In Thursday’s (12/17) Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Ellen Fagg Weist reports, “Harold Wolf, who played violin as the Utah Symphony concertmaster under Maurice Abravanel from 1952 to 1966, has died at his Oregon home. He was 88. … Wolf was a noted violin teacher who ‘raised the level of playing of everybody who studied with him,’ said daughter Beth Wolf Myers. On Tuesday, Utah Symphony violinist Lynnette Stewart recalled her former teacher as demanding and generous, as well as a fine musician. … After leaving Utah, Wolf served as concertmaster of the Alabama and San Diego symphonies before moving to Hollywood to work as a studio musician for film scores, where he played with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Wolf retired 10 years ago to Oregon, occasionally sitting in with the Oregon Symphony. … Wolf was born May 15, 1921, in Oakland, Calif., and attended the Curtis Institute of Music. At 14, he began studying at the Juilliard School of Music on a New York Philharmonic scholarship. He was drafted by the U.S. Army, and during World War II he served in an entertainment unit.”
Posted December 17, 2009