JAVS Spring 2011

She was passionate about everything she did, and she lived life to the fullest.

One can’t talk about Karen without talking about Morty, her husband of so many years, who survives her. Morton Herskowitz was the love of her life, and he was (and is) just as passionate about life as she was. Morty is a Reichian psychiatrist, a brilliant therapist, and one of the most kind and gentle people you will ever meet. A great support to Karen, he was also a great support to many of us. He always seemed like a friendly Philadelphia regular guy who had an uncanny understanding of people and who loved to paint and play tennis (and still does). Together, Morty and Karen had a rare combination of the utmost empathy and objectivity. We believe that her unique and lumi nous sound was a direct reflection of these qualities. They were a great team, and it’s hard to imagine how great the void must be for him with her gone. It is so sad for all of us that we can no longer go to see her or talk to her. She had such a tremendous life force, and we were all nourished by that. The good thing is that she taught so many of us, and taught us so well. Now we have to keep her spirit alive as we play and live and try to pass on what she gave to us. – Susan Dubois, Jeffrey Irvine, Michelle LaCourse, Kim Kashkashian, Lynne Ramsey, Karen Ritscher, and Carol Rodland

Raphael Hillyer at the 1979 International Viola Congress (photo courtesy of Dwight Pounds)

Hillyer played in the NBC Symphony Orchestra and was a violinist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra when the newly formed Juilliard Quartet announced auditions for their viola position. With a borrowed viola for the audition, he won the job, and launched a lengthy career as chamber musician, viola soloist, and teacher. The Juilliard Quartet immediately made its mark with a series of programs and recordings empha sizing contemporary works; Hillyer remained with the group until 1969, when he left to spend more time with his family. The career change also allowed him to focus his energies on teaching and his solo career. As a soloist, Hillyer recorded concertos by Bartók and Hindemith and several smaller viola works. Hillyer taught throughout the world (including in Brazil via the Fulbright Program) and in the United States at numerous institutions including The Longy School of Music, Temple University, Juilliard, the Curtis Institute, the Yale School of Music, Harvard, and Boston University. In 2010, he was honored by the American Viola Society with the Career Achievement Award. Hillyer passed away on December 27, 2010.

Raphael Hillyer 1914–2010

Raphael Hillyer was born on April 10, 1914, in Ithaca, New York, as Raphael Silverman (he changed his last name during the 1930s to Hillyer—a version of an earlier family name). Born into a musical family, he began violin studies at the age of seven. After briefly studying at the Curtis Institute, he earned a degree in mathematics from Dartmouth. Graduate studies followed at Harvard, where his classmate Leonard Bernstein composed a violin sonata for Hillyer in 1939.

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