Max Rostal - Violin Recital

This album is an exact reproduction of the original master tape. In order to guarantee the best possible sound quality, no digital equipment or post-processing has been used. It is a hand-numbered limited edition of 250 copies.

Violinist and teacher; born 7 August 1905 in Teschen (Austria), died 6 August 1991 in Bern, Switzerland.

From the age of 15, Max Rostal was already having lessons with the foremost teacher of his time, Carl Flesch. After completing his studies with him, Rostal worked as a violinist in Vienna and Oslo before becoming his former teacher's assistant at the Hochschule für Musik Berlin in 1928. With a group of his students from Berlin, including Maria Lidka, Rostal emigrated to the UK, where he went on to be a successful and influential teacher and performer in London. He was a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London until moving to Bern, Switzerland, in 1958.

Max Rostal - Violin Recital typically refers to a series of archival and newly remastered recordings featuring the legendary violinist Max Rostal (1905–1991). Rostal was a world-renowned soloist and educator, and several recent releases under this title have brought his historic performances back to the public.

Max Rostal - Violinist. Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn to a Jewish merchant family. As a child prodigy, he started studying the violin at the age of 5, and played in front of Emperor Franz Josef I in 1913. He studied with Carl Flesch. He also studied theory and composition with Emil Bohnke and Matyás Seiber.

Violinist and teacher; born 7 August 1905 in Teschen (Austria), died 6 August 1991 in Bern, Switzerland.

From the age of 15, Max Rostal was already having lessons with the foremost teacher of his time, Carl Flesch. After completing his studies with him, Rostal worked as a violinist in Vienna and Oslo before becoming his former teacher's assistant at the Hochschule für Musik Berlin in 1928. With a group of his students from Berlin including Maria Lidka, Rostal emigrated to the UK where he went onto be a successful and influential teacher and performer in London. He was professor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London until moving to Bern, Switzerland in 1958.

Max Rostal - Violin Recital

Violin: Max Rostal
Piano: Eugen Huber

Tracklist

Side A:
Brahms: Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano in D Minor, op. 108
1. Allegro (7:45)
2. Adagio (5:15)
3. Un poco presto e con sentimento (2:45)
4. Presto agitato (5:35)

Side B:
1. Mozart: Adagio in E-Dur (7:05)
2. Mozart: Rondo in C-Dur (5:20)
3. Schumann: Intermezzo (3:00)
4. Paganini: Capriccio No. 20 (3:25)

Max Rostal was a child prodigy, beginning the study of the violin at the age of five and giving his first recital the following year. He studied in Vienna with Arnold Rosé, concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic and brother-in-law of Mahler, but the most important influence on him was his apprenticeship with Carl Flesch in Berlin. Flesch was one of the first to bring a method into violin teaching and to study it factually. 

Rostal became his assistant in 1928 and two years later was the youngest professor at the Berlin High School. One of many Jewish musicians who left Germany for Britain in 1934 and later became British citizens, Rostal settled in London, where at first he taught privately. In Britain, Rostal formed a partnership with the pianist Franz Osborn and together they appeared many times at Dame Myra Hess’s National Gallery wartime concerts. Those who have heard a rare early recording that Rostal made have described his playing then as every bit as marvelous as Heifetz at his best. It is all the stranger, therefore, that his career as a soloist with orchestra never quite fulfilled that promise.

Original Mono Recording, January 11th 1958, Radio Bern. First publication.

Producer: SCHOPPER AUDIO, Jürg Schopper, Schweiz

From the Original Masters ∙ © Triston Masters 2026 - Max Rostal - Violin Recital