Early life Rejtő was born in
Budapest into a Jewish family. His first cello teacher was Frederick Teller, a local teacher whose ideas, for the time, were exceptionally forward-looking. At sixteen, Rejtő entered the Academy of Music under
Adolf Schiffer (a pupil of and later assistant to
David Popper), and two years later, with his Artist's Diploma, he began his European concert career.
Education From the age of 20, Rejtő studied with
Pablo Casals for two years, first in
Barcelona and then in
Prades. Casals had revolutionized the approach to the cello and when he worked with Rejtő, they spent almost a month on just basic technique. Rejtő then played in concerts throughout Europe, with major symphony orchestras such as those in
Vienna,
Budapest,
Rome, and
Warsaw, as well as in solo recitals.
Career In 1952, Rejtő and
Yaltah Menuhin undertook a tour of New Zealand together. Over a period of five weeks, they gave twenty-five concerts to great critical acclaim. Rejto was a resident of the United States from 1939 until his death. During his career, he was on the faculty of the
Manhattan and
Eastman Schools of Music. From 1954 to his death, he was professor of cello at the
University of Southern California. He was also one of the cellists in the
Paganini Quartet and the
Hungarian Quartet, and was a founding member of the
Alma Trio, a piano trio, and remained with that ensemble from 1942 until it disbanded in 1976; in the early 1980s, the trio reformed, with Rejto again as the cellist. Rejto taught for a number of years at the
Music Academy of the West summer program for gifted students, where his
master classes were extremely popular, not just with cellists. His experience in chamber music attracted many students to his cello workshops held throughout the United States. In 1972, Rejtő was chosen
Artist Teacher of the Year at the
American String Teachers Association's 25th Anniversary Conference.
Family Rejtő's son, Peter Rejto, is a cellist and a former faculty member at the
Oberlin Conservatory. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles Piano Quartet. Gábor Rejtő's daughter, Nika S. Rejto, is a jazz flutist. She released an album entitled
Teazing Socrates in 2006, dedicated to her late father. ==See also==