Leopold Auer

Leopold Auer (Hungarian: Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845 – July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian Jewish violinist, academic, conductor and composer, best known as an outstanding violin teacher.

Auer was born in Veszprém, Hungary, 7 June 1845 in a Jewish household. He first studied violin with a local concertmaster. He later continued his studies with Ridley Kohné, who also came from Veszprém, at the Budapest Conservatory. A performance as soloist in the Mendelssohn violin concerto attracted the interest of some wealthy music lovers, who gave him a scholarship to go to Vienna for further study. He lived at the home of his teacher, Jakob Dont. Auer wrote that it was Dont who taught him the foundation for his violin technique. In Vienna he also attended quartet classes with Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr.

By the time Auer was 13, the scholarship money had run out. His father decided to launch his career. The income from provincial concerts was barely enough to keep father and son out of poverty. An audition with Henri Vieuxtemps in Graz was a failure. A visit to Paris proved equally unsuccessful. Auer decided to seek the advice of Joseph Joachim, then royal concertmaster at Hanover. The two years Auer spent with Joachim (1861–63, or 1863-1865 according to Auer, 1980, p. 9)) proved a turning point in his career. He was already well prepared as a violinist. What proved revelatory was exposure to the world of German music making—a world that stresses musical values over virtuoso glitter. Auer later wrote,

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