Greenhouse, Bernard

Greenhouse, Bernard, esteemed American cellist and pedagogue; b. Newark, N.J., Jan. 3, 1916. He began his training with William Berce, and in 1933 he entered the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. as a pupil of Salmond. After receiving a diploma from its graduate school in 1938, he pursued studies with Feuermann (1940-41), Alexanian (1944-46), and Casals (1946-47). He was 1st cellist in the CBS Sym. Orch. in N.Y. (1938-42), and also was a member of the Dorian String Quartet (1939-42). During his military service, he was solo cellist with the U.S. Navy Sym. Orch. and a member of the Navy String Quartet (1942-45). On Feb. 11, 1946, he made his recital debut at N.Y.’s Town Hall, where he gave annual recitals until 1957. He was a member of the Harpsichord Quartet (1947-51) and of the Bach Aria Group (1948-76), but it was as a founder-member of the Beaux Arts Trio (1955-87) that he won his greatest distinction. He taught at the Manhattan School of Music in N.Y. (1950-82), the Juilliard School of Music (1951-61), the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Conn. (1956-65), the Ind. Univ. School of Music in Bloomington (summers, 1956-65), the State Univ. of N.Y. at Stony Brook (1960-85), the New England Cons, of Music in Boston (from 1986), and at Rutgers, the State Univ. of N.J. (from 1987). He also gave masterclasses around the globe. Greenhouse served as president of the Cello Soc. (1955-59; from 1987). In addition to the standard repertory, he performed much contemporary American music.

Bibliography

N. Delbanco, The Beaux Arts Trio: A Portrait (N.Y. and London, 1985).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire