is Louis Persinger?
[[File:LouisPersinger.jpg|thumb|Louis Persinger's portrait (before 1928)]] '''Louis Persinger''' (b. Rochester, Illinois, 11 February 1887; died [[New York (state)|New York]] 31 December 1966) was an American [[violin]]ist and [[pianist]]. Louis Persinger first performed in public when he was 12 years old. He studied at the [[Leipzig Conservatory]] with Hans Becker, and later with [[Eugène Ysaÿe]] in Brussels, and for two summers with [[Jacques Thibaud]] in France. He became [[concertmaster|leader]] of the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] orchestra and the Royal Opera Orchestra in Brussels. In 1912 he returned to the USA and played with the [[Philadelphia Orchestra]] conducted by [[Leopold Stokowski]]. In 1915 he was appointed leader and assistant [[Conductor (music)|conductor]] of the [[San Francisco Symphony Orchestra]]. He followed [[Leopold Auer]] in 1930 as a teacher at the [[Juilliard School]], in New York. Besides his work performing with orchestras he played [[chamber music]], forming his own [[string quartet]] and directing the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco. Persinger is particularly remembered now as the teacher of several great violinists, including [[Yehudi Menuhin]], [[Ruggiero Ricci]], [[Isaac Stern]]. His way of teaching was different from that of most other teachers. He focussed on things that would make his pupils interested and used simple words. As a piano [[accompanist]] he played with [[Ruggiero Ricci]] for many recitals and recordings. He also played for Yehudi Menuhin when the 10 year old boy gave his first recital in [[New York (state)|New York]]. On his 75th birthday he gave a recital at the Julliard School of Music, playing half the programme on the violin and the other half on the piano. ==References== * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' ed Stanley Sadie vol 14 (1980) {{ISBN|1-56159-174-2}} * ''Unfinished Journey'', [[Yehudi Menuhin]] (1976), Macdonald and Jane's. {{ISBN|0-354-04146-0}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Persinger, Louis}} [[Category:American violinists]