US cellist and pedagogue Paul Olefsky has died at the age of 87.
During his long career he was a member of several American
orchestras and a recitalist in North America and Europe. For almost
four decades he taught cello and chamber music at the University of
Texas at Austin.
Born on 4 January 1926 in Chicago, Olefsky began studying the cello
with Johann Lingeman, first cellist of the Chicago Civic Opera
Orchestra. At 17 he received a scholarship to the Curtis Institute
of Music, where he studied cello with Daniel Saidenberg and Gregor
Piatigorsky, and chamber music with William Primrose.
In 1947, his graduation year, Olefsky was accepted into the
Philadelphia Orchestra’s cello section, where he remained for five
years, becoming the orchestra’s youngest ever principal cellist.
While serving with the US Navy during the Korean War, he had a
chance to study with Pablo Casals: ‘When I first went to him, I
deliberately played Bach without any vibrato in a rather naive
attempt to be stylistically “authentic”,’ he told The
Strad in a 1989 interview. ‘Casals wisely told me to stop
play-acting and be myself.’
After completing his naval service, Olefsky was offered the
position of first cellist in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where
he spent six years, though he continued to perform as a soloist. He
joined the faculty of the University of Iowa but left after just 18
months to extend his solo engagements: he gave the first US
performances of works by Kodály, Lutoslawski, Henze and
Ginastera.
In succession, Olefsky taught at the Peabody Institute (1963–68)
and Hartt School (1968–74) before settling at the University of
Texas at Austin in 1974. He remained there for the rest of his
career, where his students included Louis Lowenstein, John
Sant’Ambrogio, Carolyn Hopkins, Stephen Gates and Hai Zheng, whom
he later married. He was later granted the title of emeritus
professor at the Butler School of Music. Another former student,
Gregory McCoy, established the Paul Olefsky Cello Scholarship at
the Butler School.
In 1987 Olefsky organised the first Feuermann International Cello
Competition at the University of Texas, Austin. ‘Although I had
enormous respect for Piatigorsky, it was Emanuel Feuermann who was
my idol,’ he said in 1989. ‘His mystique has haunted me all my
life. I never forget his maxim: “the complete cellist must be a
perfect blend of head, heart and fingers.” I had only one lesson
with Feuermann but its shattering impact is always with me.’
Commenting on the work of teaching cello, Olefsky said: ‘A true
pedagogue should strive for quality teaching with fewer pupils.
There are only so many hours in a day, and only a proscribed amount
of time, energy and intellectual force at a teacher’s disposal, and
he should resist the temptation of over-extending himself whether
it be for money or reputation engagement. It is the obligation of
the teacher to make the student independent of the teacher as soon
as possible.’
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