Cecil Aronowitz
| Cecil Aronowitz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 March 1916 King William's Town, South Africa |
| Died | 7 September 1978 (aged 62) Ipswich, England |
| Occupation | Classical viola player |
| Organization | |
Cecil Aronowitz (4 March 1916 – 7 September 1978) was a British viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music.
Cecil Aronowitz was born in 1916 in King William's Town, South Africa. In 1933 he began studying the violin in Durban with Stirling Robbins. After two years he came to England on an overseas scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London. In 1939, World War 2 interrupted his studies and he spent the next six years in the army. When he returned to England, he switched to the viola.
The Amadeus Quartet asked him regularly to play second viola in the string quintet and the string sextet repertoire. In spring 1949 he joined the violas of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1950 he co-founded the Melos Ensemble. Aronowitz was the violist of the group for decades, and Terence Weil was the cellist. Bassoonist William Waterhouse wrote in 1995, "It was the remarkable rapport between this pair of lower strings, which remained constant throughout a succession of distinguished leaders, that gave a special distinction to this outstanding ensemble." He played and recorded with the Pro Arte Piano Quartet, with Kenneth Sillito playing violin, and Terence Weil and Lamar Crowson playing piano. Aronowitz played regularly with the London Mozart Players and was the principal violist with the Goldsbrough Orchestra (later to become the English Chamber Orchestra). He also appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival every year from 1949 until his death in 1978. At Aldeburgh, Aronowitz was a soloist, chamber musician, and leader of the violas in the English Opera Group.
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