Tree was born in
Newark, New Jersey. His principal studies were with
Efrem Zimbalist on
violin and
viola at the
Curtis Institute of Music. Zimbalist insisted that Tree change his name from Applebaum (German for "apple tree") to advance his career. Subsequent to his
Carnegie Hall recital debut at the age of 20, Tree appeared as violin and viola soloist with major orchestras, including the
Philadelphia,
Baltimore,
Los Angeles, and
New Jersey. As a founding member of the Marlboro Trio and the
Guarneri Quartet, he played throughout the world and recorded more than 80
chamber music works. Prominent among these were ten piano quintets and quartets with
Artur Rubinstein. Tree served on the faculty of the
Curtis Institute of Music,
The Juilliard School,
Bard College Conservatory of Music,
Manhattan School of Music,
University of Maryland School of Music and
Rutgers University, and regularly performed at the
Marlboro Music School and Festival. He appeared as himself in the 1999 film
Music of the Heart, starring
Meryl Streep and, among other famous violinists, fellow Guarneri Quartet member
Arnold Steinhardt, who, with his photographer wife
Dorothea von Haeften, played an important role in the real life story. In 1962, he was a soloist with the
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. Tree played a circa 1780 43.25 cm (17 inch)
Domenico Busan viola from
Venice, Italy. He also played violas of the modern Japanese-American
luthier Hiroshi Iizuka. During his early years with the
Guarneri Quartet, Tree played on a viola made by mid-20th century luthier Harvey Fairbanks of
Binghamton, New York. Michael Tree received an honorary degree from
Binghamton University. Tree's father, Samuel Applebaum, was a nationally known violin
pedagogue who wrote many articles and books about music and composed or edited extensive teaching materials. Tree died of
Parkinson's disease at his
Manhattan apartment on March 30, 2018, at the age of 84. ==Discography==