Luigi von Kunits
| Luigi von Kunits | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 20 July 1870, Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 8 October 1931, Toronto, Canada |
| Occupation | conductor, composer, violinist, and pedagogue. |
Luigi von Kunits (20 July 1870 – 8 October 1931), born Ludwig Paul Maria von Kunits, was an Austrian conductor, composer, violinist, and pedagogue. At the Vienna Conservatory he studied with Jakob Grün, Otakar Ševčík, Anton Bruckner, and Eduard Hanslick. He later moved to Canada where he was the founding conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1922.
Kunits (Germanized from Serbian Kunić) was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, to ethnic Serb parents.
Von Kunits's musical talent showed itself early and spontaneously—at the age of three he first began experiencing musical longings. He listened raptly to the weekend performances of chamber music at his parents' palatial estate. At five he had little difficulty, if any, with classical pieces. Before he was nine years of age he mastered the violin fully.
When the name of Luigi von Kunits came to the ears of the musical world, in 1881, he was a mere teenager. Never before had a young talent received so many laurels in advance as he. Even the great Johannes Brahms became so enthralled by the child prodigy and his musical precocity that he proclaimed him a musician who was destined to achieve the highest expression of his time in the ideal manner. He was invited by Brahms himself to play second violin in one of his quartets at the age of 11, an unprecedented honor for one so young.
Luigi's mother though a kindly woman was rather imposing and when her son began to show an interest in music as a profession she discouraged him, preferring that he devote himself to more serious pursuits, such as the Church, rather than follow the precarious career of a musician. However, she did at least consent to have him attend university and be taught music properly at a conservatory. He completed his academic training at the University of Vienna and the world-renowned Vienna Conservatory almost simultaneously. Academic training included classical Greek, Latin, law and philosophy. At the conservatory he studied violin under such greats as Johann Kral (1823–1912), Jakob Grün, and Otakar Sevcik; musical history with Eduard Hanslick, orchestration with Jaksch and harmony with Anton Bruckner. After his graduation with honors, no less, at the age of 21 he, for a time, led the String Quartet for the Wiener Tonkuenstlerverein when Brahms was its president.
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