Stefan Frenkel

Stefan Frenkel (21 November 1902 – 1 March 1979), born in Warsaw and in later years resident in America, was a violinist, academic and composer.

Life Frenkel was born in Warsaw in 1902, a son of businessman Adam Frenkel and wife Berta. At the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin he studied violin with Adolf Busch and Carl Flesch, and composition with Friedrich Koch. He became concertmaster of the Dresden Philharmonic in 1924.

From 1933, in Nazi Germany, Frenkel could perform only in events organized by the Jüdische Kulturbund. He left Germany in 1935 and moved to Switzerland, where he was concertmaster of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. In the following year he moved to the United States, and in New York was the first concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera, holding the post until 1940.

He was a violin teacher at Princeton University, and during summers he was concertmaster at Rio de Janeiro Opera and Santa Fe Opera.

Frenkel died in 1979 at his home in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. He was survived by his wife Lotte, children Sonja and Thomas, and a granddaughter.