Sokoloff, Nicolai
Sokoloff, Nicolai
Sokoloff, Nicolai, Russian-born American conductor; b. near Kiev, May 28, 1886; d. La Jolla, Calif., Sept. 25, 1965. He was taken to the U.S. as a child, and studied violin with Loeffler in Boston; played violin in the Boston Sym. Orch. In 1907 he went to Europe to complete his studies. After serving as concertmaster of the Russian Sym. Orch. in N.Y., he decided to settle in the U.S. in 1914 and became a naturalized American citizen. He became music director of the San Francisco Phil. in 1914, then served as the first music director of the Cleveland Orch. (1918–33). He was director of the Federal Music Project (1935–38) and music director of the Seattle Sym. Orch. (1938–10); later was music director of the La Jolla Arts Assn.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire