Kunits, Luigi von (actually, Ludwig Paul Maria)
Kunits, Luigi von (actually, Ludwig Paul Maria)
Kunits, Luigi von (actually, Ludwig Paul Maria), Austrian violinist, conductor, pedagogue, and composer; b. Vienna, July 20, 1870; d. Toronto, Oct. 8, 1931. He studied composition with Bruckner, music history with Hanslick, and violin with Grün and Sevcik in Vienna. In 1893 he went to the U.S., where he played at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition with an Austrian orch.; taught violin in Chicago (1893–96), and then at the Pittsburgh Cons. (1896–1910). He was also concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Sym. Orch. (1897–1910). He toured widely as a soloist in Europe (1910–12) before settling in Toronto; was a teacher at the Canadian Academy of Music, where he was a founder-member of the Academy String Quartet (1912–23); also founded the Canadian Journal of Music (1915-19). He was founder-conductor of the New Sym. Orch. (1922), which became the Toronto Sym. Orch. (1927); he remained with the orch. until his death. He wrote an unpubl. book on Beethoven, The Hero as Musician (1913). His compositions include 2 violin concertos, Lullaby for Violin and Orch. (1916), String Quartet (1890), Viola Sonata (1917), pieces for Violin and Piano, and songs.
Bibliography
A. Bridle, L. v.K. (Toronto, 1931).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire