Krachmalnick, Jacob (14 March 1922 -31 August 2001)

Violinist from Krisilov, Russia, whose family relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, before his first birthday.

In the 1930s, he and his brother Sam were already playing concerts for the Young Men’s Hebrew Association.

He attended the Curtis Institute of Music from 1936 to 1941 and Tanglewood in 1942. His teachers included Richard Burgan and Efrem Zimbalist.

After graduation, he moved back to the Gateway City and played in the symphony until he enlisted in the United States Air Force. While in the USAF, he performed with the Army Air Force Glenn Miller Band.

After the war was over, he joined the Cleveland Orchestra. In the winter of 1948, he was the featured soloist when they interpreted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 4” at Severance Hall. He and violist Abraham Skernick shared solo duties in the autumn of 1950 when they performed Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante”.

In 1951, he became concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was the solo violinist on Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50”, which appeared on The Philadelphia Orchestra: First Chair in 1952.

On 7^th July 1953, he and cellist Madeline Foley, violinist Orrea Pernel and Karen Tuttle interpreted “Quintet in C major, Op. 163” by Franz Schubert at the Casals Festival in Prades.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and University Choral Union joined forces on 30^th April 1954 at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their program comprised Carlos Chavez’s “Corrido de ‘El Sol” for Chorus and Orchestra”, Antonin Dvorak’s “Concerto in B minor, Op. 104” with cellist Leonard Rose, and Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria.

On 1^st May 1954, Jacob and cellist Lorne Munroe were the soloists when the Philadelphia Orchestra presented an all-Brahms concert that included the “Academic Festival Overture”, “Concerto in A minor for Violin, Cello and Orchestra” and “Variations on a Theme by Haydn”.

He reunited with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall in the autumn of 1957 for “Violin Concerto No. 1” by Sergei Prokofiev.

In 1958, he assumed concertmaster duties for the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He stayed with them until 1960, and then rejoined the Cleveland Orchestra as assistant concertmaster for one season.

In 1961, he was the ersatz concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, supplanting John Corigliano, who opted not to accompany the orchestra on their tour of Japan.

After a brief stint as concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, he took the same position with the San Francisco Symphony. This was in 1964, the same year that found him participating in the Chamber Music Camp in Sun Valley, Idaho. He remained concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony until 1970 and fulfilled the same role with the San Francisco Opera in 1976.

In the field of music education, he served on the faculties of Indiana University and the University of Michigan and adjudicated at the Stulberg International String Competition.

He passed away from cancer and renal failure in Tiburon, California, on 31^st August 2001.

His legacy lives on through recordings such as Casals: Festival at Prades, The Glenn Miller Story: Centenary Collection, Vols. 17-20, Ein Heldenleben, Joseph Haydn: Wind Concertos, and Scheherazade.

Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams recordings
Emotion (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb)
S CBS 6164B (UK 45)

Sources:

Krachmalnick, Jacob (14 March 1922-31 August 2001)

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