Roman Totenberg Dies At

FACULTY OBITUARIES CFA Professor Roman Totenberg Emeritus Roman Totenberg (left) Dies at 101 and violin student Daniel Han Violinist, beloved CFA (CFA’98,’00,’02). professor, classical music legend By Susan Seligson !"#$ %&'# ()*+,) his death on May 8, 101-year-old Roman Totenberg lay in bed at his Newton, Mass., home, listening to a student play the Brahms violin concerto. “Slow down,” he told her, according to a blog entry by S. I. FRED SWAY Rosenbaum on the Boston Phoenix website. Suffering kidney failure, his “You learn a lot more than the stu- birthday with a concert by the Boston voice just a whisper, the famed violinist dents do.” University Symphony Orchestra. spent his final hours doing what he He received BU’s Metcalf Cup and Totenberg attended the concert loved most: teaching. Prize, the University’s top teaching with family, friends, and former Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1911, honor, in 1996, and was named Artist students, many of whom are among Totenberg, a College of Fine Arts Teacher of the Year in 1981 by the today’s leading concert artists, School of Music professor emeritus, American String Teachers Association. including Wang, Na Sun, a violinist had been a constant and inspiring “A survivor of two world wars, with the New York Philharmonic, presence in classical music over the Roman Totenberg offered the world and Ikuko Mizuno (CFA’69), a Bos- past century, having worked closely hope and love through his extraordi- ton Symphony Orchestra violinist. with many well-known composers, nary music-making,” says Benjamín Proceeds from the concert benefited including Samuel Barber, Igor Juárez, dean of the College of Fine the Roman and Melanie Totenberg Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Paul Arts. Juárez says that Totenberg was String Scholarship Fund for outstand- Hindemith, and Darius Milhaud, and more than a mere virtuoso: “He was ing young musicians. Melanie Shroder musicians and conductors, among a true global citizen who bridged Totenberg, who died in 1996, was her them Fritz Kreisler, Arthur Rubinstein, the centuries with his artistry husband’s business manager for half Leopold Stokowski, and Pierre and teachings.” a century. Monteux. Totenberg was featured on Totenberg formed lifelong relation- “I think that all three of us would hundreds of recordings, had appeared ships with his students, ushering say we were extraordinarily lucky with most of the renowned orchestras many into stellar performing careers to have him as our father,” says of the world, and had performed in of their own. Mira Wang (CFA’89,’92) Jill Totenberg (CAS’69), one of recital at Carnegie Hall, the White was 16 when she met Totenberg in their three daughters. “He was the House, the Library of Congress, and Poland, where the renowned violinist most supportive, nonjudgmental, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. was judging a competition of young uncomplicated, loving parent anyone The child prodigy, whose playing violinists. The girl from China was could hope for.” helped feed his family in war-torn struck by the kindness of the virtuoso In addition to Jill Totenberg, who Russia, made his debut with the and soon wrote to ask if she could study heads the Totenberg Group, a New Warsaw Philharmonic at age 11 with him in the United States. For the York–based communications and and went on to win the Wieniawski next six years, Totenberg was Wang’s marketing firm and is a consultant to Medal of Poland, the Ysaye Medal of teacher at CFA and beyond, and he Kenneth Freeman, Allen Questrom Belgium, and the Mendelssohn Prize welcomed the young musician into his Professor and Dean of the BU School (Berlin Academy). home and family, where she became of Management, Totenberg leaves Totenberg, who joined the BU fac- like another daughter. Wang and her daughters Nina Totenberg (COM’65, ulty in 1961, began his career at the husband, cellist Jan Vogler, were Hon.’11), longtime legal correspondent University teaching violin and later among those honoring Wang’s mentor for National Public Radio, and Amy chaired the string department. Even and dear friend at a Boston Symphony Totenberg, a U.S. District Court judge after leaving his full-time post 50 years Orchestra concert in April 2010. for the Northern District of Georgia. later, he never stopped teaching. In November that year, again at “There’s a great satisfaction in Symphony Hall, the College of Fine Patrick L. Kennedy contributed to the teaching,” Totenberg said last year. Arts celebrated Totenberg’s 100th reporting for this story. Summer 2012 BOSTONIA !! 777-79_BostoniaSummer12_03_r1.indd7-79_BostoniaSummer12_03_r1.indd 7777 66/8/12/8/12 33:13:13 PPMM.

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