Victor Hochhauser

Victor Hochhauser (27 March 1923 – 22 March 2019) was a British music promoter.

Early life Hochhauser was born on 27 March 1923 in Košice, Czechoslovakia, the son of David Hochhauser, an industrialist. His grandfather and great-grandfather were rabbis.

Career His career as an impresario started in 1945 at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Following the death of Stalin in 1953, Hochhauser was the first impresario to organise tours of the West by Soviet musicians, and introduced audiences to David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Dmitri Shostakovich was a house guest. Hochhauser has said, "My great stroke of luck came when Stalin died".

Honours Hochhauser was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993.

In June 2010, the Hochhausers were presented with the Order of Friendship by Russia. They married in 1949 and had four children, including the diplomat Mark Sofer. Hochhauser was a vegetarian.

Hochhauser died on 22 March 2019 in a London hospital.