Leopold Auer

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Leopold von Auer (Hungarian: Auer Lipót; 1845-31) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, and composer best known as a top violin teacher.

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Early life and career

Auer was born in Veszprém, Hungary, on June 7th, 1845, to a poor Jewish family of painters. He began studying violin with a local concertmaster. Later, he said that the violin was a "logical instrument" for any (musically inclined) Hungarian boy to take up because it "didn't cost nothing." Auer continued his violin studies with Dávid Ridley Kohne, who also came from Veszprém at the Budapest Conservatory, at the age of 8. Kohne was the concertmaster of the National Opera. A soloist appearance in the Mendelsohn violin concerto attracted the attention of several wealthy music enthusiasts who gave him a scholarship to go to Vienna for further study. Jakob Dont, his teacher, lived at the home of his teacher. Dont was he who gave him the foundation for his violin technique, according to Auer. He took part in quartet lessons with Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr. in Vienna.

By the time Auer was 13, the scholarship fund had run out. His father decided to start his career. The income from provincial concerts was barely enough to cover father and son, as well as a pianist who formed a duo with Leopold. An audition with Henri Vieuxtemps in Graz was a failure, partly because Vieuxtemps' wife assumed so. A trip to Paris was also fruitless. Auer decided to seek Joseph Joachim's help, and then royal concertmaster at Hanover. Hanover's then king was blind and a fan of music. He paid Joachim very well, and on those occasions where Auer also performed for the king, he was also paid enough to assist him for a few weeks. According to Auer, 1861–63, or 1863-1865, was a turning point in Auer's career. He was already well prepared as a violinist. What was revelatory was his introduction to the world of German music making, a world where musical values predominate over virtuoso glitter.

Auer later wrote,

Auer spent the summer of 1864 in Wiesbaden, where he had been contracted to perform. He met pianist Henryk Wieniawski and pianist Nicholas Rubinstein, later founder and director of the Moscow Conservatory and conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Wieniawski gave Auer some informal instruction. Auer was in Baden-Baden, another spa village, where he met Clara Schumann, Brahms, and Johann Strauss Jr. in the summer of 1865.

There weren't so many touring violinists back in Vienna, Antonio Bazzini from Italy, and Czech Ferdinand Laub; Henri Vieuxtemps had him captivated by Vieuxtemps. Auer appeared on stage in 1864 as soloist with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, after being invited by concertmaster Ferdinand David, conductor Felix "Mendelssohn's cousin." Auer notes that Leipzig was "more important, from a musical standpoint, than Berlin and even Vienna." He rose to prominence at the age of 19, as the concertmaster in Düsseldorf at the age of 19. He began working in Hamburg in 1866; he also led a string quartet there.

Auer was in London between May and June 1868 and June 1868. He performed Beethoven's Archduke Trio with pianist Anton Rubinstein and cellist Alfredo Piatti in one concert.

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