Conservatory is a name given on the European continent to a systematic school of musical instruction. In Britain the term is usually applied to foreign schools of music. Conservatories were originally benevolent establishments attached to hospitals, or other charitable or religious institutions. In Naples there were formerly three conservatories for boys; in Venice four for girls; the Neapolitan group being reduced in 1818 to a single establishment under the name Royal College of Music. In Milan a conservatory was established in 1808. In France the musical school established in connection with the Opera received its final organization in 1795 under the name of Conservatoire de Musique. Among its teachers have been Mehul, Cherubini, Gretry, Boieldieu, etc. The Conservatorium, founded at Leipzig in 1842 under the auspices of Mendelssohn has been one of the most highly renowned. Research Conservatory
Oberlin College is a privately controlled non-denominational institution of higher learning, in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833, and known as Oberlin Collegiate Institute until 1850, when its present name was adopted. Oberlin was the first co-educational college in the USA. Two years after its founding the college admitted students 'without respect to color', becoming the first American college to do so; before the American Civil War it was known as a centre for anti-slavery activities. Charles Grandison Finney, professor of theology and president of Oberlin from 1851 to 1866, first promulgated at the college his doctrine of evangelical Calvinism known as OberlinTheology. Oberlin has two divisions: the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music. The college awards the bachelor of arts degree in the humanities and the natural and social sciences; the master's degree in art history is also granted. The conservatory awards the bachelor of music, as well as master's degrees in conducting, music education, opera theatre, performance on historical instruments, and teaching. Research Oberlin College
Antonin Dvorak (Anton Dvorak) was a Czech composer. He was born in 1841 at Kralup and died in 1904. He studied at the Prague Conservatoire and became a member of the orchestra in the Bohemian Theatre at Prague, and in 1873 was appointed organist of Saint Aldbert's Church in Prague. From 1892 to 1899 he was director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, and in 1901 was appointed director of the PragueConservatory. He composed several operas on national Bohemian subjects, songs, orchestral arrangements of Bohemian dances, several symphonies, a Stabat Mater, a cantata (The Spectre Bride), and an oratorio (St. Ludmilla). Research Antonin Dvorak
Claudio Arrau was a Chilean pianist. He was born in 1903 and died in 1991. He gave his first recital when he was five years old and was sponsored by the Chilean government, studying music at Berlin's Stern Conservatory from 1912 until 1918 and subsequently taught there from 1924 until 1940. Research Claudio Arrau
Hansd Guido Von Blilow was a German pianist and composer. He was born in 1830 at Dresden and died in 1894. He was intended for a lawyer, but adopted music as a profession. He studied the piano under Liszt, and made his first public appearance in 1852. In 1855 he became leading professor in the Conservatory at Berlin; in 1858 was appointed court pianist; and in 1867 he became musical director to the King of Bavaria. His compositions Include overture and music to Julius Caesar, The Minstrel's Curse, and Nirwana; songs, choruses, and pianoforte pieces. He was considered one of the first of pianists and orchestral conductors. Research Hans Billow
Jacques Francois Fromental Halevy was a Jewish French composer. He was born in 1799 at Paris and died in 1862. Hestudied at the conservatory under Lambert and Cherubini, and was sent to Italy to finish his musical education. Here he wrote his first two operas Les Bohemiennes and Pygmalion. The first of his pieces performed was a little comic opera, L'Artisan, given at the Theatre Feydau in Paris, in 1827. His chef d'oeuvre, La Juive, appeared in 1835, and rapidly obtained a European celebrity. Among his other works are L'Eclaire, Guido et Ginevra, La Reine de Chypre, Le Val d'Andorre, La Fee aux Roses. He was a cultivated and scholarly composer but without much genius. Research Jacques Halevy
Leopold Auer was an American violinist. He was born in 1845 at Veszprem, Hungary and died in 1930. He studied in Budapest and Vienna and with the celebrated Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim in Germany. Through a friendship with the pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, then director of the Conservatory of SaintPetersburg, Auer was appointed professor of violin at that institution in 1868. In 1883 he became a Russian subject. He was soloist to the tsar's court and founded the first important string quartet in Russia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Auer gave concerts abroad. His first American recital was in 1924. In 1926 he became an American citizen. He was particularly known as a great violin teacher; his pupils included the American violinists Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz. Research Leopold Auer
Maria Meneghini Callas (Sophie Cecelia Kalogeropoulou) was an American opera singer. She was born in 1923 at New York and died in 1977. She left the United States in 1937 to move to Greece. There she studied at the AthensConservatory. She made her professional operatic debut in a major role, Tosca, at the AthensOpera in 1941 going on to triumphant performances at all of the major opera houses. Her last operatic appearance was in 1965 at Covent Garden, again as Tosca. She gave a number of master classes from 1971 to 1972. In the following two years, she toured with Giuseppe diStefano in recitals of arias with pianoaccompaniment. Research Maria Callas
Pierre Jean Garrat was a French singer. He was born in 1764 at Ustaritz and died in 1823. He was chosen to give singing lessons to Marie Antoinette. After the outbreak of the revolution he moved to Hamburg and in 1796 was appointed professor of singing at the conservatory of music at Paris. Research Pierre Garat
Vladimir Horowitz was a Russian-born American concert pianist. He was born in 1903 at Berdichev, and died in 1989. He trained at the conservatory at Kiev, and became an accomplished pianist but preferred composing his own music to performing. After his family lost most of its possessions in the Russian Revolution, he began giving piano recitals in exchange for food and clothing. His success as a pianist in the new Soviet Union was assured by a series of 23 recitals in Leningrad in 1924. In these he performed a total of more than 200 works. In 1925 he went on a concert tour of Europe and made his American debut in 1928. In 1933 he married the daughter of conductor Arturo Toscanini. Seven years later, after the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, they settled in the USA and in 1944 he became an American citizen. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1986. Research Vladimir Horowitz
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
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