A CHILD PRODIGY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 140, 27 February 1942, Page 12

A CHILD PRODIGY

Rudolph Kolisch Has Family Link With New Zealand

HEN the Kolisch Quartet is heard from 2YC this Thursday, February 26, there will be at least one listener who will tune in with more than just an interest in good music. Richard Hoffman, representative of free Austria in New Zealand until the Anschluss, is the uncle of Rudolf Kolisch, founder and leader of the quartet, and has followed his nephew’s brilliant musical career since his earliest years. Literally since his earliest years, for Kolisch was in every way the traditional child-prodigy. At a very tender age, Mr. Hoffman relates, he showed an aptitude amounting to genius for the violin, and at the age of seven he was leading one of the finest quartets in Vienna-and that meant something in those distant days. But long before that the child had shown evidence of astonishing precocity. Mr. Hoffmann tells of one incident which occurred when his nephew was but five and ahalf years old. During the afternoon and early evening they had been at a performance of The Mastersingers ("In Vienna the opera-particularly the Wagnerian cycles-begins about two in the afternoon, and you get home quite early"), and the two families were about to have supper when someone was heard at the piano playing the overture’ to the opera they had just

seen. It was the young Rudolph playing it over faithfully from memory. "And it was the more astonishing," says Mr. Hoffmann, "because he had not paid any serious attention to the piano before." When still a child, Kolisch suffered an injury which, but for his own determination to succeed, might well have wrecked his career aS a violinist. His home was one of the first in Vienna to be fitted with an electric lift, and one day-‘"he was always an awkward chap," his. uncle explains-he jammed the third finger of his left hand in the lift gate and had to have the top joint amputated. For a violinist this was a disaster of the first magnitude, but as it happened when he was yet a lad he was able to adapt his fingering to the disability and with the necks of his violins (including a precious Stradivarius) also adjusted to assist the shortened finger, the accident has had no serious effect on his career. Now: In United States Like so many European artists, Kolisch has found sanctuary as well as scope for his genius in the United States and it is now many years since his uncle saw him, but Mr. Hoffmann follows his career with pride. As well as founding his own quartet, Kolisch has been associated in compgsition work over the years with another Viennese, Erich Korngold. They worked together first in their native Vienna (Continued on next page)

A CHILD PRODIGY (Continued from previous page)

and they have continued their artistic collaboration in the United States. Today Korngold is quite a figure in Holly wood (where figures are by no means scarce) and has contributed fine inci dental music to many films. But ever Korngold, is hardly as well-known a personality in American music as Kol isch, whose quartet has made the whole world of classical music its province. This interest in music is by no means of recent origin in Mr. Hoffmann’s family. For generations music has been as their daily bread and a little over a century ago timid little Franz Schubert was a frequent visitor in theix household. Though he has been cut off from ' his people and his native land ever since Hitler invaded Austria, and might therefore with reason have a sombre outlook on the human situation, Mr, Hoffmann sees much that is good being born out of the present turmoil. One good thing, he says, is that people are turning from .their too-materialistic ideas and ideals. "Where I live," he says, "when I get up in the morning I hear people singing or whistling on their way to work -_-_-_-_-_

and that is a good thing. It reminds me of Vienna and it shows that there is music in their hearts for whoever will discover it and bring it out." In fresh unspoiled voices-particu-larly children’s: voices-New Zealand has, he thinks, something of infinite value, something of greater worth than all the gold ever dug from New Zealand soil or dredged from New Zealand rivers,