Eleonore Schoenfeld

Eleonore Schoenfeld (March 6, 1925 – January 1, 2007) is considered one of the most influential cellists of the 20th century.

Biography
Born in Maribor, Slovenia to a Polish father and a Russian mother, Schoenfeld moved to Berlin with her family at age six. She proceeded to study ballet, violin, and piano before switching to cello at age eleven. Her first teacher was Karl Niedermeyer, a pupil of Hugo Becker, with whom she studied until age fourteen. From there she entered the prestigious Hochschule für Musik in Berlin - eighteen being the traditional age of entry. She then spent the next four years studying with Adolf Steiner, a well-known soloist.

In 1952, Schoenfeld's parents, weary of the Russian dictatorship, led the Schoenfeld family to flee to the United States. From there, a connection from the Idyllwild Arts Academy led the then-dean of the USC Thornton School of Music to ask her, and her sister Alice, a concert violinist, to join the faculty. They remained there since, serving alongside Gregor Piatigorsky, Jascha Heifetz, and many other distinguished musicians.

Through the span of her career, Schoenfeld produced over 200 recordings, recorded by the BBC. Her students have also become top prizewinners in competitions such as Geneva, the Casals Competition (Budapest), Tchaikovsky (Russia), Markneukirchen (Germany), Antonio Janigro (Croatia), and the Concert Artist Guild (U.S.). Her students have also performed repeatedly as soloists with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Georgian Chamber Orchestra (former Soviet republic of Georgia), Slovenian Philharmonic, and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (Germany) with such eminent conductors as Zubin Mehta, Horst Stein, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gerard Schwarz and Carl St. Clair.

In 2008 PBS made an hour-long documentary titled "Born to Teach" about Eleonore Schoenfeld's life.

Awards
USC Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2004
USC Ramo Music Faculty Award
Indiana University Grand Dame du Violoncelle Eva Janzer Memorial Award
American String Teachers Association National Distinguished Service Award
Music Teachers National Association Lifetime Achievement Award

References

External links
Death notice in USC News
Appreciation of Eleonore Schoenfeld
Interview at cello.org

Category:1925 births
Category:2007 deaths
Category:Slovenian emigrants to the United States
Category:Slovenian people of Polish descent
Category:Slovenian people of Russian descent
Category:Polish classical cellists
Category:German classical cellists
Category:German women classical cellists
Category:American classical cellists
Category:American music educators
Category:People from Maribor
Category:20th-century American musicians
Category:20th-century classical musicians
Category:20th-century German musicians
Category:American women classical cellists
Category:20th-century women musicians
Category:Women music educators