ABSTRACT
Ukrainian/American violinist, born in Talnoye. He studied with Leopold Auer in St. Petersburg, and made his debut there in 1904. European tours followed, and a New York debut in 1908; he then played with the major world orchestras. Romantic works were his specialty, but he excelled also in Mozart and Beethoven. In 1911 he settled in the U.S., and took citizenship in 1923. He died in New York. Elman was a popular Victor artist, making Red Seals from 1908 to 1925, with total sales of around 2 million records. He had 40 items in the 1917 Victor catalog, all arrangements (no sonatas), except for some obbligatos he played for Enrico Caruso and Frances Alda. He also recorded with his own quartet, with members drawn from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. One of his great records was of the Tchaikovsky Concerto with John Barbirolli and the London Symphony Orchestra (HMV DB 1405/8). That concerto had been written for Auer, Elman’s teacher, who had refused to deal with it, calling it unplayable. BBC Enterprises reissued the recording in 1990 (#LP REH 717). The Complete Musician was a collection of his performances from 1910 to 1930, released by BBC Records on CD #753 in 1990.
