Violist, recording artist and pedagogue (1920 - 1979)
Ernst Wallfisch (27 May 1920 in
Frankfurt am Main – 8 May 1979 in
Northampton, Massachusetts) was a prominent
viola soloist, recording artist and pedagogue, primarily remembered along with his wife, pianist
Lory Wallfisch, as partners of the Wallfisch Duo.
Born into a musical family, Ernst Wallfisch immigrated to Bucharest, Romania in 1926. He studied
violin with
Cecilia Nitzulescu-Lupu at the
Bucharest Conservatory. Having a strong attraction to the sound of the viola, he turned his attentions to the instrument at the age of 14 and made his highly praised début on viola at 18.[1] At the Conservatory, he met violinist-composer
George Enescu, who was one of his greatest sources of inspiration,[2] and his wife Lory, a pianist with whom he started to perform during
the War. They married in November 1944.
Yehudi Menuhin heard the duo perform in Bucharest in May 1946 on the occasion of his first trip to Romania. Menuhin was deeply moved by their playing and helped the couple immigrate to the United States. They became American citizens in 1953, and had their only child, musician
Paul Wallfisch in 1962.
Ernst Wallfisch was a member of the Pro Musica Quartet and the
Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra prior to his immigration, later a member of the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra,
Cleveland Orchestra, and principal violist with the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1953 to 1955.[3] As the Wallfisch Duo, he performed throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, North Africa and Israel.
Pablo Casals provided another influence and long-lasting inspiration, which culminated in chamber music collaborations at several
Pablo Casals Festivals in
Prades between 1955 and 1961. As viola pedagogue, he taught at the
Mozarteum University of Salzburg and at the Lucerne Conservatory. Both Ernst and Lory Wallfisch joined the music faculty of
Smith College at Northampton, Massachusetts in 1964. Ernst Wallfisch died suddenly of a heart attack[4] in 1979.
Wallfisch was also a master
viola da gamba player, even making recordings.
Carl Maria von Weber: Andante e rondo ongarese in C minor for viola and orchestra, Op.35 (1809); Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg;
NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg; recorded 1964