JAVS Fall 1999

26

D

The above phoro of Emile Ferir came ro me from rhe esrare of rhe lare Harry Rumpler, my friend, colleague, and (nearly 40 years ago) my former reacher. Ir was a gifr from Rurh Rumpler, H arry's widow. The photo of Emile Ferir (Harry's reacher) is aurographed in French, "To my young friend Harry Rumpler wirh my best wishes for success ... Emile Ferir . . . Los Angeles 1936." Ferir was an eminent violist of rhe great Franco-Belgium school of rhe late 19rh century. His listing in Maurice Riley's History ofthe Viola, vol. 1, mentions several orchesrras for which he played principal viola (including rhe London Philharmonic, rhe Boston Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra) bur omits mention of rhe Los Angeles Philharmonic, rhe final stop in his long and traveled career. Harry rold me once rhar Ferir had played rhe solo vio la parr in the world premiere of R. Strauss's Don Quixote. My sporadic arrempts ar researching rhis have so far neither confirmed nor disproved rhe story. I once spoke wirh Maurice Riley about rhe marrer; he didn't know who had played the solo, bur he rhoughr ir quire possible rhar ir could have been Ferir.j3 -Tom Heimberg, Northern California Viola Society