Adolfo Odnoposoff

Career Formal education Beginning around 1930, Odnoposoff studied with Emanuel Feuermann and Paul Grümmer at the Music High School in Berlin (die Hochschule für Musik zu Berlin, which, as of 2001, has been known as Berlin University of the Arts). 1930 coincided with the ''coup d'état'' in Argentina. In 1932, Odnoposoff moved to Paris, entering École Normale de Musique, where, in 1935, he earned a concert and teaching diploma. While there, he studied cello with Diran Alexanian, a colleague of Pablo Casals. Israel In 1936, Odnoposoff, seeking refuge from the Third Reich because he was a Jew, and had soloed with important orchestras of Latin America. Mauricio Odnoposoff had emigrated from Russia to Argentina with his father. When Ricardo, Adolfo, and Nélida were studying music in Germany, Mauricio and Juana Odnoposoff moved to Germany. Marriage Adolfo met his wife, Berthe (né Huberman; born in Paris) in Cuba in 1941, when he was principal cellist with the Havana Symphony. Berthe was a young aspiring concert pianist. She is a first cousin once removed of the violinist Bronislaw Huberman and also the sister-in-law of Mexican poet Angelina Muñiz-Huberman, PhD. Odnoposoff's wife, Berthe (also spelled Berte and Berta; née Huberman born in Paris on May 19, 1925) was a widely acclaimed piano virtuoso. Since 1941, when they met in Havana, until his retirement in 1988, she had been his accompanist and chief musical collaborator. In concerts and on recordings, they were often billed as a duo. Composers often inscribed dedications to both Adolfo and Berthe. She was also an influential piano pedagogue. She joined the faculty at the University of North Texas College of Music in 1976. She held a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences Degree, a Diploma in piano, and a Diploma in theory and harmony from the Ministry of Education, Havana, Cuba. She not only mentored aspiring performing artists at the conservatory and collegiate levels, she developed effective pedagogical approaches for gifted pianists at primary and secondary school ages. Berthe Huberman de Odnoposoff died on July 1, 2019, at the age of 94. Adolfo, his wife, and his brother performed their final concert together in May 1987— and billed it as a farewell — playing Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Guatemala under the direction of Ricardo del Carmen. Other information Adolfo Odnoposoff maintained his Argentine citizenship; although, in 1977 Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe made him an honorary citizen of the State of Texas, and presented him a commemorative plaque. The surname, Odnoposoff, has various spellings (typically "z" instead of "s" and "v" instead of "ff"). But under this particular spelling, the name faces extinction in the Western Hemisphere. Of the two males born to Mauricio and Juana Odnoposoff, (i) Ricardo Odnoposoff (de) and his wife Hilde had one daughter, Henriette Helene Odnoposoff, who, in 1978, married David Mark Hume (born 1952); (ii) Adolfo and Berthe had one daughter, Alina M. Odnoposoff (born 1954), who married Mark J. Heller (born 1954). == Musical output ==

Selected discography • Beethoven, Cello Sonata No. 1, in F Major, Op. 5, RCA Victor (Chile) (1945) : Odnoposoff, cello; Elvira Savi (es) (1920–1913) : The record also includes Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor, performed by Rosita Renard • Alberto Ginastera, "Pampeana No. 2" for cello and piano, Op. 21, Victor (Argentina) 68 8047 (78 rpm) : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano • At The Center, New York: Center For Inter-American Relations, 33- LP (1970); : Side B • Alberto Ginastera, "Pampeana No. 2" for cello and piano, Op. 21 : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano : Recorded on November 21, 1968 • Saint-Saëns, "Allegro Appassionata," Op. 43, for cello and piano, Victor 68 8046 (1953) :: Granados, "Intermezzo" from the opera Goyescas : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano • Cuban Contemporary Music, Panart Records (1954); : Odnoposoff, cello, Huberman, pianist, • José Ardévol, "Sonatina For Cello And Piano" :: a) "Andantino" :: b) "Slow-vivo" :: c) "Alegretto" • Amadeo Roldán: Two Popular Songs :: a) "Cuban Point" :: b) "Vueltabajo Guajira" ("The Babbling Brook") • Aurelio de la Vega, "Legend of Ariel Criollo" • Pedro Menéndez, "Black Canto" : String Orchestra of CMZ Radio, Havana, José Ardévol, conductor • Harold Gramatges, "Serenade For String Orchestra" :: a) "Allegretto" :: b) "Andante Moderato" :: c) "Allegro" : National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba conducted by Jean Constantinesco : Live performance, Auditorium Theatre in 1960 • John White, "Elegy" • In Memory of Pablo Casals, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, 33- LP (1974); :: Unnamed composition of Pablo Casals : Olga Iglesias, soprano; Emilio Belaval, tenor; Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano, Jesús María Sanromá, piano • In Memory of Pablo Casals, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, 33- LP (1975); , :: "Reverie," for cello and piano, Odnoposoff; cello, Huberman, piano : Recorded 1974–1975 at the Ochoa and Echo Sound Studios, Puerto Rico • Aurelio de la Vega (de), Legend of the Creole Ariel (audiotape) (no date); Hans Moldenhauer Collection, Harvard University, Call No. MS Mus 261, Item 2091 : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano : Includes also Quintet for winds (1959), with the Westwood Woodwind Quintet : Moldenhauer, Hans, collector. The Moldenhauer Archives at Harvard University • Third Music Festival of Caracas, digital files (WAV; 96–kHz, 24 bit) : (works 1–3), (works 4–5), (work 4), (work 5), (work 5) : Live performance, Third Music Festival of Caracas, Venezuela, May 12, 1966 • Halffter: "Sonata," Op. 26 :: a) "Allegro deciso" :: b) "Tempo de siciliana" :: c) "Rondó: Allegro" • Vega (de): "Legend of Ariel Criollo" • Ginastera, "Pampeana No. 2" : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano • Sergio Cervetti (es), "Cinco Episodios Para Trio" ("Five Movements For Trio") • Salas, "Trio" Op. 58 : José Figueroa, violin; Odnoposoff, cello; Elias López, piano • Héctor Campos Parsi, "Serenade," for string trio, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña ICP MC-4, 33- LP (197?); , : José Madera, violin; Guillermo Figueroa, viola; Odnoposoff, cello • Seis piezas breves (Six Short Pieces), Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña ICP C-8 (197?); , • Luis Antonio Ramírez (1923–1995): "Sonata Elegiaca," for cello and piano : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano : Recorded July & August 1971 at the Ochoa Sound Studio • Hector Campos Parsi: "Petroglifos," for violin, cello and piano : José Figueroa, violin; Odnoposoff, cello; Jesús María Sanromá, piano : Recorded in concert at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, October 8, 1967 • Adolfo Odnoposoff: Obras De Galindo-Halffter-Ponce-Revueltas-Sandi, Mexico: Musart MCD-3027, Serie SACM (es), 33- LP (1962); : Side A • Galindo: "Sonata" • Ponce: "Tres preludios" : Side B • Halffter: "Sonata," Op. 26 :: a) "Allegro deciso" :: b) "Tempo de siciliana" :: c) "Rondó: Allegro" • Revueltas: two selections from "Siete canciones" ("Seven Children's Songs") :: a) "Canción de cuna" ("Cradle Song") :: b) "Las cinco horas" ("The Five Hours") • Sandi: "Hoja de albúm" ("Sheet album") : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano : Liner notes by Otto Mayer-Serra • Ginastera, "Rhapsody for Cello and Piano" (last movement) (recording date not known); : Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano Selected dedicated works Works dedicated to Adolfo and Berthe Odnoposoff Cuban composers • Aurelio de la Vega (de) (Cuba): "Legend of Ariel Criollo" (1953); :: Premiered by Adolfo and Berthe in Havana in 1954 at a concert of the Sociedad de Conciertos; it was immediately recorded by Panart as an LP that included works by other Cuban composers, such as Amadeo Roldán, Pedro Menéndez, and José Ardévol (see Selected discography above); Vega (de) dedicated the work to the marriage of Odnoposoff and Huberman. The work was published in the Washington, D.C., in 1955 by the Pan American Union • José Ardévol (Cuba): "Sonatina," for cello and piano, Buenos Aires: Ricordi Americana (publisher) (1955); Mexican composers • Simón Tapia Colman (ca): "Sonata," for cello and piano, Ediciones Mexicanas de Música (publisher) (1961); (2nd reference is a manuscript copy) • Rodolfo Halffter: "Sonata," Op. 26, Peer International (publisher) (1962); • Blas Galindo: "Sonata," Ediciones Mexicanas de Música (publisher) (1962); • Manuel Enríquez: "Sonatina" (manuscript copy) (1962); • Luis Sandi: "Hoja de Album," for cello and piano, Ediciones Mexicanas de Música (publisher) (1963); , • Luis Sandi: "Sonatina," for cello and piano, Ediciones Mexicanas de Musica (publisher) (1965); • Eduardo Mata: "Sonata" (1966) Argentine composers • Guillermo Graetzer (de): "Concierto para Cello y Orquesta" • Julio César Brero: "Variaciones sobre un tema italiano"; • Floro Ugarte (es): "Elegia" • Antonío Tauriello (es): "Diferencias No. 3" Puerto Rican composers • Hector Campos Parsi: "Arawak para Cello and Electronic Sounds" • Luis Antonio Ramírez: "Sonata Elegiaca," for cello and piano (1970) • Roberto Sierra: "Dialogo No. 1" • Roberto Sierra: "Salsa on the C String," for cello and piano (1981); Elsewhere • Paul Csonka (Austria): "Serenata for Cello and Orchestra" (1954); • Roque Cordero (Panama): "Sonata for Violoncello and Piano," Peer International (publisher) (1963) (commissioned by Odnoposoff); • Federico Heinlein (es) (Chile): "Sonatina" • Ninón de Brouwer Lapeiretta (Santo Domingo): "Romanza" • Martin Mailman (United States): "Clastics: Formations for Solo Cello," Op. 61 • German Borda (es) (Colombia): "Movimiento de Sonata" Notable performances • 1947: Odnoposoff debuted in New York at Town Hall, January 29, 1947. • 1949: Aurelio de la Vega (de): "Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano" (1949), performed in Havana by Odnoposoff, Alexander Prilutchi (violin), and Rafael Morales (1905–1990) (piano). The trio was sponsored by the Sociedad de Música de Cámara (Chamber Music Society) • 1957: Odnoposoff, as guest soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile (es), performed Ernest Bloch's Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra, Victor Tevah, conductor • 1961: Rodolfo Halffter's "Cello Sonata," Op. 26, was composed between 1959 and 1960 for the second Inter-American Festival, held in Washington in 1961. The composer dedicated it to Adolfo Odnoposoff and his wife, Berthe Huberman. Odnoposoff performed the premiere with Mexican pianist and composer Alicia Urreta on 26 April 1961 in the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium; • 1963–1964 season, Brahms's "Double Concerto," Endre Wolf, violin, and Adolfo Odnoposoff, cello, Palestine Symphony Orchestra, George Singer conducting • March 1966: Mario Davidovsky's "Synchronisms No. 3" (1964), for cello and electronic sound, San Juan, Puerto Rico • 1966: Rházes Hernández-López, "Tres Espacios Para Trio," Third Music Festival of Caracas, Venezuela, performed by Jose Figueroa (violin), Odnoposoff, Héctor Tosar (es) (piano) • 1988: Wigmore Hall, London, March 19, at 7:30, Odnoposoff, cello, with Aldo Ciccolini :: "Fantasia for Cello and Piano" – Gerard Schurmann (fr) ::: (other works were performed by Ciccolini) :: "Fantasia" was composed in 1967 and premiered March 1967 by Odnoposoff and Ciccolini at the Salle Pleyel, Paris – Odnoposoff and Ciccolini also performed the work at Lincoln Center, Manhattan Instrument • Odnoposoff owned and performed on a compound Amati cello, circa 1680. List of former students • Christopher Adkins (born 1959), principal cellist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (1987–present); former principal cellist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra • Fabio Landa (born 1924), cellist, composer, studied with Odnoposoff in Havana, Cuba • Deborah Petty Brooks (born 1955), Associate Principal Cellist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (1985-1999) and solo cellist of Casa Mañana Musicals (1981–present) and Dallas Summer Musicals (1998–present). == References and further reading ==

External links Conciertos Daniel, an artist management agency, managed the concert tours of Adolfo Odnoposoff. Primarily a family business, three generations of family members managed Odnoposoff. • Adolfo Odnoposoff photo at the Conciertos Daniel website • Berthe Odnoposoff's bio at the University of North Texas • Audio sample: Amadeo Roldan (1900–1939), "Punto cubano," Odnoposoff, cello; Huberman, piano References Notes Inline citations