Norman Carol performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, in an undated photograph.
In last Wednesday’s (5/1) Strad (U.K.), an unsigned article states, “Norman Carol, a former long-standing concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra for nearly 30 years, died on 28 April 2024 at the age of 95 in Wynnewood, PA. Born on 1 July 1928 in Philadelphia to Russian immigrants Anna and Max Carol, he began his violin studies at age six … At age nine, he performed his first concert, and at thirteen, he was invited to attend the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Efrem Zimbalist. He served as the concertmaster of the student orchestra at Tanglewood from 1946 to 1947. After graduating from Curtis, he embarked on a solo career … He joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra under conductors Serge Koussevitzsky and Charles Munch…. He became concertmaster of the New Orleans Symphony and, subsequently, the Minneapolis Symphony … He joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as concertmaster in 1966 … for nearly three decades until 1994…. ‘Norman’s passing is the end of an era in our history,’ the orchestra said in a statement…. ‘He will be remembered not only as a consummate musician but also as a gifted and devoted leader of the orchestra and as a mentor and friend to many.’… After he retired from the orchestra, he taught, performed, and recorded with the Philadelphia Piano Quartet, and returned to his alma mater to teach orchestral repertoire at Curtis from 1979 to 2014.”
