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HUGO GOTTESMANN
(Born April 8, 1896, Leopoldstadt. Vienna, Austria. Died January 22, 1970, Ft. Wayne, Indiana)

CHILDHOOD
Hugo Gottesmann was born of Jewish parents Leopold and Anna Greenwald Gottesmann and grew up in Leopoldstadt, the Jewish section of Vienna. His father Leopold was born in Poland and was a manufacturer's representative. His mother Anna, born in Hungary, owned a hat shop. He showed musical talent at an early age and was given violin lessons. He was accepted at the Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst and studied with the renowned Czech pedagogue Otakar Ŝevčík. He graduated in 1916 first his class and was awarded the "Staatspreis". JAHRES-BERICHT, DER K.K.AKADEMIE FŰR MUSIK UND DARSTELLENDE KUNST IN WIEN ŰBER DAS SCHULJAHR 1915-1916.

MILITARY SERVICE
Gottesmann was drafted August 23, 1916 into the k.u.k. Armee in World War I as a private. He was assigned to the 7th Artillery Regiment and fought on the Eastern Front in Galicia against the Russians or possibly on the Italian Front having entered the war late. He rose in the ranks from private to lieutenant in a few months and received at least four medals, three "in recognition of brave acts in the face of the enemy." He earned the "Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille II. Kl.' on September 19, 1917. On January 12, 1918, he was awarded the "Karl Truppen Kreuz". He earned the Bronze Signum Landis-Medaille with Crossing Swords "für seine verdienste ausgezeichnet" on March 20, 1918.  Letter, Kriegsarchiv, Oktober 17, 2015. He was discharged November 29, 1918 as a Lieutenant.  Haupt Grundbuchblatt. Kriegsarchiv, Ősterreichisches Staatsarchiv. Wien, Őstereich.

GOTTESMANN QUARTET
Upon completion of his military service at the end of World War I, Gottesmann formed the Gottesmann Quartet. Members of the group over the next decade included some of Vienna's finest musicians. Cellist Wilhelm Müller had been a member of the Joachim Quartet.  GOTTESMANN-QUARTETT, ZEITUNGSSTIMMEN. VERTRETUNG: KONZERTDIREKTION ALBERT GUTMANN [INH. HUGO KNEPLER], WIEN. 1921.  THE MENTOR, MASTERS OF THE VIOLIN, Henry T. Finck. Department of Fine Arts, Vol. 4, No. 5. April 15, 1916. Violists Hugo Kauder  http://www.hugokauder.org/about/about-hugo-kauder/ and Marcel Dick http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/miskolc/Dick.html    http://clevelandartsprize.org/awardees/marcel_dick.html and cellists Richard Krotschak and Hermann Busch were principals with the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester.  Tully Potter. Adolf Busch, Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010. The group toured Belgium, Holland, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria. They were featured on the 1925 New Year's Concert.  Ernst Theis. “History of the New Year’s Concert.” http://www.ernsttheis.com/FNCMSFiles/WPh_Theis_D.pdf?PHPSESSID=4d52k9sp3uks116s6cg2fmqfl0 In 1928 for the Schubert Centennial Celebration, they performed the composer's entire string quartet cycle in the courtyard of his " Geburtshaus".  “Review”, New York Times, June 3, 1928.  “Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26, 1970. They made approximately 182 performances on Radio Wien from 1925 until 1934.  ANNO Historische Zeitungen and Zeitschriften 1915 through 1935, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Adolf Busch biographer Tully Potter referred to the group as "distinguished".  Tully Potter. Adolf Busch, Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010. Page 1095.

SOLO DEBUT AND CAREER IN VIENNA
Gottesmann made his solo debut with the Wiener Tonkünstler Orchestra under Czech Conductor Oskar Nedbal on April 8, 1919 at Vienna's Grosser Konzerthaussaal. He performed Mozart's A Major Concerto, Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra composed for him by Hugo Kauder, and Brahms' Violin Concerto. German violinist Adolf Busch was concertmaster of the orchestra. http://www/wienersymphoniker.at/concerts/saison/archiv

Gottesmann became the first concertmaster of the new orchestra when the Tonkünstler-Orchester merged with the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester in 1921.  HUGO GOTTESMANN – CONCERT VIOLINIST, Letter from Lia Gottesmann, Bay View Archives, September 10, 1981. As concertmaster Gottesmann was the soloist for new works by Karol Szymanowski and Pantscho Wladigeroff and important performances of the Missa Solemnis and St. Matthew Passion under Wilhelm Furtwängler. He also served under conductors George Szell, Richard Strauss. and Bruno Walter.  “Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26. 1970. http://www/wienersymphoniker.at/concerts/saison/archiv For Vienna's 1927 Beethoven Centennial Celebration, Gottesmann performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D minor at the Theatre an der Wien where the concerto was premiered in 1806.  Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26. 1970. In 1929. he performed the concerto with the Wiener Philharmonic under Conductor Robert Heger on Radio-Wien. <Ref.> “Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26. 1970. <Ref> http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/converts/archive  Another high point in his career was his performance of the Mozart Violin Concerto in G-Dur under Conductor Bruno Walter. <Ref> Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26. 1970

NEW MUSIC
Hugo Gottesmann was a member of Schoenberg's "Society for Musical Private Performances," Vienna 1918-1922. The Gottesmann Quartet performed Schoenberg's ''Quartet Nr. 1 d-moll'' op 7 on February 18, 1921 at the Konzerthaus Mozart-Saal. https://konzerthaus.at/datenbanksuche He frequently performed contemporary music as a soloist and with his Gottesmann Quartet. Some of the composers he featured were Hugo Kauder, Guido Peters, Karl Weigl, Carl Goldmark, Pantscho Wladigeroff, Ernesta Halffter, Karol Szymanowski, Anton Smareglia, Paul Josef Frankl, Ernest Bloch, Max Reger, Albert Siklos, Karl Rathaus, Christian Sinding, Eugene Goossens, Richard Mandl, Robert Fuchs, Maurice Ramillo Horn, Josef Marx, Friedrich Wührer, Ludwig Czaczkes, Alfred Freudenhain, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, and Nickolaus Mjaskowsky. <Ref> http://www.wienersymphoniker.at/concerts/saison/archiv <Ref> https://konzerthaus.at/datenbanksuche <Ref> Programmzeitschrift der RAVAG, Radio Wien. In 1930 Gottesmann premiered a work by Josef Hauer at the International Festival of Contemporary Music in Liège, Belgium. <Ref> The Wiener Sonn und Montag Zeitung Sept. 15, 1930

COMPOSITIONS WRITTEN FOR GOTTESMANN
Hugo Kauder dedicated his Sonata in G minor for Violine and String Quartet to Hugo in 1923. Violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic and later Holocaust victim Eduard Frank composed the “Gottesmann-Serenade” in 1928. The music collection of the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus includes three sonatas dedicated to Gottesmann. Later Adolf Busch composed Prelude and Fugato for Solo Viola for Hugo’s 52 birthday. Tully Potter, Adolf Busch, the Life of an Honest Musician, Toccata Press, 2010. P. 1095

RADIO-WIEN
After his successful performance in the Beethoven Festival in 1927, Gottesmann was appointed conductor of RAVAG or Radio-Wien. He had already been performing on the station for several years. Three days after Radio-Wien began broadcasting, Gottesmann was featured Oct. 4, 1924, with Cellist Hermann Busch and Pianist Otto Schulhof performing Schubert's Piano Trio in B-Dur. <Ref> Reichspost, Okt. 4, 1924. Between 1924 and 1934, Gottesmann was heard on Radio Wien approximately 300 times. <Ref> Programmzeitschrift der RAVAG, Radio Wien.

CONDUCTING CAREER
About the same time as his RAVAG appointment, Gottesmann became the permanent Sunday conductor of the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester at Vienna's Musikverein Golden Hall. <Ref> Tully Potter. Adolf Busch, Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010. In January, 1932, he conducted the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester, the Vienna State Opera chorus and soloists in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Grosser Konzerthaus-Saal. <Ref> Die Neue Freie Presse. Jan 19, 1932. Three months later he conducted the opening concert of the 200th Anniversary of Haydn's birth at Redouten Hall in the Hofburg Palace. <Ref>Tages-Post May 14, 1932.

He was featured several times as guest conductor with the Augusteo Orchestra in Rome before and after World War II and conducted the summer symphony concerts in Goteborg, Sweden in 1934 and 1935. In the United States in 1942 and 1943, he conducted the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo on its North American tour. <Ref> Tully Potter. Adolf Busch, Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010.

AKADEMIE FÜR MUSIK UND DARSTELLENDE KUNST
Gottesmann was asked to join the faculty of his alma mater in 1920 four years after graduation. <Ref> HUGO GOTTESMANN-Concert Violinist, Letter to Bay View Archives, Bay View, Michigan, Lia Gottesmann, September 10, 1981. He taught violin and Chamber Music and was an exceptional teacher. <Ref> Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26. 1970. He applied for the "Title of Professor". On September 21, 1926, his request was denied by a vote of three (Hofmann, Schmidt, Wunderer) to two (Marx, Geiringer). <Ref> Bundesministerium für Unterricht. Archives, Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst. Five days later in Linz, Austria, the State of Austria conferred on Gottesmann the Title of Professor. <Ref> Reichspost, September 26, 1926, Seite 6. During the academic year of 1925 and 1926, the Akademie für Musik offered "Volkstümliche Kurse" which were public course in which the instructors received a percentage of the course fees. Gottesmann taught one of these classes according to academy documents. <Ref> Application by Hugo Gottesmann. Archives, Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Wien, Österreich.

FORCED TO LEAVE AUSTRIA
In 1933, Hugo Gottesmann was relieved of his appointments at Radio-Wien, the Akademie für Musik, and his lifetime contract as concertmaster and conductor with the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester. One reason given for this action was the patronage of Austria's Counselor of Finance (1919-1932) Hugo Breitner of the Gottesmann Quartet and the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester. Breitner was know as the architect of Red Vienna. Breitner was unpopular because he instituted a progressive luxury tax on the propertied class to provide housing for the poor. <Ref> https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Breitner  Gottesmann sought legal action against his firing but there is no known documentation of a settlement. <Ref> DER STÜRMER, Arbeiterkammer für Wien Dokumentation. Mai 26, 1934-7. Gottesmann accepted conducting opportunities with the Gôteborg Summer Orchestra in Sweden and the Augusteo Orchestra in Rome. He gave up his apartment at 19 Operngasse. Tully Potter.Adolf Busch, The Life of An Honest MusicianToccata Press. 2010. Page 1095.

Gottesmann's parents and his sister, her husband and daughter remained in Austria until 1938. On Kristallnacht, Anna's shop was destroyed and she went into cardiac and died that night. His sister Erna was arrested by the Gestapo and released. She, her husband, and daughter secured passage to the US and left Austria. Leopold was unable to join them since he was born in Poland and the Polish quota for the US was filled by November, 1938. Leopold went into hiding and made his way to Genoa and arrived in the US in 1941. <Ref> http://www.cousinsconnection.com/getperson.php?personID=I1756&tree=MAIN Rosa Jochmann helped the Gottesmann escape from Austria and was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for five years. <Ref> https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Jochmann

US VISAS FOR GOTTESMANN AND FIANCÉ
In 1936, Gottesmann received visas for himself and his fiancé, Lia Astleitner. Gottesmann immediately immigrated to New York where he soloed with the NBC Orchestra under Conductor Bruno Walter. <Ref> https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1189&h=1350309&ssrc=pt&tid=78671304&pid=38385337233&usePUB= Astleitner returned to Vienna to obtain a civil divorce from her husband, Austrian composer Prof. Hans Wagner-Schönkirch. Lia’s marriage was annulled by verdict of the Land Court in Vienna, in 1937. Wagner-Schönkirch recognized at the time Lia’s claim of ownership of property. The agreement was that he would have lifetime use of these assets but they were to be relinquished by his heirs upon his death. In 1947, his widow and heirs refused to relinquish the assets stating that Lia had married a Jew in New York nullifying the contract. Lia was required to return to Vienna to claim her belongings April 16, 1947. It is unknown if she was successful. <Ref> https://www.fold3.com/image/311265951 She returned to Gôteborg and booked passage to the United States. She and Gottesmann were married in New York the day she arrived June 7, 1937. <Ref> http://www.cousinsconnection.com/getperson.php?personID=I1756&tree=MAIN

NEW YORK CAREER
In New York, Gottesmann founded a new quartet, performed on WQXR in New York and over the NBC Blue Network, at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn. He freelanced with various orchestras and was a member of the Leopold Stokowski Orchestra. He lead the second violin section of the Busch Chamber Players and Little Symphony. <Ref> Tully Potter. Adolf Busch, Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010. Page 1095

BAY VIEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
In 1942, Gottesmann joined the faculty of the Bay View Summer College of Liberal Arts in Bay View, Michigan. The school was connected with Albion College. Gottesmann taught violin and performed as soloist and leader of the string quartet. He remained with the festival 28 years until his death.

BUSCH QUARTET
In 1946, he was asked to join the Busch Quartet as violist. For the next six years, he toured the British Isles, Europe, and South America with the quartet. Beside concert appearances, he made recordings and performed radio broadcasts. The recording he made with the group of Beethoven String Quartet op.59 no. 3, recorded in 1951 was awarded the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis when it was released Nov. 1, 1998. <Ref> http://arbiterrecords.org/catalog/the-busch-quartet-live/ Author Tully Potter states  that the high quality of Gottesmann's playing can be assesed from the 1949 recording of Brahms' B-flat Quartet, Op. 67. <Ref> Tully Potter, Adolf Busch, The Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010. Page 1095. The 1949 recording of Brahms' Piano Quartet in G minor with Adolf Busch, Hermann Busch, Hugo Gottesmann, and Rudolf Serkin has also been well received.

FT. WAYNE PHILHARMONIC
When Adolf Busch's death forced the disbandment of the Busch Quartet, American conductor and specialist in Russian music, specifically Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Buketoff offered Gottesmann the concertmaster position of the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where he was conductor. During Gottesmann's tenure with the orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein, Isaac Stern and Rudolf Serkin soloed with the orchestra. Gottesmann also conducted ballet performances and lead the string quartet.

CANCER AND DEATH
Gottesmann was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1951 and was sent to Mayo Clinic where he was operated on by Dr. Mayo personally. The medical costs were paid for by the local friends and fans in Northern Michigan. The cancer was arrested and Gottesmann resumed his career. In 1969, he was again diagnosed with stomach and treated at Little Traverse Hospital in Petoskey, Michigan under the free care of Dr. Benjamin Blum. He succumbed January 22, 1970 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. <Ref> http://www.cousinsconnection.com/getperson.php?personID=I1756&tree=MAIN

Gottesmann played a Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi violin and in the Busch Quartet he performed with a small Domenico Busan viola which Rudolf Serkin borrowed from Austrian collector Elisabeth Bondy. <Ref> Tully Potter. Adolf Busch, Life of an Honest Musician. Toccata Press, 2010. Page 1095

A 1970 news-release put out by the City of Vienna states that Gottesmann "was a gifted artist, who was a decisive influence on the musical life in Vienna..." <Ref> Hugo Gottesmann Gestorben.” Wiener Kultur-Notizen. Sonderdienst der Rathaus-Korrespondenz, Nummer 26. 1970