Contributions from the String Teaching World

Shinichi Suzuki

suzukiassociation.org

Paul Rolland

Josef Gingold

Josef Gingold was born in 1909 in Brest-Litovsk, Poland. The youngest of six children, he learned to play the violin at an early age. In May 1920, he immigrated to New York and studied with Vladimir Graffman, whom he credited for opening his mind to the violin's potential.

In 1927, he traveled to Brussels to study with the Belgian virtuoso Eugene Ysaye. He returned to the United States in 1929, greatly influenced by Ysaye’s emphasis on beauty in music and personal relations.

Throughout the 1930s, Gingold played in various Broadway orchestras before joining the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini in 1937. He later became Concertmaster for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and then for the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell.

In 1960, Gingold joined Indiana University's faculty, eventually becoming Distinguished Professor. He compiled and edited a three-volume collection of orchestral excerpts, which remains a standard resource for students and professionals.

He also served on juries for major international competitions and founded the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1982. Josef Gingold passed away in January 1995 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Tadeusz Wronski

Tadeusz Wronski was a professor of violin and founder of the Institute of Pedagogy of Music at the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw (1949-1985). He also taught at Indiana University (1965-1986). An author of numerous books on violin pedagogy, he served on juries for many international competitions and was an honorary member of the Japanese String Teachers Association. He passed away in 2000.

From Mimi: "I am indebted to Mr. Wronski for helping me organize my system of rehabilitation through Kreutzer Etudes. His deep understanding of the violin and individualized approach to teaching were invaluable to his students."

Jacobs School of Music String Academy Faculty (2025)