Leopold Auer

Leopold Auer (1845-1930), Hungarian-Russian violinist, born in Veszprém, Hungary. He studied in Budapest and Vienna and with the celebrated Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim in Germany. Through a friendship with the pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, then director of the Conservatory of St Petersburg, Auer was appointed professor of violin at that institution in 1868. In 1883 he became a Russian subject. He was soloist to the tsar's court and founded the first important string quartet in Russia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Auer gave concerts abroad. His first American recital was in 1924. In 1926 he became an American citizen. Auer was particularly known as a great violin teacher; his pupils included the American violinists Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz.