Leon Sametini

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Leon Sametini (16 March 1886 – 20 August 1944) was an American virtuoso violinist and music pedagogue who originated from Rotterdam, Holland.[1] Sametini was born to Samual Sametini and Rose De Groot.[2] He initially studied violin in the Netherlands with his uncle, M. De Groot, and from 1892 until he was 10 years of age with Dutch violinist Felice Togni and Bram Eldering at the Amsterdam Conservatoire.[2][3] In 1902, Sametini went to Prague to study violin for one year with Otakar Ševčík.[3] He also studied with notable teacher Eugène Ysaÿe.[2][4]

As a violin virtuoso, Sametini gave concert tours from which he became well known in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Austria.[5] He was a protégé of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands who enabled him to continue his studies in Prague under Otakar Ševčík[6] and she gave him a violin made in 1730 by the Venetian violin maker Sancto Seraphin.[5]

When I was twelve years old, my great teacher Leon Sametini told me to focus my attention on my bow arm. 'Your left hand is a machine,' he said. 'Your right hand produces tone and nuance, and adds style to your playing.'

— Aaron Rosand Life lessons[7]

Sametini was a notable violin teacher. Whilst in London he taught Isolde Menges, an English violinist.[8] He eventually settled in Chicago, where he was head of the violin department at the Chicago Musical College.[9] Whilst director of violin, he taught notable students such as Silvestre Revueltas,[10] Aaron Rosand,[11] Harry Adaskin,[12] Oliver Colbentson [de] and Guila Bustabo, who studied with Sametini from the age of five.[13]

On 20 August 1944, Sametini was admitted to the Grant Hospital, Chicago, where he died of a sudden heart attack.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Martens, Frederick H. (1919). Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. p. 198.
  2. ^ a b c Vlekke, Bernard Hubertus Maria; Beets, Henry (1942). Hollanders who Helped Build America. American Biographical Company. p. 198. Leon Sametini, a son of Samual Sametini and Rose De Groot, studied in the Netherlands under his uncle, M. De Groot, F. Togni and Bram Eldering of Amsterdam.
  3. ^ a b Saleski, Gdal (1933). Famous Musicians of a Wandering Race: Biographical Sketches of Outstanding Figures of Jewish Origin in the Musical World. Bloch publishing Company. pp. 247–248. LCCN 28001684.
  4. ^ Somerford, Peter (1 September 2019). "Mutual exchange - Obituaries". Strad. 130 (1553): 14. From the age of twelve he studied at the Chicago Music College with Leon Sametini, a student of Ševčík and Ysaÿe...
  5. ^ a b "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Violin Mastery, by Frederick H. Martens". www.gutenberg.org. p. 198. Retrieved 2023-01-17. It is to be regretted that he has not played in public in the United States as often as in Europe, where his extensive tournées in Holland—Leon Sametini is a Hollander by birth—Belgium, England and Austria have established his reputation as a virtuoso,...
  6. ^ Vlekke, Bernard Hubertus Maria; Beets, Henry (1942). Hollanders who Helped Build America. American Biographical Company. p. 198. As a protégé of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, he was enabled to continue his studies under Sevcik at the Conservatory at Prague...
  7. ^ Rosand, Aaron (December 2017). "Life lessons". Strad. 128 (1532): 22.
  8. ^ The Strad. Vol. 105. Lavendar Publications. 1994. p. 617. LCCN ca05002289. Menges (1893-1976) studied with Leon Sametini and Emile Sauret but was principally a student of Leopold Auer in St. Petersburg.
  9. ^ Grauer, Michael (2016-08-15). Rounded Up in Glory: Frank Reaugh, Texas Renaissance Man. University of North Texas Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-57441-633-6. Noted violinist Leon Sametini taught at Chicago Music College. Leon Sametini was the director of violin at the Chicago Music College.
  10. ^ Parker, Robert (2004). "Revueltas, the Chicago Years". Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana. 25 (2): 180–194. doi:10.1353/lat.2004.0018. ISSN 0163-0350. JSTOR 3598727. S2CID 191266177. Leon Sametini, Silvestre's violin teacher at the time, was among seven violin faculty members included in the 1919 commencement program.
  11. ^ "Faculty Bios by Name". Curtis Institute of Music. International Narcotics Control Board. 2009. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 2023-01-16. Aaron Rosand, world-renowned violin virtuoso and pedagogue, carries on the tradition of Leopold Auer and Eugène Ysaÿe, having studied with their disciples Efrem Zimbalist and Leon Sametini.
  12. ^ Ford, Clifford (1982). Canada's Music: An Historical Survey. GLC Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-88874-054-0. Harry Adaskin was born in Riga, Latvia and studied with von Kunits and Arthur Hartmann in Toronto, Leon Sametini in Chicago and with Marcel Chailley in Paris.
  13. ^ Vallois, Nathaniel (February 2004). "Hostage to fortune". Strad. 115 (1366): 128–132 – via EBSCOhost. As young Guila's talent became more apparent, mother and five-year old daughter moved to Chicago to pursue violin studies with Leon Sametini, a pupil of Ysaÿe.
  14. ^ Violins and Violinists Magazine. Vol. 6. William Lewis & son. 1944. p. 135. LCCN 39032588.
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